PEA RIDGE — Four Lady Blackhawks track athletes punched their tickets for the 4A state track and field championships as they claimed first place in the 4x800 relay in the 4A-1 district track meet last week.

The quartet - Kaylee Nivens, Miranda Patrick, Megan Harris and Kimberley Cribbs - clipped off the eight-lap relay race in a season best time of 11:33.21. They finished more than 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Gravette, with both teams qualifying for state competition. The top two finishers in every event may enter the state meet, which will be this Saturday at Heber Springs High School.

The Heber Springs location was a last minute site change because the original host, Pocahontas, has been declared a disaster area due to widespread flooding in northeast Arkansas.

Kimberly Cribbs was the meet standout for the Lady ’Hawks, as she piled up 23 points to spark her team to a sixth-place finish.

Cribbs captured second place in both the 800- and 3200-meter runs, with times of 2:45.51 and 15:47.4. The senior runner was the only athlete from Pea Ridge, boys or girls, to qualify individually for state. She rounded out her district performance with a fourth place run in the 1600 (6:53.8).

The Lady ’Hawks were in a close battle for third place with five other teams, finally taking the sixth spot with 58 points, just shy of fifth place Shiloh (51 points) and just ahead of seventh place Prairie Grove (52 points).

Gravette won the team title over second place Gentry. The teams were tied at 135-135 until the meet’s last event, the 4x400 relay. Gravette won the event andGentry took third to set the final margin of victory for the Lions at 145 to 141.

The boys track season ended with the district meet because no one advanced to state finals.

Freshman Logan Rose celebrated his first high school competition by leading the ’Hawks with a team-best fifth-place finish in the high jump (5-6). Two other athletes scored individually for the ’Hawks, both in the same event, the 3200-meter run.

Senior Colton Holtgrewe finished seventh in the race with a 12:07.16 time, while freshman Justin Stamps was close behind in eighth with a time of 12:15.24.

Athletes scoring individually for the Lady ’Hawks include:

◊Deborah Beard, sixth in the 100 (13.96);

◊Niven, third in the 800 (2:54.01);

◊Harris, third and fifth in the 3200- (16:16.9) and 1600- (7:03.75) meter runs.

Nivens was the best finisher for Pea Ridge in the 400 (9th, 1:14.51) with Felicia Walker leading the way for the ’Hawks in the 200 (10th, 30.78).

Besides the girls win in the 4x800 relay, they also scored in the other relays, taking fourth in the 4x100 (60.42) and sixth in the 4x400 (4:59.74). The 4x100 team was made up of Beard, Emily Sweaza, Patrick and Walker, with the 4x400 foursome composed of Beard, Nivens, Bailey Lessenberry and Sweaza.

Daniel Beard was the best finisher for Pea Ridge in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, finishing 18th (12.20) and 17th (25.35) respectively. Rose was the top Pea Ridge 400 runner, with a 12th place finish (1:02.92). Stamps led the ’Hawks in the 800 with a 12th place (2:28.33), with sophomore Seth Henry crossing the line first for the ’Hawks in the 1600 to finish 10th (5:52.86).

In the field events, Lloyd Kalberloh was an inch short of scoring and just a scant three inches from a fifth-place ribbon. He finished ninth in the long jump (18-1). Jase Sharp was the top shot putter for the ’Hawks, finishing 10th (33-9), while Rico Schneider took 13th in the discus throw (86-11).

All three boys’ relays scored with the 4x100 (48.21) and 4x800 (11:07.56), both earning sixth.

Beard, Scott Fisher, Dayton Winn and Jonah Torres were on the 4x100 team with Stamps, Rogers, Holliday and Henry carrying the stick for the 4x800. The 4x400 team finished seventh (4:12.09) and was made up of Dakota Coan, Norman, Rose and Roughton.

The final scores for the girls division were:

◊ Gravette 145

◊Gentry 141

◊Berryville 74

◊Ozark 69

◊Shiloh 61

◊Pea Ridge 58

◊Prairie Grove 52

◊Farmington 0 Final scores for the boys were:

◊Shiloh 179

◊Gravette 147

◊Gentry 125

◊Prairie Grove 74

◊Ozark 50

◊Farmington 46

◊Berryville 22

◊Pea Ridge 14

Sports, Pages 7 on 05/04/2011