The Bentonville Tigers had a dominant performance at Thursday's 6A Outdoor State Championship in Jonesboro. The girls' team scored 196.5 points--90.5 more than runner-up Fayetteville. On the boys' side, the Tigers scored 135 points and won by 18 points.
"This championship was about coming together as a group, understanding what each person needed to do, and executing a plan to make it happen," Bentonville boys' head coach Mike Power said. "Our guys have a tradition to uphold, and they wanted to continue showing that Bentonville High School is the best track and field team in the state. Winning four straight state championships takes talent, but it also takes planning, preparation, and a team-first mindset. I'm proud of the way the team handled themselves throughout the meet by competing with class, supporting one another, and representing the Bentonville High School program the right way from start to finish."
In the sprint relays, the Tigers won the girls 4x100 (48.33) and 4x200 (1:40.61). Leah Todorova, Olivia Hartman, and Sadie Holz were on both relay teams. Sophia Steward was on the 4x100 and Brianna Fogarty was on the 4x200 squad.
In the last event of the meet, the Tigers also won the girls 4x400 (3:59.38) with Anika Sheppard, Laney Dollar, Hannah Hanson, and Emerson Archer.
It was the end of a busy day for Dollar, who won the 300 hurdles with a time of 44.32 and finished third in the 100 hurdles (15.21). Dollar led a strong group in the 300 hurdles that included Taylor Choe (3rd; 45.65) and Charlotte Kublanov (5th; 46.62). All three girls are juniors.
Bentonville's 4x800 relay of Mya Hurley, Hannah Hanson, Flannery O'Daniel, and Archer finished second with a time of 9:28. Rogers (Elizabeth Scudder, Katherine Scudder, Kayla Eggers, Malaya Johnson) won with a time of 9:17.32.
In the open 800, Archer finished third with a time of 2:17, Hurley finished fifth with a 2:18, and Hanson finished sixth with a 2:19.
The Tigers had three sprinters to score in the 100. Todorova (12.35) finished third. Senior Morgan Langley (12.42) finished fifth, and Hartman finished eighth with a 12.58. In the 200, Todorova finished sixth with a 25.84 and Hartman finished in seventh with a 25.89.
Freshman Flannery O'Daniel and junior Madysen Hantuba combined to score 14 points in the girls' 1600. O'Daniel finished second with a time of 4:58.09 and Hantuba finished right behind her in third place with a 4:58.39. Rogers' Lilly Beshears won with a 4:53.98.
It was more of the same for Bentonville's girls distance group in the 3200. Hantuba finished third with a 10:38. O'Daniel was fifth with a 10:54. Other Tigers to score in the 3200 included senior Everly O'Daniel (6th; 11:00) and Charlotte Miller (8th; 11:07).
The best event of the day for Bentonville was the girls long jump. Senior Morgan Langley won the state championship with a jump of 18-8.5. Fogarty finished second with a jump of 18-0.50 and Jada Smith finished in third with a mark of 17-4.
In the triple jump, Makenzie Krebs (36-8) finished third and Fogarty (36-7) finished fifth.
The Lady Tigers were also taking care of business in the discus. Bailey Baldridge finished a the runner-up with a throw of 121-4, Shaylee Howard (118-6) finished third, and Lucy Rustad (103-6) finished seventh.
Howard (6th; 34-4.5) and Rustad (7th; 3.24) also added points in the shot put.
In the girls' pole vault, Maddy Olsen (4th' 10-6) and Caroline Venters (6th; 10-0). Brynn Hellwig (5th; 5-2) and Krebs (7th; 5-2) did the same in the girls high jump.
"We had a great day Thursday at Jonesboro," Bentonville girls head coach Randy Ramaker said. "They did an awesome job of hosting. Obviously, we have a great team and not really any events we are weak at. These kids buy into this time of year that it's time to do their best. For our seniors, this four-straight outdoor championships. They have been the heartbeat. I think going 1-2-3 in the long jump was huge. Bailey Baldridge and Shaylee Howard had personal records in the discus. Our sprint relays were cleaned up after a bit of a struggle and happy for those kids. Our 4x4 went under 4:00 for the third time this year. Maddy Hantuba and Flannery O'Daniel under 5:00 in the mile was very impressive and they came back in the 3200. And of course the hurdlers led by Laney Dollar had great performances. Overall, a lot of happy girls and coaching staff on a great season."
On the boys' side, Bentonville was led by University of North Carolina commit Brian Burns, who won both the 800 meters (1:50.83) and 1600 meters (4:15.81). The 3200 was won by Burns' younger brother, sophomore Sean Burns, who won his first state championship with a time of 9:10.78.
Other Tigers scoring points in the 1600 included Sean Burns (3rd; 4:17), Camden McClellan (4th; 4:18), and Logan Hurley (5th; 4:20). McCellan (4th; 9:16) also scored in the 3200 as did Alex Wagner (7th; 9:29).
Sophomore Jack Lindstrom (5th; 1:56), freshman Liam Wisler (6th; 1:56.26)), and Hurley (7th; 1:56.91) added points for Bentonville in the 800.
In the relays, Bentonville picked up some points in the 4x800 with a runner-up finish of 7:48. Asher Heiner, Elijah Drain, Wisler, and Lindstrom made up the team. Wisler and Lindstrom were also on the 4x400 that had runner-up finish in the 4x400. Other members of the relay team were Brian Burns and Evan Moriarty.
Going into the state meet, Bentonville knew they would pick up a ton of points from senior Will Neumann, who has led the state in both the shot put and the discus all year. Not only is Neuman the best in the state this year, he is one of the top throwers in Arkansas history.
In the discus, Neumann struggled in the prelims, but was able to overcome the adversity and launched it 184-4 on his second to last throw. That mark won the competition by 13 feet.
In the shot put, it was the opposite. Neumann's best throw--including his state championship winning effort of 61-5.25 came in the third round.
Bentonville senior Jed Rasico finished seventh in both the shot put (46-11) and the discus (150-5).
The pole vault is where the Tigers picked up the most points in the field events. Thomas Nutt finished as the runner-up with a jump of 14-6. Rodrigo Dorantes-King (3rd; 14-2) and Cooper Trump (6th; 13-4) also scored.
Drew Darnell (3rd; 21-2.5) and Malaki Stang (7th; 20-9) scored in the boys' long jump.
Now, the Tigers turn their attention to Wednesday's Meet of Champions in Russellville.
