Last Friday, Fayetteville High School hosted the Y Timing HS Running Festival, one of the state's premier early-season events.
Over the past year, distance running in the Natural State has become as competitive as it has ever been. This was evident when Arkansas sent an individual and team to Nike Cross Nationals, spots historically held and dominated by Texas athletes.
This past weekend, some of the fastest distance runners across Arkansas competed in the 3,200m at the Y Timing HS Running Festival. And this time, it would be River Hardman who came out on top.
The senior from Russellville led from the gun and executed an incredibly consistent race, going on to break a Russellville school record time of 9:17.39. This is Hardman's third school record on the track, according to the Russellville Track Instagram page, which acknowledged the trio of records following Friday's race.
Though early in the season, Hardman currently owns the US #37 time in the 3,200m event.
Behind Hardman, Alan Gallardo-Lopez finished 2nd, while James American Horse finished 3rd. Jonathan Mendez finished 4th, while Owen Kelley rounded out the top 5.
Matthew Shelly, the 6A Cross Country state champion finished 6th while the 4A Cross Country state champion, Tian Grant, finished 17th.