BOYS RUNNER OF THE YEAR
Hudson Betts
SCHOOL Fayetteville
CLASS Senior
NOTABLE Repeated as the 6A-West Conference champion and the Class 6A state champion, but he was pushed to do so. ... Was pushed to the limit by Rogers Heritage senior Sam Boyer during the Class 6A state meet, and the result was the meet record when he finished with a time of 15 minutes, 9.53 seconds. ... Began the season with a victory at the McKinney (Texas) Boyd Bronco Stampede. ... Broke the 15-minute mark when he ran a 14:55 and finished third during the Chile Pepper Invitational. ... Signed a national letter of intent to run cross country and track at Tennessee last month.
THAT'S WHAT HE SAID "There was definitely pressure, but I think of it like I've done it before, so I definitely felt more comfortable in the position I was put in this year. There was still pressure to better myself. The whole state, I think, has become better at running, and I think all of us put pressure on each other to have the best race every time. I'm really excited to see where the state is going in cross country. I'm still looking at track titles here, but I'm definitely nervous about the increased mileage in college. It's going to be challenging, but I'm looking forward to it."
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GIRLS RUNNER OF THE YEAR
Haley Loewe
SCHOOL Bentonville
CLASS Junior
NOTABLE Moved to Bentonville from Wisconsin, where she finished sixth in the Wisconsin Division I state meet last year, and joined the Lady Tigers in July. ... Never lost a meet inside the state's borders this fall. ... Became only the third girl in Arkansas high school cross country history to break the 18-minute mark when she won the Chile Pepper Invitational with her time of 17 minutes, 20.5 seconds. ... Won the 6A-West Conference championship with a time of 18:21.72. ... Broke the Arkansas high school cross country individual record by more than 30 seconds when she won the 6A state title in 17:43.70 and led Bentonville to its fifth straight state title.
THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID "The biggest difference for me was the workouts because we did different kinds. In Wisconsin, we mostly did hills and mile repeats, whereas here we did more tempo and interval-type stuff. I think the season was a lot better than I was expecting, and I think a lot of that had to do with the coaching and the training. The team also helped me get acclimated once I got here. I was really happy once the season was over. I had a goal of running in the 17s, but I didn't know how far I could get. The season just exceeded my expectations."
all-NWADG cross country runners of the year — Hudson Betts of Fayetteville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Spencer Tirey)
all-NWADG cross country runners of the year Haley Loewe of Bentonville (girls) (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Spencer Tirey)
all-NWADG cross country runners of the year Haley Loewe of Bentonville (girls) (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Spencer Tirey)