Track: Pole vaulters rewrite conference meet records

Har-Ber boys, Bentonville girls take 7A-West track titles

Zach McWhorter of Springdale Har-Ber celebrates Thursday after clearing 17 feet in the pole vault during the Class 7A West Outdoor Track and Field Meet at the Fayetteville track and field complex.
Zach McWhorter of Springdale Har-Ber celebrates Thursday after clearing 17 feet in the pole vault during the Class 7A West Outdoor Track and Field Meet at the Fayetteville track and field complex.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Zach McWhorter didn't receive any time to celebrate his latest feat.

The Springdale Har-Ber senior barely had time to catch his breath from competing in the pole vault when he had to race over and compete in the long jump. Minutes later, he was back on the track for the boys' 110-meter hurdles finals.

"It was crazy," McWhorter said. "I knew everybody was waiting for me on (long jump) finals, and my coach asked me if I would come over and do a long jump before my next jump because they were struggling with the bar and it was falling.

"I told him I had to focus on this one, and that I was sorry. This is my main event, and I've had some struggles in pole vaulting. It's been a rough season, but I'm happy I finally had a good day."

McWhorter rewrote his 7A-West Conference meet record in the boys pole vault when he cleared 17 feet during Thursday's event at Ramay Junior High, breaking the 16-7 he cleared last year. He then tried to clear 17-3.5 -- a height that would rank him second in the nation -- but missed all three tries.

All this happened while he nursed a sore ankle, the result of a sprain he suffered during the McDonalds Relays last week at Fort Smith. His status was uncertain for the meet, but some heavy therapy sessions allowed him to compete.

"I didn't have anything going on before the pole vault," McWhorter said. "We also had nice weather, and it was ironic I was able to clear it. I guess sometimes injuries help you out."

McWhorter's feat was just part of a good day for Har-Ber's boys, which scored 167 points and captured the conference title while Bentonville High was a close second with 152. The Wildcats enjoyed a double victory from Peyton Copher in the 100 (11.02 seconds) and 200 meters (22.80) and wins from Tevin Eckwood in the 400 (48.94), the 4x100 relay team of Felipe Nava, Eckwood, Ty Copher and Payton Copher (43.03) and the 4x400 relay team of Caleb Edwards, Jadon Bartholomew, Ethan Carney and Eckwood (3:25.59).

While McWhorter enjoyed breaking a pole vault record for a second time, Bentonville's Isabel Neal did one even better. The senior broke the girls pole vault record for the third time in four years when she cleared 12-4, erasing her 12-0 performance from a year ago.

7A-West Conference Track and Field Championships

at Ramay Junior High, Fayetteville

Thursday’s results

Boys

Team scores — 1. Springdale Har-Ber 167; 2. Bentonville 152; 3. Fayetteville 113; 4. Rogers 81.5; 5. Bentonville West 56; 6. Rogers Heritage 50; 7. Van Buren 24.5; 8. Springdale High 18.

100 — 1. Payton Copher, Har-Ber, 11.02; 2. Jadon Jackson, West, 11.11; 3. Caleb Christensen, Van Buren, 11.22; 4. Ty Graser, Heritage, 11.35; 5. Jadyn Loudermilk, Bentonville, 11.45; 6. Devin Dougherty, Bentonville, 11.53; 7. Luke Waller, Fayetteville, 11.55; 8. Austin Compton, Fayetteville, 11.64.

200 — 1. Payton Copher, Har-Ber, 22.80; 2. Tevin Eckwood, Har-Ber, 23.19; 3. Devin Dougherty, Bentonville, 23.25; 4. Ty Graser, Heritage, 23.57; 5. Patrick Bell, Bentonville, 23.64; 6. Caleb Edwards, Har-Ber, 23.68; 7. Kris Mulinga, Fayetteville, 24.84.

400 — 1. Tevin Eckwood, Har-Ber, 48.94; 2. James Milholen, West, 50.19; 3. Caleb Edwards, Har-Ber, 50.52; 4. Trey Coulter, Fayetteville, 50.68; 5. Zerai Belai, Bentonville, 50.92; 6. Patrick Bell, Bentonville, 50.99; 7. Felipe Nava, Har-Ber, 51.06; 8. Orr, Jason Springdale, 51.41

800 — 1. Jessie Ramirez, Rogers, 1:59.41; 2. Ethan Carney, Har-Ber, 2:01.39; 3. Diego Contreras, Rogers, 2:03.10; 4. James Jimenez, Springdale, 2:03.64; 5. Brett Borchert, Har-Ber, 2:03.74; 6. Andrew Trowbridge, Bentonville, 2:03.95; 7. Jordan Bennett, Bentonville, 2:04.25; 8. Sam Pisciotta, Bentonville, 2:04.36.

1,600 — 1. Camren Fischer, Fayetteville, 4:18.52; 2. Jessie Ramirez, Rogers, 4:26.71; 3. Diego Contreras, Rogers, 4:27.67; 4. Anton Michna, Fayetteville, 4:30.84; 5. Juan Gomez, Har-Ber, 4:32.14; 6. Daniel Graham, Bentonville, 4:33.45; 7. Braden Sell, Rogers, 4:33.95; 8. Carter Quandt, Bentonville, 4:39.89.

3,200 — 1. Coleman Wilson, Bentonville, 10:02.24; 2. Johnathan Prince, Bentonville, 10:02.84; 3. Lukas Pabst, Bentonville, 10:04.73; 4. Carter Betts, Fayetteville, 10:05.47; 5. Ben Farrell, Fayetteville, 10:05.67; 6. Colton Simmons, Bentonville, 10:05.86; 7. Nicholas Lachance, West, 10:06.28; 8. Andrew Bender, Rogers 10:08.36

110 hurdles — 1. Austin Compton, Fayetteville, 15.22; 2. Liam Alderson, Heritage, 15.44; 3. Clay Workman, Rogers, 15.62; 4. Adrian Broadus, Bentonville, 15.87; 5. Zach McWhorter, Har-Ber, 16.07; 6. Stefan Banda, West, 16.07; 7. Matt Carter, Fayetteville, 16.27; 8. Bryton Cook, Har-Ber, 36.63.

300 hurdles — 1. Austin Compton, Fayetteville, 39.54; 2. Adrian Broadus, Bentonville, 41.50; 3. Matt Carter, Fayetteville, 41.50; 4. Nathan Hall, Bentonville, 41.80; 5. Liam Alderson, Heritage, 41.89; 6. Donte Jones, Bentonville, 41.97; 7. DuVuiry Robinson, Rogers, 42.45; 8. Ty West, Fayetteville, 42.52.

4x100 relay — 1. Har-Ber (Felipe Nava, Tevin Eckwood, Ty Copher, Payton Copher), 43.03; 2. West, 43.98; 3. Fayetteville, 44.07; 4. Heritage, 44.20; 5. Van Buren, 44.41; 6. Bentonville, 44.66; 7. Rogers, 44.96; 8. Springdale, 45.04.

4x400 relay — 1. Har-Ber (Caleb Edwards, Jadon Bartholomew, Ethan Carney, Tevin Eckwood), 3:25.59; 2. Bentonville, 3:26.03; 3. Springdale, 3:33.07; 4. Fayetteville, 3:33.21; 5. West, 3:35.10; 6. Heritage, 3:35.78; 7. Rogers, 3:38.78; 8. Van Buren, 3:43.45.

4x800 relay — 1. Bentonville (Zerai Belai, Jordan Bennett, Josh Dick, Kimball Owen), 8:09.92; 2. Fayetteville, 8:12.69; 3. Rogers, 8:15.26; 4. Har-Ber, 8:21.80; 5. West 8:22.45; 6. Heritage, 8:23.06; 7. Springdale, 8:30.11; 8. Van Buren 9:02.36

Discus — 1. Bryant Parlin, Bentonville, 160-10; 2. Johnny Rodriguez, Har-Ber, 154-3; 3. Garrett Standifird, Van Buren, 141-1; 4. Blake Wade, Har-Ber, 136-10; 5. Elijah Ansley, Har-Ber, 136-5; 6. Brennan Fincher, Heritage, 133-8; 7. Hayden Wiatrek, Bentonville, 132-7; 8. Ben Young, Fayetteville, 128-3.

High jump — 1. Jake Benninghoff, Rogers, 6-10; 2. Seth Stanley, Heritage, 6-2; 3. Zane King, Har-Ber, 6-0; 4. Evan Solmon, Fayetteville, 5-10; 5. (tie) DuVuiry Robinson, Rogers, and Emmanuel Smith, Har-Ber, 5-8; 7. Noah Fitzgerald, Heritage, 5-8; 8. Landon McClung, Rogers, 5-8.

Long jump — 1. Jake Benninghoff, Rogers, 21-10.00; 2. Stefan Banda, West, 20-07.75; 3. Adrian Broadus, Bentonville, 20-6; 4. Caleb Christensen, Van Buren, 20-4; 5. Noah Fitzgerald, Heritage, 20-4; 6. Emmanuel Smith, Har-Ber, 20-3; 7. Landon McClung, Rogers, 20-1.5; 8. Manning Wilson, Fayetteville, 19-10.

Pole vault — 1. Zach McWhorter, Har-Ber 17-0 (meet record; previous mark 16-7 by Zach McWhorter, Har-Ber, 2016); 2. Ryan Roark, Fayetteville, 13-0; 3. Ethan Hoffman, Bentonville, 12-6; 4. (tie) Nicco Bersi, Har-Ber, and Jacob Spurlock, Bentonville, 12-0; 6. Triston Miller, Springdale, 12-0; 7. (tie) Dylan Lawrence, Van Buren, and JJ Ervin, Bentonville, 11-6.

Shot put — 1. Akial Byers, Fayetteville, 50-8; 2. Bryant Parlin, Bentonville, 49-4.5; 3. Alejandro Ramirez, Har-Ber, 47-6; 4. Ty Clary, Fayetteville, 47-5.75; 5. Blake Wade, Har-Ber, 46-3.5; 6. Toney, Michael Bentonville West 46-3; 7. Johnny Rodriguez, Har-Ber, 44-6.5; 8. Brendan Wrona, Bentonville, 44-4.75.

Triple jump — 1. Adrian Broadus, Bentonville, 46-4.50 (meet record; previous mark 45-11.25 by Micah Washington, FS Southside, 2008); 2. Stefan Banda, West, 44-1; 3. Emmanuel Smith, Har-Ber, 42-7.75; 4. Darrius Hayward, Har-Ber, 42-7.5; 5. Clay Workman, Rogers, 42-6.25; 6. Trace Martin, Har-Ber, 42-4.75; 7. Grayson Gupton, Har-Ber, 42-1.75; 8. Harrison Hurley, Fayetteville, 41-1.5.

Girls

Team scores — 1. Bentonville High 209; 2. Rogers 147; 3. Springdale Har-Ber 95.5; 4. Fayetteville 94; 5. Bentonville West 62.5; 6. Rogers Heritage 21; 7. Springdale High 18; 8. Van Buren 15.

100 — 1. Hannah Lueders, Rogers, 12.47; 2. Khanni Shannon, Har-Ber, 12.75; 3. Grace Posey, West, 12.75; 4. Jazmyn Chenault, Fayetteville, 12.83; 5. Lauren Holmes, Fayetteville, 12.87; 6. Tayonna Wilson, Heritage, 12.91; 7. Raeghan Smithpeters, Har-Ber, 12.93; 8. Carter, Samantha Bentonville, 13.19

200 — 1. Hannah Lueders, Rogers, 25.78; 2. Raeghan Smithpeters, Har-Ber, 26.01; 3. Khanni Shannon, Har-Ber, 26.46; 4. Grace Posey, West, 26.63; 5. Wilson, Tayonna Heritage, 27.06; 6. Ashlyne Silcott, Rogers, 27.13; 7. Jazmyn Chenault, Fayetteville, 27.18; 8. Sydney Suggs, Bentonville, 27.57

400 — 1. Raeghan Smithpeters, Har-Ber, 59.28; 2. Grace Risenhoover, Rogers, 59.36; 3. Annabel Weber, Har-Ber, 1:00.49; 4. Baylee Barganier, Bentonville, 1:00.56; 5. Katy Kotoucek, Bentonville, 1:00.63; 6. Caroline Bouwhuis, Bentonville, 1:00.84; 7. Alexa Wright, Rogers, 1:01.09; 8. De’Sire Perez, Har-Ber, 1:01.14.

800 — 1. Lainey Quandt, Bentonville, 2:17.44; 2. Rebecca Boushelle, Fayetteville, 2:17.75; 3. Trinity Walker, Bentonville, 2:23.04; 4. Sophie Quandt, Bentonville, 2:25.16; 5. Lydia Pehlman, Bentonville, 2:25.18; 6. Halle Gilreath, Rogers, 2:25.44; 7. Emily Efurd, Rogers, 2:25.45; 8. De’Sire Perez, Har-Ber, 2:27.58.

1,600 — 1. Lainey Quandt, Bentonville, 5:17.08; 2. Tori Willis, Bentonville, 5:18.57; 3. Katie Andrews, Bentonville, 5:18.67; 4. Sophie Quandt, Bentonville, 5:19.11; 5. Grace Litzinger, Fayetteville, 5:19.85; 6. Anna Jeffcoat, Rogers, 5:21.89; 7. Aubre Gilreath, Rogers, 5:25.57; 8. Halle Gilreath, Rogers 5:29.33

3,200 — 1. Kaitlyn Christensen, Bentonville, 11:51.24; 2. Alexis Doyle, Bentonville, 11:53.13; 3. Aubre Gilreath, Rogers, 11:55.60; 4. Chloe Devecsery, Fayetteville, 11:56.35; 5. Anna Jeffcoat, Rogers, 11:59.92; 6. Erica Ostendorf, Bentonville, 12:02.31; 7. Alex Mastorides, Bentonville, 12:03.86; 8. Aubrey Hardcastle, Fayetteville, 12:06.69.

100 hurdles — 1. Audrey Wilson, Rogers, 15.33; 2. Georgia Brain, Rogers, 15.83; 3. Avery Hughes, Bentonville, 15.84; 4. Cassidy Valenzuela, Fayetteville, 16.13; 5. Lauren Holmes, Fayetteville, 16.25; 6. Ashlyne Silcott, Rogers, 16.50; 7. Nicole Morrison, Heritage, 16.61; 8. Hannah Martin, Rogers, 16.79.

300 hurdles — 1. Jaren Hernandez, Bentonville, 46.45; 2. Ashlyne Silcott, Rogers, 47.38; 3. Avery Hughes, Bentonville, 47.84; 4. Rachel Owen, Bentonville, 48.18; 5. Sasha Goforth, Fayetteville, 48.50; 6. Olivia Stumbaugh, Har-Ber, 48.68; 7. Cassidy Valenzuela, Fayetteville, 49.00; 8. Georgia Brain, Rogers, 49.33.

4x100 relay — 1. Rogers (Hannah Lueders, Ashlyne Silcott, Mikayla Slagle, Audrey Wilson), 49.44; 2. Fayetteville, 50.05; 3. West, 50.47; 4. Bentonville, 50.54; 5. Heritage, 50.77; 6. Har-Ber, 51.41; 7. Van Buren, 53.62; 8. Springdale, 1:00.75.

4x400 relay — 1. Har-Ber (Raeghan Smithpeters, Julianne Dillon, De’Sire Perez, Annabel Weber), 4:02.14; 2. Rogers, 4:04.99; 3. Bentonville, 4:09.25; 4. West, 4:15.26; 5. Fayetteville, 4:17.12; 6. Heritage, 4:18.91; 7. Springdale, 4:24.43.

4x800 relay — 1. Bentonville (Katy Kotoucek, Victoria Mitchell, Ashley Owen, Lydia Pehlman), 9:45.38; 2. Fayetteville, 9:51.10; 3. Rogers, 10:07.83; 4. Van Buren, 10:12.36; 5. Springdale, 10:24.15; 6. West, 10:27.04; 7. Har-Ber, 10:50.38; 8. Heritage, 10:54.86.

Discus — 1. Kenna Ebert, Har-Ber, 118-0; 2. Tayler Womochil, Bentonville, 105-7; 3. Sallie McMahon, Springdale, 104-6; 4. Sarah Vogel, Springdale, 104-0; 5. Shania Wilson, West, 101-1; 6. Daniela Gomez, Rogers, 98-1; 7. Chandler Cooper, Rogers, 97-8; 8. Sydney Woith, Van Buren, 97-6

High jump — 1. Elise Randels, Rogers, 5-4; 2. Hannah Martin, Rogers, 5-2; 3. Grace Spangler, Fayetteville, 5-2; 4. Lauren Thompson, Har-Ber, 4-10; 5. Lilly Thomas, Bentonville, 4-10; 6. Klaire Trainor, Har-Ber, 4-10; 7. Jaysley Cook, Heritage, 4-10; 8. Emma Palasak, Bentonville, 4-10.

Long jump — 1. Winnie Spurlock, West, 16-8.5; 2. Lauren Holmes, Fayetteville, 16-7.75; 3. Ashlyne Silcott, Rogers, 16-4; 4. Avery Hughes, Bentonville, 16-4; 5. Annabel Weber, Har-Ber, 16-1; 6. Alexis Johnson, Bentonville, 16-0; 7. Sydney Suggs, Bentonville, 16-0; 8. Chloe Auldridge, Van Buren, 15-8.

Pole vault — 1. Isabel Neal, Bentonville, 12-4 (meet record; previous mark 12-0 by Isabel Neal, Bentonville, 2016); 2. Chloe Christian, Bentonville, 11-6; 3. (tie) Lily Donnell, West, and Lucy Kate Lisle, Har-Ber, 11-0; 5. Skyler Owens, Bentonville, 11-0; 6. Charlotte McWhorter, Har-Ber, 10-6; 7. Gabby Collins, Bentonville, 9-0; 8. Josie Farthing, Rogers, 8-6.

Shot put — 1. Anna Griffin, West, 40-1.75; 2. Shania Wilson, West, 36-6; 3. Sydney Grizzle, Van Buren, 35-7; 4. Elizabeth McCrary, Rogers, 35-1.25; 5. Kenna Ebert, Har-Ber, 35-0.5; 6. McKenzie Pillstrom, Rogers, 34-2.75; 7. Raven Hampton, Fayetteville, 33-10; 8. Tayler Womochil, Bentonville, 32-4.

Triple jump — 1. Adriana Kitchen, Fayetteville, 35-9.25; 2. Avery Hughes, Bentonville, 35-4.25; 3. Sydney Suggs, Bentonville, 35-4; 4. Chloe Christian, Bentonville, 34-10.75; 5. Lauren Holmes, Fayetteville, 34-9.5; 6. Mary Cawood, Bentonville, 34-2; 7. Brittany Ware, Heritage, 33-10.25; 8. Kenna Ebert, Har-Ber, 33-2.

NOTE: Top six finishers in each event qualify for the Class 7A state meet next week at Har-Ber.

Neal's performance was just the beginning for Bentonville's girls, who captured the team championship with 209 points to 147 for second-place Rogers High. The Lady Tigers won six events, including the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, and also did it with numbers, having four place in the pole vault and all three distance runs -- including taking all four spots in the 1,600.

"This was my final year, so it felt good to come out here and do it one last time at conference," Neal said. "I've really enjoyed this team and what it's brought. We all did well, and I'm proud of this year.

"I just came in focused on what I can do and what was going to go right. I knew if I was confident and in control, I'm capable of jumping high. I just needed to stay calm and remember what I can do, and listen to my coach."

The only other meet record broken today came in the boys triple jump. Bentonville senior Adrian Broadus took top honors with his personal-best of 46-4.5 and broke the mark of 45-11.25 set by Fort Smith Southside's Micah Washington in 2008.

"I really didn't feel like I jumped a 46," said Broadus, who also finished with the boys high-point award with 29 points. "I thought I jumped a 45 or something like that. When they told me what I had jumped, I was like 'wow.' I was hoping to get the school record, which was 46-9, so I'll just try to get it at state."

Sports on 04/28/2017

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