HOT SPRINGS -- Rogers High boys cross country coach Carlton Efurd knew his runners had that one race inside them where everything could fall in place at the same time.
It arrived Saturday afternoon as four runners finished in the top 10, and the Mounties captured the school's 19th state title during the Class 7A state meet at Oaklawn Park.
Arkansas High School Boys Cross Country Championships
Saturday at Oaklawn Park, Hot Springs
Class 7A
Team scores — 1. Rogers High 39; 2. Fayetteville 51; 3. Bentonville High 60; 4. Springdale Har-Ber 115; 5. Cabot 186.
Individual results — 1. Camren Fischer, Fayetteville, 15:40.8; 2. Jessie Ramirez, Rogers, 15:59.7; 3. Diego Contreras, Rogers, 16:07.6; 4. Johnathan Prince, Bentonville, 16:12.3; 5. Anton Michna, Fayetteville, 16:17.1; 6. John Carder, Bryant, 16:25.1; 7. Coleman Wilson, Bentonville, 16:31.3; 8. Eli Johnson, Little Rock Catholic, 16:38.2; 9. David Salinas, Rogers, 16:38.9; 10. Braden Sell, Rogers, 16:39.6.
Class 6A
Team scores — 1. Lake Hamilton 24; 2. Greenwood 80; 3. Siloam Springs 82; 4. Mountain Home 109; 5. Benton 142.
Individual results — 1. Colby Swecker, Lake Hamilton, 16:40.7; 2. Skylar Davis, Lake Hamilton, 17:01.9; 3. McKree Martin, Lake Hamilton, 17:10.3; 4. Tyler Braswell, Texarkana, 17:15.8; 5. David Byrd, Mountain Home, 17:22.6; 6. Nathaniel Gonzales, Greenwood, 17:27.8; 7. Joseph Wittig, Greenwood, 17:30.4; 8. Noah Smith, Lake Hamilton, 17:36.8; 9. Parker Wallis, Siloam Springs, 17:37.3; 10. Cody Weldon, Lake Hamilton, 17:47.6.
Class 5A
Team scores — 1. Maumelle 44; 2. Harrison 66; 3. Vilonia 110; 4. Little Rock Christian 115; 5. Magnolia 119.
Individual results — 1. Alex Zangara, Morrilton, 16:18.3; 2. Dylan Douglas, Maumelle, 16:22.1; 3. Seth Waters, Harrison, 16:22.1; 4. Zach Powers, Harrison, 16:37.9; 5. Jackson Fry, Maumelle, 17:04; 6. Ian Kelly, Greenbrier, 17:08.9; 7. JD Otts, Vilonia, 17:13.8; 8. Tanner Wesbrook, Clarksville, 17:20.8; 9. Patrick Daniel, Magnolia, 17:24.9; 10. Tate Whaley, Maumelle, 17:28.1.
Class 4A
Team scores — 1. Heber Springs 39; 2. Huntsville 66; 3. Pea Ridge 107; 4. Berryville 141; 5. Waldron 189.
Individual results — 1. Parker Ables, Heber Springs, 16:38.7; 2. Kendall Townsley, Cave City, 17:02.6; 3. Jesse Applewhite, Heber Springs, 17:09; 4. Dakota Fritts, Huntsville, 17:19.7; 5. Shaed Cates, Pea Ridge, 17:20.2; 6. Caleb Clair, Monticello, 17:29.6; 7. Trenton Barnes, Heber Springs, 17:30.2; 8. Marcus Rudick, Cave City, 17:35.6; 9. Josh Brant, Prairie Grove, 17:36.6; 10. Bryce Smith, Heber Springs, 17:38.1.
Class 3A
Team scores — 1. Green Forest 29; 2. Genoa Central 86; 3. Little Rock Episcopal 136; 4. Jessieville 140; 4. 5. Haas Hall (Fayetteville) 157.
Individual results — 1. Noah Eskew, Jessieville, 16:30.9; 2. Patrick Hunter, Green Forest, 17:02.4; 3. Rafael Rosales, Green Forest, 17:03.7; 4. Gabriel Ramos, Green Forest, 17:28.6; 5. Killen Jones, Haas Hall, 17:38; 6. Rhett Williamson, Green Forest, 17:46.6; 7. Jake Carter, Jessieville, 18:04.7; 8. Josh Hampton, Rose Bud, 18:10.8; 9. Jed Johnson, LR Episcopal, 18:12.1; 10. Ryan Whitehead, Genoa Central, 18:17.6.
Class 1A/2A
Team scores — 1. Ouachita 91; 2. Eureka Springs 125; 3. Sloan-Hendrix 138; 4. Quitman 170; 5. Greers Ferry West Side 181.
Individual results — 1. Trevor Falco, Salem, 16:51.9; 2. Bennett Pascoe, Conway Christian, 16:53.3; 3. Anthony Puerta, Salem, 17:26.8; 4. Garett Webb, Ouachita, 17:38.1; 5. Fischer Miller, Sloan-Hendrix, 17:56.2; 6. Adam Bruce, Trinity Christian, 18:02.3; 7. Kayden Eckman, Eureka Springs, 18:11.9; 8. Jordan Foster, Caddo Hills, 18:18.4; 9. Rhett Nelson, Trinity Christian, 18:27.3; 10. Jackson Smith, Ouachita, 18:27.5.
Rogers finished with 39 points while second-place Fayetteville had 51 -- a 19-point turnaround from the 7A-West Conference meet when Fayetteville won by a 35-42 margin. Bentonville High finished a close third with 60 points.
"Our guys ran their best race of the year, no doubt," Efurd said. "We ran a good race last week at the conference meet, but the difference was our third runner, David Salinas. He was our third guy in at this meet, and he was fifth at the conference meet. That was a big difference."
Salinas' time of 16 minutes, 38.9 seconds was good enough for a ninth-place finish Saturday. Jessie Ramirez broke the 16-minute barrier and finished second at 15:59.7, while Diego Contreras was third at 16:07.6 and Braden Sell was 10th at 16:39.6.
Meanwhile, Fayetteville sophomore Camren Fischer ran away from the pack early in the 5-kilometer race and captured the 7A boys individual title. His time of 15:40.8 was the best run on the Oaklawn Park course, but he had bigger things in his mind.
"The plan was I was going to take a shot at the state record of 15:14," Fischer said. "I knew I had to get out quick because most of the people here were going for places instead of time.
"I was somewhat content with it. I'm not going to say I was disappointed with a sub-16. It was a good race, but I could have done better. When I hit that mental wall, I could have pushed myself a little more."
In Saturday's other state championship races:
Class 6A
Lake Hamilton runners staged a one-two-three finish behind individual champion Colby Swecker and had its top five runners finish in the top 10 for a dominant performance.
Stecker's winning time was 16:40.7, while teammates Skylar Davis and McKree Martin took second and third, respectively.
The Wolves finished with 24 points, while Greenwood nipped Siloam Springs for runnerup status by an 80-82 margin. Greenwood was led by Nathaniel Gonzalez, who finished sixth at 17:27.8, while Parker Wallis led Siloam Springs with his ninth-place finish and a time of 17:37.3.
Class 5A
Harrison placed two runners in the top 10 and came away with a runnerup finish. The Goblins finished with 67 points, while Maumelle took the team title with 46 points.
Seth Waters led Harrison with a second-place finish as his time of 16:22 nipped Maumelle's Dylan Douglas by one-10th of a second. Morrilton's Alex Sangrana took the individual title at 16:18.3.
Class 4A
Heber Springs, behind individual champ Parker Ables, cruised to a state title as the Panthers placed four runners in the top 10.
The Panthers had 39 points while a trio of Northwest Arkansas schools took second through fourth. Huntsville had 66 points, followed by Pea Ridge at 107 and Berryville 141.
Huntsville's Dakota Fritts finished fourth in the individual results, edging Pea Ridge's Shaed Cates by one-half second.
Class 3A
Jessieville's Noah Eskew breezed past the competition to win his third consecutive individual championship, but Green Forest was a runaway winner with its third consecutive team title.
The Tigers had four runners finish in the top six and finished with 29 points, while Genoa Central was a distant second with 86. Haas Hall Academy claimed fifth place with 157.
Junior Patrick Hunter had to withstand a strong push from teammate Rafael Rosales to finish second to Eskew, whose winning time was 16:30.9. Hunter's time was 17:02.4, followed by Rosales at 17:03.7, while Gabriel Ramos took fourth at 17:28.6.
"The first mile was rough for me," Hunter said. "It felt like the fastest I've ever gone out, and Noah is a really good runner. I respect him and wish I could be in his place right now. He's put a lot of work into it.
"Rafael has really put in a lot of hard work. I'm really proud of everybody putting in their hard work this year."
Class 2A/1A
Eureka Springs compiled 125 points for a second-place finish as Ouachita won the title with 91 points. Kayden Eckman led Eureka Springs with a seventh-place finish and a time of 18:11.9.
Sports on 11/13/2016