HOT SPRINGS -- Jack Williams won't have to remember his senior season as one loaded with second- and third-place finishes.
The Fayetteville senior did something about it in a big way Friday afternoon by capturing the Class 6A state individual cross country title at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort. Williams almost met a personal record as he covered the 5,000-meter course in 15 minutes, 38.44 seconds, 10 seconds ahead of Bentonville senior Dawson Mayberry.
"That was the plan, and I'm glad it ended up that way," Williams said.
Williams said the key to victory was remembering what he did wrong last week during the 6A-West Conference championship at Rogers. He said he was impatient and made his move too soon, which allowed him to be passed by Bentonville's Dylan Mayberry near the finish.
This time, Williams had the lead with about a mile to go, and he was determined not to relinquish it. He still had a comfortable lead with about 800 meters left, then decided to finish strong.
"I knew I had to go later this time," Williams said. "But I also knew I could gap them in that amount of time. That way, I don't have to rely on my finishing sprint, which has never been my best. I went when coach told me to go, and it worked out perfect."
Bentonville, meanwhile, would not be denied a fourth consecutive state cross country title as the Tigers had all five runners finish within the top 13 to compile 37 points. Springdale Har-Ber was a distant second with 90, followed by Fayetteville with 107, Bentonville West at 115 and Rogers Heritage at 161, a point better than rival Rogers.
Dawson Mayberry, who had beaten Williams on the same course last month during the Lake Hamilton Invitational, led Bentonville with his second-place finish and a time of 15:48.66, while twin brother Dylan Mayberry was fourth at 15:52.95. Aidan McDaniel was next, finishing seventh at 16:23.09, followed by Daniel Ratliff (12th, 16:39.59) and Simon Pisciotta (13th, 16:40.53).
"We knew this year was going to be a tight battle -- within a few points here and there," Bentonville Coach Mike Power said. "Yes, we didn't get the win for the brothers, but the team came through in the end.
"We had a great run by a sophomore in Aidan McDaniel, and another one of our runners passed his PR by 30 seconds. These runners will all come back, except for the first two, so I'm excited on where they can go from here."
CLASS 5A
Whit Lawrence of Mountain Home held off Greenwood's Noah Embrey to earn an individual championship.
Lawrence had a winning time of 16:19.84, ahead of closely bunched second- through fourth-place finishers. Embrey crossed the finish line in 16:28.24, ahead of Lake Hamilton's Zeke McCain (16:30.45) and Mountain Home's Andrew Westphal (16:31.19).
The tightest race of the day was in the team standings, where host Lake Hamilton edged defending champion Mountain Home by a 50-52 margin to capture its 11th state championship. The Wolves had four runners finish in the top 12 to sneak ahead of the Bombers, whose top five runners all finished in the top 18.
Siloam Springs was a distant third at 153, followed by Vilonia at 163 and Hot Springs Lakeside at 171.
CLASS 4A
Matthew Dunsworth of Clarksville made his move during the first half of the race and went on to claim the individual championship. Dunsworth finished the course in 17:00.76, which was more than 20 seconds faster than second-place finisher Baltazar Garcia of Dardanelle (17:21.02).
Pea Ridge claimed its first state title since 1985 as the Blackhawks compiled 76 points compared with 135 for second-place De Queen. The Blackhawks were led by Levi Schultz, who took ninth place with his time of 17:49.66, while Grandon Grant and Josiah Small took 12th and 14th, respectively.
Dardanelle was third with 185 points, followed by Farmington with 194, Gravette at 204, Subiaco Academy with 210 and Berryville with 211.
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Class 6A
TEAM SCORES
1.Bentonville 38; 2. Springdale Har-Ber 90; 3. Fayetteville 107; 4. Bentonville West 115; 5. Rogers Heritage 161; 6. Rogers 162; 7. Conway 173; 8. Bryant 217; 9. Little Rock Catholic 263; 11. Fort Smith Southside 286; 12. Springdale 323; 13. Fort Smith Northside 426; 14. North Little Rock 453; 15. Little Rock Central 485.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1.Jack Williams, Fayetteville 15:38.44; 2. Dawson Mayberry, Bentonville, 15:48.46; 3. John Sutton, Conway, 15:50.26; 4. Dylan Mayberry, Bentonville, 15:52.95; 5. Hudson Betts, Fayetteville, 15:57.07; 6. Jonny Cordero, Har-Ber, 16:19.20; 7. Aidan McDaniel, Bentonville, 16:23.09; 8. Isaac Teague, FS Southside, 16:24.89; 9. Grayson Young, Cabot, 16:26.36; 10. James Eslick, Har-Ber, 16:29.52; 11. Keegan Terrell, Bentonville West, 16:30.70; 12. Daniel Ratliff, Bentonville, 16:39.59; 13. Simon Pisciotta, Bentonville, 16:40.53; 14. Jonathan Mendez, Har-Ber, 16:42.46; 15. Aries Burasco, Rogers, 16:44.43; 16. Chad Greenway, LR Catholic, 16:47.40; 17. Noah McMurtrey, Bentonville West, 16:48.59; 18. Bresner Austin, Bryant, 16:51.13; 19. Jackson Stobaugh, Fayetteville, 16:52.35; 20. Sam Boyer, Heritage, 16:54.59.
Class 5A
TEAM SCORES
1.Lake Hamilton 50; 2. Mountain Home 52; 3. Siloam Springs 153; 4. Vilonia 163; 5. Hot Springs Lakeside 171; 6. Russellville 178; 7. Jonesboro 179; 8. Greenwood 218; 9. Benton 226; 10. Greenbrier 230; 11. Little Rock Christian 334; 12. Alma 375; 13. Van Buren 381; 14. Little Rock Parkview 408; 15. Searcy 410; 16. Maumelle 414; 17. El Dorado 442; 18. Batesville 481; 19. Beebe 520; 20. West Memphis 611; 21. Paragould 620; 22. Sheridan 626; 23. Marion 653.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1.Whit Lawrence, Mountain Home, 16:19.84; 2. Noah Embrey, Greenwood, 16:28.24; 3. Zeke McCain, Lake Hamilton, 16:30.45; 4. Andrew Westphal, Mountain Home, 16:31.19; 5. Evan Armitage, Lake Hamilton, 16:38.75; 6. Nathan Miller, Lake Hamilton, 16:46.04; 7. Joseph Bariola, HS Lakeside, 16:51.87; 8. Michael Capehart, Siloam Springs, 16:55.53; 9. Carter Sykes, Russellville, 16:57.00; 10. Dominic Ward, Greenbrier, 16:58.44; 11. Logan Gates, Greenbrier, 17:01.08; 12. Ethan Smith, Lake Hamilton, 17:02.00; 13. Tyler Firment, Mountain Home, 17:02.19; 14. Jadon Cunningham, El Dorado, 17:08.15; 15. Skyler Thomas, Russellville, 17:13.25; 16. Hendrix Hughes, Mountain Home, 17:14.59; 17. David Adams, Vilonia, 17:15.27; 18. Ky Bickford, Mountain Home, 17:18.71; 19. Tate Smithhart, Vilonia, 17:19.37; 20. Bryson Hodges, Mountain Home, 17:22.03.
Class 4A
TEAM SCORES
1.Pea Ridge 76; 2. De Queen 135; 3. Dardanelle 185; 4. Farmington 194; 5. Gravette 204; 6. Subiaco Academy 210; 7. Berryville 211; 8. Clarksville 218; 9. Mena 237; 10. Pulaski Academy 275; 11. Nashville 281; 12. Monticello 330; 13. Heber Springs 354; 14. Valley View 359; 15. Shiloh Christian 369; 16. Highland 373; 17. Pottsville 415; 18. Prairie Grove 419; 19. Huntsville 430; 20. Hope 483; 21. Pulaski Robinson 564; 22. Star City 585; 23. Magnolia 587.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1.Matthew Dunsworth, Clarksville, 17:00.76; 2. Baltazar Garcia, Dardanelle, 17:21.02; 3. Logan Myers, Mena, 17:25.98; 4. Preston Wright, Highland, 17:33.44; 5. A.J. Post, Ozark, 17:37.57; 6. Daniel Sanderson, Clarksville, 17:41.39; 7. Jacob Lopez, Berryville, 17:43.69; 8. Johnny Sanchez, De Queen, 17:46.44; 9. Levi Schultz, Pea Ridge, 17:49.66; 10. Hassan Sardar, Pulaski Academy, 17:50.36; 11. Brit Hawkins, Valley View, 17:50.50; 12. Grandon Grant, Pea Ridge, 17:53.83; 13. Max Linares, Subiaco Academy 17:57.92; 14. Josiah Small, Pea Ridge, 18:06.83; 15. Tre McMellon, Mena, 18:16.80; 16. Wesley Wilson, Gravette, 18:21.18; 17. Skylar Wrinkle, Dardanelle 18:26.42; 18. Gustavo Garcia, De Queen, 18:26.99; 19. Nathan Poff, Heber Springs, 18:28.28; 20. Hayden Quintero, Gravette, 18:28.66.
Henry Apple can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAHenry.