Blackhawks claim Bobcat boys title; Grant, Vasquez take gold

Grant, Vasquez take gold

The Blackhawk boys cross country team claimed the Berryville Invitational by the scantest of margins with the Lady Hawks coming up just short of a championship in the same fashion.

Both individual titles were taken by Pea Ridge athletes with sophomore Tian Grant zipping over the 5K course in just 17:04 to win the boys' race and senior Liz Vasquez running past the competition to win the girls in 21:06.

The Blackhawk boys won a very tight race, by just a single point over Farmington with a score 28 to 29. Prairie Grove finished a distant third in 79 with host Berryville winning fourth with 110. The Hawks led by a point with one runner in, then led by 2 after two runners. Farmington came back to tie the Hawks after three runners, and then led the boys from the Ridge by 2 with one runner to go. The Hawks' fifth runner, junior Sebasttien Mullikin, outran his counterpart on the Farmington by 3 points, erasing the deficit and winning the title.

The boys placed four runners in the top 10 overall, with Tian Grant in first, junior Grandon Grant third (17:30), sophomore Troy Ferguson ninth (18:25) and senior Elijah Wiggins, 10th (18:54). The Hawks' fifth runner Mullikin just missed the Top 10 by taking 11th in 19:06.

It looked the girls had a great chance to win the title with Lady Hawks taking the first three individual places. Vasquez won, followed by sophomore RyLee Raines in second (21:46) and senior Kamree Dye finishing third (21:49). The Hawks led by 3 after one runner, 6 after two with a 10-point cushion after three. Harrison's deeper squad more than made up the deficit in the final two scores, enabling them to make off with the championship by a point, 36-37. Gravette was well back in third at 62 with Farmington in fourth with 79.

Sophomore Ava Pippen, 16th (23:24), and senior Allie King, 17th (23:53), were the other two scorers for Pea Ridge. Other finishers were: Kylee Tidwell, 20th (24:31); Isabella Cruz, 31st (28:00); and Ryleigh Gilbreath, 35th (31:39).

Other runners for the boys were: Jacob Stein, 12th (19:13); Owen Reynolds, 19th (20:18); Zachary Etzkorn, 20th (20:35); Hunter Singh, 26th (21:08); Garrett Jacobs, 27th (21:13); Nikolas Galbraith, 29th (21:20); Noah Pruitt, 31st (21:48); Isaac Cruz, 36th (22:24); Julen Eberle, 39th (23:07); Isaac Scates, 40th (24:03); Drake Satterwhite, 42nd (24:59); and Devin Terry, 43rd (24:50).

The Pea Ridge Junior Boys also had a good outing, claiming the runner-up trophy in their division. Led by Trey Bounds, who finished with the silver medal in the overall competition, the Hawks were second behind Farmington in the team race, 25-59. Host Berryville was third in 64, with Prairie Grove in fourth with 98.

Bounds covered the 2-mile course in 12:10 for second, leading four other Hawk runners into the Top 20.

Parker Tillman was 13th in 13:20; Cade Keith, 15th (13:24); Jackson Turner, 18th (13:46); and Colin Slocum, with all five scoring for the Hawks. Other runners include: Wyatt Dodson, 21st (13:59); Kaleb Taylor, 24th (14:21); Mason Butler, 25th (14:32); Evan Escajeda, 26th (14:36); Harper Geren, 28th (14:53); Liem Taylor, 38th (15:38); Cole Ingram, 40th (15:55); Jake Ryals, 41st (15:56); and Boston Powell, 42nd (16:02).

The junior girls matched the junior boys with a second place finish and they matched the senior girls by losing by just a single point, 44-45 to Farmington. The girls had a 5-point advantage with three runners in, but the lead vanished with the Cardinals gaining 6 points over the final two scoring runners to take the slim victory. Host Berryville was third with 75, then Harrison with 88 and Gravette with 97.

The girls look to be even stronger next season as their top three finishers were all eighth graders. Brenna Walker took the second place individual medal in the 2-mile event in 13:55. Bailey Walker was fourth in 14:08, and Kennedy Fox was seventh in 14:53. The other two scorers were Emily Scott, 13th (15:39); and Isabelle Etzkorn, 20th (16:11).

Other runners include: Ashlyn Henson, 21st (16:20); Wrynlee Nichols, 25th (17:04); Hailey Westlin, 27th (17:04); Zoey Hinosojosa, (17:18); Zoeyanne Timmons, 36th (18:01); Harley Ingram, 38th (18:06); Jennifer Burhus-Branham, 40th (18:13); Marlow Kelly, 41st 18:14); Lillie Franz, 51st, (21:06); and Arianna Key, 53rd (21:35).