Junior Blackhawk Mikhaela Cochran capped her 2013-2014 school year by being named to the 2014 4A Track and Field All-State Team. Already an All-State athlete, Cochran received the same honor competing in 4A volleyball this past fall.
Cochran was easily the premier 4A track athlete in northwest Arkansas this year, taking high point honors in five championship track events including the district meet. The veteran athlete recorded the Lady Blackhawks' top mark in the high jump (5'1"), shot put (29'2"), discus (100'1"), long jump (15'3"), 100 hurdles (17.5) and 300 hurdles (53.0) and scored 51 points individually in the first home meet ever held in Pea Ridge.
When asked what her goals were prior to the start of the season, Cochran replied: "First, I wanted to qualify for the state meet and also improve all my marks in my events." She accomplished all her goals and then some.
This spring was the first year that the Blackhawks actually had a track to practice and compete on. As a part of the new football/track complex, Cochran felt the addition of the facilities was a big factor in the success of this year's team.
"You can't stress enough how important it was to the team to have a place to practice and have home meets," Cochran related, "it helped us be much better prepared than we have ever been before."
The biggest surprise to Cochran this season was the increased number of girls competing in track and the many championships the team won this past spring.
"There was a lot more enthusiasm for the sport this spring, and after our big start in our new stadium (Pea Ridge won their home opener by an astounding 149 points), we just kept getting better. Coach (Heather) Wade was a big reason for that as she really worked hard to get us better."
A track competitor since the second grade, Cochran ran with the elementary Track 'Hawks then was a part of the first group of seventh-grade girls to compete in junior high track in many years. Six years ago, Pea Ridge athletics didn't allow seventh graders the right to go out for track but that was changed Cochran's first year in junior high and she made an impact almost immediately.
An All-State performer in volleyball and track and field, Cochran is also one of the top runners for the cross country team and was the top player for the Lady Hawk basketball team this year. Cochran was 95 seconds way from All-State in cross country and she was voted a member of the Northwest Arkansas Dream Team for basketball.
Her goals for the future?
"I want to get better," Cochran said, "and I want our teams to do better."
With Cochran back in the fold as a senior, and the vast majority of the track team coming back as well, girls track looks to have their strongest team in perhaps the history of the school.
Sports on 06/11/2014