GIRLS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
LAUREN HOLMES, FAYETTEVILLE
Lauren Holmes wanted more than just to make a big contribution to a successful outdoor track and field season for Fayetteville.
Holmes wanted wins. And this year, she got them.
The Fayetteville junior stockpiled plenty of points as a sophomore as Fayetteville’s top all-around athlete at the Class 7A outdoor meet, But unlike the 2015 meet, where a big effort didn’t result in any individual or team victories, Holmes made sure to change that this time around.
With a win in the triple jump with a mark of 36 feet, 8 inches, a win in the 100 meter hurdles with a run of 15.18 seconds, and a second in the long jump at 18-1.5, Holmes again racked up big points at state. And those big points were a big difference as Fayetteville held off all competition and won the Class 7A girls state outdoor title.
“I was very pleased with myself,” Holmes said. “I had a couple of injuries this year but I just kept pushing through that and I was proud of myself and proud of the team for winning and getting through that.”
Holmes made a goal for herself after last year’s state meet to pick up individual titles in her own events. But helping Fayetteville claim its team championship was the biggest reward.
“Winning my own events and PR-ing was really good,” Holmes said. “But definitely winning as the whole team and winning the whole thing was the main thing. It was like a whole atmosphere for the entire team and it was great.”
-Vernon Tarver
GIRLS NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
TORI WILLIS, HAAS HALL-BENTONVILLE
Tori Willis couldn’t have found a better way to get herself and Haas Hall-Bentonville recognized during their first year of high school athletics.
The freshman put herself in the state track record books earlier this month when she shattered the Class 1A meet record in the girls’ 1,600-meter run in Harrison. Willis turned in a time of 5 minutes, 13.17 seconds and smashed the previous mark set in 1988 by Winslow’s Johanne Runyan, who had a handheld time of 5:26.6 (5:26.84 fully automated time equivalent).
“I like to be very humble about my races,” Willis said. “But even when I do that well, it pushes me even harder to do even better. It feels great when I go out and break records, but it makes me want to go and break them again.”
Willis just missed finishing in the state’s top five competitors in the 1,600, but that wasn’t the case in the 3,200. Her time of 11:23.05, done during the Joe Roberts Invitational in Springdale, was the state’s third-best time in that event this season.
She held her own throughout the season against older runners and against those in larger classifications. She finished second to senior Elizabeth Gillette of Trinity Christian in the 3,200 during the Class 1A state meet, and she finished third in both the 1,600 and the 3,200 during the Meet of Champs in Russellville.
-Henry Apple
GIRLS RUNNER OF THE YEAR
REBECCA BOUSHELLE, FAYETTEVILLE
Rebecca Boushelle had already shown a brief glimpse of what she could do against the state’s top distance runners when thrown into the competition as a freshman at last year’s Class 7A state meet.
Then came Boushelle’s breakout performances this season.
Boushelle, a sophomore at Fayetteville, finished fourth at state in the 800 meter run one year ago, but improved to third in the 800 this outdoor season. But it was the 1,600 where Boushelle made even more noise, winning the Class 7A title with a time of 5 minutes, 8.75 seconds.
“I would say this would be my first real year I have been with distance,” Boushelle said. “But I’ve been running since eighth grade. So I surprised myself this year.”
Not only did Boushelle play a big part in Fayetteville’s indoor and outdoor state team titles, she also went onto shine at the Meet of Champs where she posted individual wins in both the 800 and 1,600 meters.
“I hope next year I can maybe win both of them again and maybe get some better PRs,” Boushelle said. “And just continue to improve.”
-Vernon Tarver
ALL-NWADG TRACK AND FIELD
GIRLS
RUNNER OF THE YEAR
Rebecca Boushelle Fayetteville 5-8 Soph. Class 7A state champion and Meet of Champs winner in the 1,600, and won 800 at MOC.
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Lauren Holmes Fayetteville 5-9 Jr. Class 7A state champ in triple jump and 100-meter hurdles, state runner-up in the long jump.
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Tori Willis Haas Hall Bentonville 5-7 Fr. Broke the Class 1A state meet record in the 1,600, runner-up in the 3,200.