Cassidy Mooneyhan's 12-feet 6-inches jump at the National Guard Relays in Fayetteville Friday tied her with senior Edie Murray of Lake Hamilton to pace all high school women vaulters in the state. Only five vaulters have cleared 11'0" this season among all six classes.
After I got hold of a more updated All-Time Vaulters list, I discovered Mooneyhan has the 13th best all-time jump in state history including all classifications. She is an inch and a half from ninth place (12'7.5") and a foot off Murray's best jump of 13'6" last season which is third all time. The top two vaulters of all time are twins Lexi and Tori Weeks of Cabot, who went on to Razorback fame helping the University of Arkansas win their first NCAA team titles. They jumped 14'7" and 14'4", respectively.
It is interesting that she is neck and neck with a Lake Hamilton athlete, the same school that had a vaulter that battled her father for boys' vaulting supremacy more than 30 years ago.
In 1988, at that point Walter Mooneyhan and Morry Sanders were by far the top two vaulters Arkansas had ever had in high school boys rankings. While Mooneyhan won a state and a Meet of Champs title and eventually soared to 16'4" as a high school vaulter, Sanders went a bit higher with a 16'8" mark that season.
Sanders coaches Murray, the top large school girls vaulter in the state and he also runs a vaulting camp which has produced a good chunk of the top vaulters in the state's history.
Cassidy's dad is currently ranked 12th all time, with Andrew Irwin of Mt. Ida (a Sanders protege) holding the top all-time mark of 17'9". Interestingly, Cassidy's 12'6" jump indoors erased Stephanie Irwin's (the sister of Andrew) old indoor state record of 11'6". The current 4A outdoor record is 11'6" set by Stacy Yahn of Mena in 2006.
Girls, boys favored
to win the 4A-1
at home Monday
The 4A-1 District Track Championships will be run at Blackhawk Stadium Monday and the host 'Hawks are favored to win it all.
The Lady 'Hawks are hoping to win their fifth district title in the past six years with a projected 70-point edge over the next best team in the Gravette Lady Lions. They have the best mark in most of the events (9).
Not only do the Lady 'Hawks have some of the best athletes in the state, they have a good deal of depth which is essential for a viable track program. In addition, they will likely score well in all events save the shot put, a team balance that will be hard to beat.
The boys are favored to win their second crown in a row, and are decided favorites over second-rated Farmington. The 'Hawks project out to having a 30-point advantage on the Cardinals but track points can be lost or made up quickly so Pea Ridge will need to bring their "A" game to the field Monday.
Lady 'Hawks raise
track power ranking
Heather Wade's Lady Blackhawk track team boosted their power ranking this week by more than 30 points this week, with second ranked Magnolia boosting their ranking by more than 20. Both schools opened a bigger gap on the third-ranked team Camden.
Pea Ridge leads Magnolia 145-113 with third-ranked Camden barely ahead of fourth place Crossett 56-55. The rest of the 4A field trails nearly 100 points behind the leader.
Blakelee Winn's big day in Fayetteville Friday gives her the state lead in four individual events, the 100-meter (12.71), 200 (26.03), 400-meter (1:02.44) and the 100 hurdles (16.30). In addition, she is a part of the 4x100-meter (50.82) and the 4x400-meter relays (4:20.50) which lead the state in those two categories.
Cassidy Mooneyhan is ranked far ahead of the field in the pole vault, having jumped 3 feet higher than any other girl in the state and a foot over the current state record (which has to be set at the state meet). Her time in the 100-meter last week (12.83) now ranks her fourth in the state, and she is also ranked sixth in the 200-meter (27.25). Like Winn, she is also a part of the two top state-ranked sprint relays.
A big part of the 'Hawks' improving power rankings has been due to distance runner Harmony Reynolds work in the 800-meter, 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter. She went from unranked to third in the 800-meter (2:37), from third in the 1,600-meter to second (5:40.38), and from sixth to fourth in the 3,200-meter (12.40.60). She is also a part of the second-ranked 4x800-meter relay team
Monday will be the last time the defending state 4A champion girls team will be within short driving distance of watching with the 4A-1 District Track Championships being held at Pea Ridge for the first time ever. The state meet will be held at Batesville High School on April 30 with the subsequent Meet of Champions set for the following week.
All those athletes who have met automatic qualifying times, along with those who finish in the Top 3 per event in Monday's events will be headed for state. Individually, Winn, Mooneyhan, Reynolds, Shelby Duncan and Kynley Burton are pre-qualified with all three Lady 'Hawk relay teams also earning an automatic berth.
With some talented freshman being available for next week's district competition, the ladies are looking to be taking a bus load to Batesville.
Track boys increase
qualifiers, rank 4th
Asa Poteete's Track 'Hawks have emerged as one of the top four teams expected to battle for a state championship at the end of April.
Traditional track power DeQueen is at the top of the power rankings with 90, followed by Magnolia with 78, Forrest City with 78 and Pea Ridge with 64. Power rankings are the sum total of Arkansas sanctioned high school meets with the results cross compared to come up with an outcome prediction should everyone perform like they have in previous meets.
Of course, that won't happen as some athletes bloom later than others and provide surprises in big meets. Other athletes may have off days or suffer injuries to hamper their efforts. Even more influential are those athletes who have big meet mentalities.
In 1971, when I was running lead off for Monett's 4x400-meter team at state, we were ranked seventh in the meet coming off a 3:29.8 time in district. Our coach was quite a motivator, as we ran 3:26.2 and finished second, just barely behind the state winner of 3:25.9.
When I was working as a track and field official for legendary Arkansas track John McDonnell, I had the honor to work the SEC meet in Fayetteville, the last one in the venerated coache's tenure. The Razorbacks were expected to be in a tooth-and-nail battle with Tennessee for the championship.
Tennessee was expected to do well in the 200-meter, but they surpassed that taking first, second and fifth to take a big lead with only the 5,000-meter and 4x400-meter relay left. The Hogs were expected to do well in the 5,000-meter but not well enough to offset the big lead that the Volunteers had built. Confident of victory, Tennessee's track team started circling the track en mass before the 5,000-meter, shouting "We are No. 1!" using their index finger to signal their belief that the meet was over and that they had it won.
This demonstration was shown on the big video board with McDonnell reacting by calling his 5,000-meter meter runners over for a meeting before the race. Pointing up to the board, I could see but not hear what McDonnell told his runners, but it must have been good. Every Razorback in the race set a personal record with the Hogs grabbing enough points to overcome Tennessee's lead and win the meet.
Rankings and polls are great tools to give fans an idea of how the state meet might go, but rankings won't add an inch to a jump and knock a tenth of a second off a race time.
Pea Ridge is favored to take another girls' crown, with the boys dark horses to win their own title. It will take preparation, effort and grit to rule the day for either team, but those are characteristics the athletes from the Ridge have been showing all season.
4A Girls individual
State rankings
100-meter Dash, State Qualifying Mark^12.75
1. Blakelee Winn, Pea Ridge^12.71
4. Cassidy Mooneyhan, Pea Ridge^12.83
200-meter Dash, State Qualifying Mark^26.45
1. Blakelee Winn, Pea Ridge^26.03
6. Cassidy Mooneyhan, Pea Ridge^27.25
400-meter Dash, State Qualifying Mark^62.42
1. Blakelee Winn, Pea Ridge^1:02.44
800-meter Run, State Qualifying Mark
1. Ashley Dykes, DeQueen^2:24.77
3. Harmony Reynolds, Pea Ridge^2:37.01
1,600-meter Run, State Qualifying Mark^5:44.27
1. Bekah Bostian, Prairie Grove^5:36.17
2. Harmony Reynolds, Pea Ridge^5:40.38
3,200-meter Run, State Qualifying Mark^12:48.64
1. Bekah Bostian, Prairie Grove^12:17.19
4. Harmony Reynolds, Pea Ridge^12.40.60
100-meter Hurdles, State Qualifying Mark^16.4
1. Blakelee Winn, Pea Ridge^16.30
4. Shelby Dunlap, Pea Ridge^16.77
300-meter Hurdles, State Qualifying Mark^49.22
1. Tai'Sheka Porchia, Camden^48.00
2. Blakelee Winn, Pea Ridge^48.24
5. Shelby Dunlap, Pea Ridge^48.83
4x100-meter Relay, State Qualifying Mark^51.69
1. Pea Ridge High School^50.82
4x400-meter Relay, State Qualifying Mark^4:21.90
1. Pea Ridge High School^4:20.50
4x800-meter Relay, State Qualifying Mark^10:49.87
1. DeQueen High School^10:28.93
2. Pea Ridge High School^10:48.96
Discus, State Qualifying Mark^101'7"
1. Stajah Hayes, Magnolia^117'10"
6. Meredith Mitchell, Pea Ridge^100'4"
High Jump, State Qualifying Mark^5'1"
1. Jaylynn Hampton, Crossett^5'3"
2. Kynley Burton Pea Ridge^5'2"
Long Jump, State Qualifying Mark^17'0"
1. Shuntia Hunter, Magnolia^17'1"
2. Blakelee Winn, Pea Ridge^16'11"
7. Jamison Toms, Pea Ridge^15'11"
Triple Jump, State Qualifying Mark^34'5"
1. Tai-Sheka Porchia, Camden^36'7"
7. Shelby Dunlap, Pea Ridge^34'5"
Pole Vault, State Qualifying Mark^8'9"
1. Cassidy Mooneyhan, Pea Ridge^12'6"
4A Boys individual
state rankings
100-meter Dash, State Qualifying Mark^11.26
1. Muldrow Nikorean, Hope^10.84
4. Connor Escajeda, Pea Ridge^11.06
200-meter Dash, State Qualifying Mark^22.96
1. Muldrow Nikorean, Hope^22.03
4. Connor Escajeda, Pea Ridge^22.72
400-meter Dash, State Qualifying Mark^51.26
1. Connor Escajeda, Pea Ridge^50.48
5. Shaed Cates, Pea Ridge^53.00
8. Josiah Small, Pea Ridge^53.62
800-meter Run, State Qualifying Mark^2:06.93
1. Hector Hernandez, DeQueen^1:58.67
3. Shaed Cates, Pea Ridge^2:05.30
110-meter Hurdles, State Qualifying Mark^16.02
1. Kavion Summerville, Forrest City^14.90
5. Justin Koon, Pea Ridge^15.81
300-meter Hurdles, State Qualifying Mark^41.86
1. Jordan White, Nashville^40.57
4. Justin Koon, Pea Ridge^42.36
4x100-meter Relay, State Qualifying Mark^44.05
1. Magnolia^43.22
4x400-meter Relay, State Qualifying Mark^3:34.98
1. Pea Ridge High School^3:33.69
4x800-meter Relay, State Qualifying Mark^8:46.25
1. DeQueen^8:31.92
2. Pea Ridge High School^8:42.18
Pole Vault, State Qualifying Mark^12'10"
1. Kalob Carpenter, Nashville^14'6"
4. Zach Woods, Pea Ridge^13'0"
4A State team rankings
Girls Top 25
April 14, 2019
Team rankings in sports like track and field are figured out by combining all the track meet results to score a fictional state result. Teams not sending in the required data may scew the tabulations. Polls like these are only a general evaluation as athletes who make late season improvements, injured athletes, and disqualification at district/state meets could render the polls inaccurate.
1. Pea Ridge^145
2. Magnolia^113
3. Camden^56
4. Crossett^55
5. Harrison^43
6. Robinson^42
7. Valley View^41
8. Batesville^39
9. DeQueen^33
10. Prairie Grove^27
11. Gravette^25
12. Farmington^18
13. Forrest City^16
14. Pocahontas^17
15. Nashville^12
16. Morillton^9
17. Brookland 9
18. Huntsville^8
19. Ozark^8
20. Heber Springs^7
21. Berryville^5
22. Mills^5
23. Hamburg^5
24. Wynne^5
25. Dardanelle^4
4A State team rankings
Boys Top 25
April 14, 2019
1. DeQueen^90
2. Magnolia^78
3. Forrest City^75
4. Pea Ridge^61
5. Hope^45
6. Crossett^43
7. Huntsville^36
8. Nashville^32
9. Gravette^25
10. Stuttgart^24
11. Ozark^16
12. Mills^17
13. Gentry^13
14. Wynne^11
15. Harrison^10
16. Mena^9
17. Heber Springs^8
18. Valley View^8
19. Morillton^6
20. Farmington^6
21. Batesville^6
22. Blytheville^6
23. Highland^5
24. Clarksville^5
25. Dardanelle^4
•••
Editor's note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 04/17/2019