Bulldogs, Lady Tigers repeat

FAYETTEVILLE — Whatever uncertainty existed before the Class 5A-6A-7A state indoor track and field meet began dissipated quickly once the competition began.

The Fayetteville boys and Bentonville girls successfully defended their large-school state titles Saturday at the Tyson Track Center. The Bulldogs scored 80 points, 30 ahead of runner-up Fort Smith Southside, while the Lady Tigers beat runner-up Cabot 95-75.

Wintry weather scrambled teams’ training schedules and canceled the Arkansas Track Coaches Classic in early February. That meet is where most top teams get a measure of each other and thus know what to expect at the indoor state meet.

Fayetteville Coach Drew Yoakum assumed his team would be good enough to contend for the team title but had no way to know for sure. Turns out he had little to worry about as senior Stephen Soerens paced the Bulldogs with individual victories in the triple jump and high jump and finished third in the long jump.

“I was uncomfortable going in without practicing,” Yoakum said. “We had some great performances. Going in, my goal was to compete. If we had a chance at the end, I thought we would have the advantage.”

The Bulldogs had 10 topfour finishes in individual and relay races to hold off Southside, which finished second to Fayetteville for the secondconsecutive year. The Rebels were led by Kameron Beeler, who won the 60- and 200-meter dashes, and Greg Phillips, who won the 60 hurdles.

The Rebels led Fayetteville by one point with four events left but two of those events were the high jump and triplejump, both won by Soerens. In the span of two events, Fayetteville went from a onepoint deficit to a 19-point lead and effectively ended the suspense.

There was even less suspense in the girls’ race. Bentonville had three victories and nine top-three finishes and was in control of the meet from the start.

Fayetteville junior Sydney Conley, the daughter of former Arkansas and Olympic star Mike Conley, was again the individual standout. She won three events: the 60 meter dash, long jump and triple jump. She set state records in the 60 (7.63 seconds) and long jump (19 feet) and finished third in the high jump.

Conley’s efforts helped the Lady Bulldogs finish third with 74 1/3 points. Bentonville was too much with performers such as Brittani Reagan (second in long jump and triple jump) and Kelsey Wheelhouse (second in 1,600 and third in 800).

Wheelhouse ran a leg on the winning 3,200 relay team and Reagan was on the 1,600 relay team that won, and Madison Morton won the 400 individual.

“Going into it, there were a lot of teams capable of winning it,” Bentonville Coach Randy Ramaker said. “It wasn’t an easy win. We had some great performances from a bunch of kids. It’s unbelievable because we’re not even in shape.”