BENTONVILLE — While most Northwest Arkansas track and field participants turn their attention to the outdoor season this week, a pair of Bentonville athletes will get one more chance to compete indoors and in a much bigger spotlight.
Senior triple jumpers Brittani Reagan and DeMarcus Murphy will head to New York, where they will compete at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in the Armory Track and Field Center. Murphy is scheduled to compete at 9 a.m. Central time Sunday, while Reagan gets her turn at noon.
“It’s the big meet of the year for indoors,” Bentonville boys track coach Mike Power said. “They’re both seniors, and both made the qualifications for the national meet. Having two athletes qualify, I think they deserve this chance to compete with the best in the nation.”
The only other Bentonville performer to compete in this meet was pole vaulter Ethan Sandusky in 2010, when it was known as the Nike Indoor Nationals and held that year in Boston. Distance runner Will Aenchbacher, who was earlier named Arkansas’ cross country runner of the year by Gatorade, qualified for the meet but withdrew because of an injury.
Murphy finished second in both the triple jump and the long jump during last weekend’s state 5A-7A indoor meet in Fayetteville and helped Bentonville’s boys win their first state track title. He qualified for the New York meet with his leap of 45 feet, 7 inches during the Arkansas Track Coaches Association Invitational last month.
The trip gives him another shot at something he desires — the school record of 45-8 set by Mychael Stewart in 2004.
“I will be excited, competing with the upper levels — people from Texas, all across the nation,” Murphy said. “I have to go out there and represent Bentonville.
“Hopefully I PR and break that school record while I’m there, so when I come back here, I will feel like I accomplished something. I’ll just have to get used to the atmosphere, so I’ll sit there and feed off the crowd, then go out there and do my best.”
Reagan already has the school records in the triple jump (38-3.5) and the long jump (17-4.75) in her possession with her performances earlier this season. She finished fourth in both events during the state indoor meet last weekend.
Now she’ll try to improve on those marks in New York, as well as complete a personal goal.
“It’s been a goal of mine since my freshman year to get to this point,” Reagan said. “So I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I made the qualifying jump. I’m really excited about it, and I hope I can perform really well there.
“I just want to do what I know to do and not forget everything when I get there. I’ll just listen to my coaches and keep a positive attitude there.”