Shiohira, Tigers Claim 7A Boys Supremacy

Dino Andrade, from Springdale Har-Ber heads down the final stretch Saturday during the Class 7A State Boys Cross Country Championships at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs.
Dino Andrade, from Springdale Har-Ber heads down the final stretch Saturday during the Class 7A State Boys Cross Country Championships at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs.

— Jacob Shiohira was not in the mood to play games Saturday morning.

The Bentonville sophomore set an early pace and dared anybody to catch him during the Class 7A State Boys Cross Country Championship. Nobody came close as Shiohira bolted to an easy victory at Oaklawn Park.

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“Jacob took command early,” said Randy Ramaker, Bentonville coach. “We just tell him that if he’s feeling good, go for it. He went out and ran strong the whole way.”

Shiohira grabbed the lead and continued to pull away, particularly during the middle part of the race when he had 200-300 yards cushion between him and his nearest competitor. He finished the 5-kilometer race in 15 minutes, 37.8 seconds, more than 22 seconds faster than Rogers High’s Austin Salazar.

AT A GLANCE

Class 7A State Cross Country Championships

Saturday at Oaklawn Park, Hot Springs

Team results

  1. Bentonville, 34; 2. Rogers High, 48; 3. Springdale Har-Ber, 78; 4. Little Rock Catholic, 90; 5. Rogers Heritage, 169; 6. Fayetteville, 189; 7. Bryant, 214; 8. Springdale High, 221; 9. Cabot, 264; 10. Van Buren, 296; 11. Conway, 302; 12. Fort Smith Southside, 322; 13. North Little Rock, 354; 14. Little Rock Central, 458.

Individual results

  1. Jacob Shiohira, Bentonville, 15:37.8; 2. Austin Salazar, Rogers, 16:00.3; 3. Alex Battaglia, Bentonville, 16:08.7; 4. Austin Hunt, Bentonville, 16:12.5; 5. Taylor Bryant, Rogers, 16:14.9; 6. Brendan Taylor, LR Catholic, 16:18.6; 7. Hector Ramos, Bentonville, 16:20.6; 8. Dino Andrade, Har-Ber, 16:24.5; 9. Colin O’Mara, LR Catholic, 16:24.8; 10. Dallin Fawcett, Har-Ber, 16:26.6.

  2. Scott Foltz, Cabot, 16:28.1; 12. Ian Smith, Rogers, 16:31.0; 13. Andrew Simpson, Rogers, 16:32.7; 14. Tucker Skelton, Har-Ber, 16:37.2; 15. Tim Glover, FS Southside; 16. Paul Torres, Rogers, 16:44.9; 17. Jesse Garcia, Rogers, 16:49.6; 18. Noah Findlay, LR Catholic, 16:50.4; 19. Ryan Dalton, Bentonville, 16:57.6; 20. Peyton Wood, Har-Ber, 17:02.4.

His time was seven seconds slower than he ran earlier this season at the Chile Pepper Invitational, but it was more than enough to beat the rest of the 124-man field.

“I can’t believe it looked like that,” Shiohira said. “It felt the exact opposite inside. Every half-mile, I would try to pick things up a notch. I just wanted to get the shenanigans out of the way — who was going out quick and who wasn’t.

“I wanted to establish myself through the first mile, and I paid for it in the end. I was wearing out, and that wind was tough running into it. But it was a good way to come out and end the season — to win as a team and win as an individual.”

He also helped Bentonville’s boys take their fourth consecutive state title. The Tigers placed four runners in the top seven and finished with 34 points, followed by runnerup Rogers High with 48 points and Springdale Har-Ber with 78 points.

Little Rock Catholic, which was expected to be a serious contender, dropped to fourth with 90, while Rogers Heritage rounded out the top five with 169.

Alex Battaglia (16:08.7) and Austin Hunt (16:12.5) helped Bentonville’s cause with a three-four finish, respectively, while teammate Hector Ramos (16:20.6) took seventh. Ryan Dalton closed out the scoring with his 19th-place finish.

“Battaglia and Hunt stuck it up there and ran real well today,” Ramaker said. “Hector ran well, then Ryan was a different No. 5 runner than we had all year long. He made a difference, and I’m ecstatic about it.

“It’s hard to win anything once, and winning it four times in a row is pretty hard. So we’re thrilled. It hasn’t been an easy season, but the boys have worked hard and deserve everything they get.”

Taylor Bryant took fifth and gave Rogers its second top-10 finisher. Har-Ber also had two finish in the top 10 with Dino Andrade and Dallin Fawcett running eighth and 10th, respectively.

In an earlier race, Siloam Springs took fourth in the Class 6A race with 85 points. Mountain Home, with its top four runners finishing third through sixth, took the state title with 50, followed by Lake Hamilton with 60 and Russellville with 72.

The Panthers were led by Will Scarbrough, who finished 10th in a time of 17:10.2. Lake Hamilton’s Grant Williams won the individual title in 16:03.9.

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