Bentonville shines in the Longhorn State
All eyes were on the Bentonville Tigers this weekend for this season opener in Denton, Texas for the Milesplit TX XC Invitational and they did not disappoint, storming into Texas and claiming two team titles at one of the state's biggest events.
The girls were led by 2022 6A state champion Haley Loewe, who finished second, running an impressive 18:29.40 opener and new Arkansas #1, which piloted them past Plano West, who finished 9th at the 6A UIL State Championships last fall.
The O'Daniel twins were excellent, finishing 7th (Devyn O'Daniel) and 13th (Everly O'Daniel) while Lily Aicklen and Hannah Hansen rounded out the team's top 5, finishing inside the top 22.
The boys cruised to a dominating win, scoring just 23 points en route to their first win of the season. James American Horse led the way for the Tigers, finishing 4th and running a 15:40.90.
Eli Seavey and Matthew Shelly came in quickly after American Horse, finishing 6th and 7th and running 15:50.10 and 15:52.20 respectively. Payton Brack and Owen Kelley rounded out the team's scoring five, which all finished 12th or better.
The Tigers' performances in Texas could not have gone much better and the squads will return next week for the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival in McKinney, Texas for another fast and competitive meet.