SPRINGDALE -- Can Springdale Har-Ber break its third-place barrier?
That's the goal for the Wildcats, who've placed third in the 7A state cross country meet the past two seasons. Har-Ber was third last season behind 7A-West Conference members Rogers and Bentonville.
At A Glance
Springdale Har-Ber Cross Country Schedule
Date^Meet^Location
Sept. 6^Southlake (Texas) Carroll Invitational^Grapevine, Texas
Sept. 20^Panthers Classic^Siloam Springs
Sept. 27^Rim Rock Invitational^Lawrence, Kan.
Oct. 4^Chili Pepper Festival^Fayetteville
Oct. 18^Lake Hamilton Invitational^Hot Springs
Oct. 28^7A-West Conference Meet^Rogers
Nov. 8^7A State Championships^Hot Springs
Nov. 22^Nike Cross Nationals South^The Woodlands, Texas
"I'm very excited about the boys' team," Har-Ber coach Brett Unger said. "We've got a senior-heavy team with a lot of good runners. They've been training hard all summer and they're looking to take that next step."
The outlook is not as optimistic for the Lady Wildcats despite the return of Elise Reina, who won the championship in Class 7A as a sophomore. Har-Ber lost some top runners to graduation, including Abbey Foreman (Southern Arkansas) and Kaitlyn Collier (John Brown), who will continue their careers in college.
The Har-Ber boys are stacked with experienced runners in senior Tucker Skelton, Noah Antony, Chris Sandoval, Emanuel Gonzales, and Peyton Wood. Tucker finished 12th (16:45.1) at the state meet and Antony (16:52.3) finished 15th. Josh Uzelac and Kameron Camp will also challenge for the Wildcats this season.
"Those guys are pretty interchangeable and they really push each other," Unger said. "They're the best of friends and they root for each other. You never know which one is going to cross the final line first at each race."
Senior Megan Bradley is expected to lead the girls along with Reina, who is also a soccer standout for the Lady Wildcats. Har-Ber will be helped this season by Joe Crommett, who coached last year at Caddo Hills.
"Megan Bradley is one of our only seniors and I expect great things from Sheridan Ellis and Megan Dickard as well," Unger said. "We'll also rely pretty heavily on some young girls, the freshmen and sophomores."
Har-Ber will be tested early when the Wildcats open the season with a meet at South Lake (Texas) Carroll. South Lake is a regional power that has competed in the annual Chili Pepper Festival in Fayetteville.
The Wildcats usually open the season at a regional meet in St. Louis, but there was a conflict this year because of ACT testing for Har-Ber students that weekend.
"Our (school) district has done a good job in supporting us so we can go to bigger meets," Unger said. "The competition in these regionals meets, where teams come from Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas raises the bar for us. It's good for our kids to be a part of that competition and, ultimately, see what it takes to be great."
Sports on 08/17/2014