The season is starting to get serious. Runners have had a few races to shake off the nerves, coaches are beginning to see where their teams stand, and the big meets are starting to fill the calendar. Saturday's 7th Annual Bison XC Invitational was another chance for Arkansas runners and their coaches to put that opening-season training to the test.
In the boys' 5k, Harding Academy finished as champion with a total of 32 points, finishing in places 1, 3, 7, 10, and 11. Runner-up Vilonia was hot on their heels at 39 points, taking 4, 5, 8, 9, and 13.
Four boys finished in the sub-18-minute range: Mountain Home's Simeon Costner (sophomore) completed in 16:43.83, Chase Jensen (sophomore) from Harding in 17:07.07, Marion's Jose Ramerize (junior) at 17:51.69, and Wave Simmons (junior) from Mountain Home at 17:51.52.
The Bombers plan to race on the 17th on their home turf at the Clint Pevril Bomber Invitational. Currently, Coster is ranked first with his PR of 16:05.60. Jensen competed at the City Auto Memphis Twilight and finished with a 17:31.08. The Wildcats are scheduled to race next at the Missouri Southern Stampede on the 19th.
In the ladies' 5k, Vilonia was champion with a low 26 points, taking 1, 3, 4, 7, and 11. Mountain Home was the team runner-up, finishing with 36 points from places 2, 5, 8, 9, and 13.
Three girls broke the 21-minute mark, including Vilonia's Emma Fowlkes (junior), finishing at 19:27.21; Lucy Koehn (senior) of Mountain Home, finishing at 20:47.50; and Harding's Micaiah White (sophomore), at 20:48.28.
Emma Fowlkes
Micaiah White
Fowlkes ran at City Auto Memphis Twilight on September 5th and finished with 19:59.61. The Eagles plan to race on the 15th at The Josh Park Memorial.
In the boys' 3.2k, Bryant was champion with an almost perfect score of 17 points, taking 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6. Vilonia was the team runner-up, finishing with 44 points from places 4, 7, 10, 11, and 12.
Bennett Wright (7th) of Joe T. Robinson edged out Gabriel Relford (freshman) of Bryant in a very close finish, crossing the line in 11:27.38—just 0.33 seconds ahead of Relford's 11:27.71.
In the girls' 3.2k, Bryant was again the team champion with 32 points, taking 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 10th. Vilonia was the team runner-up with 43 points, finishing in 2nd, 4th, 9th, 13th, and 15th.
Tessa Corbitt (freshman) of Joe T. Robinson won the race in 12:02.29, finishing more than 36 seconds ahead of the field. Harding Academy's Kenzie Hutcherson (8th) was the runner-up in 12:38.64.
