The Annual Melbourne Bearkatz Invitational is set for September 9th. A beautiful course consisting of grass trails in front of the Bearkatz’s football stadium, this cross country standard has been used both for opening season meets as well as host for a regional meet. Looking at the entries, I predict some exciting results.
Senior Aubrey Minton from Valley View returns, vying for the first place finish. Minton is a two-time state champion with a PR of 17:40.56, and has been featured in Gavin Frick’s Performance Highlight series in 2024.
Riley Farris (sophomore) from Heber Springs is seeded second. Farris finished 1st in in the 2025 4A State Championships and enters with a PR of 19:18.83 from the 4A District Championships.
Addy LaFerney (sophomore) of Valley View is ranked third. LaFerny is a a sophomore and enters the race with a time of 19:59.00.
Quitman High looks poised to be our be our team champion with their top five placing in the top 20 based on seed time. Should the Lady Dogs finish according to their seed time, they are looking at a sweet 58 points, led by Junior Madilyn Varvil. Varvil's PR is 21:24. (Fun fact: Varvil also jumps in the spring with a high jump at 5’3, ranking her 16th in the state.)
Paragould is looking for runner-up, with the Rams predicted to finish with 112 points. They will likely be lead by Junior Kaelyn Edwards, seeded at 21:56.90.
On the boys side, Junior Tyler Bedgood of Paragould is seeded first at 16:14, which he ran at the 2025 Conference Championships last October. This time ranks him as number 1 on Paragould's all-time 5K team records.
José Penaloza of Heber Springs enters the meet with a 17:30.43 from the 4A-5 District Championship from 2025.
From Tuckerman, Reggie Rucker is seeded 3rd with a time of 17:32.19 from 2024.
Also from Paragould, Junior Zakir Omer enters with a 17:42.00 run at the 2025 Confrence Championships.
The Searcy Lions sit pretty with their top 5 boys all ranked in the top 17% of the entries. It is expected that the boys will finish 7th, 9th, 10th, 16th, and 26 earning a cool 61 points and being led by Junior Gabriel Fatula.
The girls 1.5 mile race features returning athletes such as Searcy's Zaylie Davis (9:58), Harding's Kenzie Hutcherson (10:02), and Clinton's Henley Stoltzfus (10:06).
The boys’ 1.5 mile race features returning athletes such as Mountain View's Elijah Adams (10:00.33), and Baylor Treat (10:00.66), and Waverly Wolcot (10:23.55). The boys 1.5 mile features returning runners Flippin's Nathen Shelton (8:28), Norfork's Case Southard (8:32), and Batesville's Will Henry Hogue (8:53).