HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Marion set to hire coach
Marion is set to hire Little Rock Christian defensive coordinator Lance Clark as its next head coach. He will replace Keith Houston, who returned to Chisholm Trail (Texas) High School as an assistant earlier this month.
During Houston's three-year tenure, the Patriots compiled an 18-13 record. They reached the Class 6A state semifinals last fall -- the program's best finish since 2006.
They'll replace him with someone who's tasted plenty of success in Clark. In his first season after coming to Arkansas from Alabama's Madison Academy -- where he also worked under now-Little Rock Christian Coach Eric Cohu -- Clark helped the Warriors top Pulaski Academy for the 2018 Class 5A state title.
The past two years, Little Rock Christian has finished as 5A runner-up to the Bruins. Despite a high-flying offense that puts the Warriors' defense back on the field quickly, Clark's units have limited opponents to 26.1 points per game during his time in Little Rock.
"I'm just excited to get to work with the guys there," Clark said in a text. "The school and the community support the program, so I am excited to help build a program that regularly competes for championships."
-- Mitchell Gladstone
ATHLETICS
UA's Trainor lands VP spot
Kevin Trainor, a senior associate athletic director at the University of Arkansas, has been selected as the third vice president of the College Sports Information Directors of America. By entering the officer rotation, Trainor -- who has spent the past two years on the organization's executive board of directors -- will serve a five-year term that includes one as CoSIDA president during the 2024-25 academic year.
Trainor, a UA journalism graduate (1994) who earned his master's degree in 2005, recently completed his 30th year with the university, including his 26th year in a full-time position with Razorback athletics.
Trainor's title, the senior associate AD for public relations and former student-athlete engagement, is the chief public relations officer for AD Hunter Yurachek, who also serves as a vice chancellor.
Trainor coordinates the department's executive and crisis management communications and is a department liaison with the Razorback Foundation, University Relations, the National Football Foundation, and the Arkansas Sports and Southwest Conference halls of fame.
-- Tom Murphy
GOLF
State match-play tournament starts
Icem Brewer of Fayetteville and Mitchell Ford of Little Rock shared medalist honors with 4-under 68s during qualifying Thursday at the Arkansas State Golf Association's Match Play Championship at Lost Springs Golf and Athletic Club in Rogers.
Brewer will be the No. 1 seed in the 32-man field and will face Taylor Harvey at 8:15 a.m. today. Ford is the No. 2 seed and will face Tomas Mariscotti beginning at 9:22 a.m.
Two rounds of matches will be played today, with the quarterfinals and semifinals set for Saturday. The championship match will be held Sunday morning.
-- Democrat-Gazette Press Services