PEA RIDGE — Pea Ridge girls’ track coach Charley Clark knew all season that he was going to move freshman Emma Pitts up to the varsity squad for the 4A-1 District Meet.
Pitts is a talented athlete, but Clark knew that moving the freshman up to the biggest meet of the year at that point in the season was a move full of question marks.
“I knew Emma had done well at the junior high meets, but you never know what you are going to get from a ninth grader running at a senior high meet,” Clark said. “She was very nervous.”
But those nerves didn’t effect Pitts’ performance.
Pitts competed in six events at the district meet and she qualified for the Class 4A State Meet in the 200 meters with a second-place finish in 28.76 seconds.
Pitts also picked up valuable points in the Lady Blackhawks’ second-place finish by finishing fifth in the 300-meter hurdles (57:31) and seventh in the 100-meter dash (13.94). Pitts was also on the second-place 4x100 relay team and competed in the shot put and the triple jump.
That one-day effort is why Pitts is the All-NWA Media Newcomer of the Year.
“We told a group of four or five of them, including Emma, that they would be with the high school team,” Clark said.
“Emma performed well and she has a lot of potential. She can do a whole lot.”
Pitts said she felt comfortable at the district meet.
“It wasn’t all that much different because there were still a lot of good athletes at the junior high meets,” Pitts said.
Pitts said she was a bit surprised to run a qualifying time in the 200. Pitts then ran a 28.12 to finish seventh at the state meet.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Pitts said. “There were only four girls in my heat, and I beat all of them. But there were two other heats after me, and I thought they were going to be a lot faster.”
They were not, as only Berryville’s Hannah Noble’s time of 28.19 was better.
“Emma’s time was really good and her time held up,” Clark said. “It was the same story at the state meet.”
Pitts has only been running track for two years and said she intends to work hard in the offseason.
“There was a lot of good competition at the state meet, it was scary,” Pitts said. “I knew I couldn’t be nervous when I was running. I just wanted to get to the finish line. Next year, I think I will be more prepared, but I will have to train harder.
“I need more speed,” Pitts said. “There will be a lot of work ahead.”
Sports, Pages 8 on 07/04/2012