By ANN THARP
Special to The Leader
HOT SPRINGS – The Beebe softball Badgers, the undefeated 5A-Central champions, found runs hard to come by against East four seed Forrest City on Thursday in the first round of the state tournament at Kimery Park. But Lady Badger pitcher Ellie Reaves led the way to a 2-0 victory as Beebe advanced to the quarterfinal round.
Beebe scored twice in only one inning and Reaves pitched her 10th no-hitter of the season to ensure the win for her team.
Beebe was the home team and retired the first three Lady Mustang batters in an unconventional manner as the second batter walked, but was thrown out stealing second with the cleanup batter at the plate. The first and third batters were struck out by Reaves.
After a rain delay, Beebe picked up the bats, but also went down in order with a strike out and two groundouts to the infield.
In the second inning, the Lady Mustangs also went three up, three down and the rain struck again.
In the bottom of the inning the Lady Badgers had two runners reach base but were unable to score. Aleighu Porterfield reached on a line drive off the first baseman’s glove, then after Reaves reached on a fielder’s choice, Haley Dinapoli hit a short fly ball that found the grass in shallow right field. The runners reached second and third, but a strikeout ended the inning.
Reaves struck out the side in the top of the third, and Beebe got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the frame.
With two outs, Courtney Shepard stroked a line drive down the left-field line to the fence for a double. Megan Davlin followed with a double, also to left field, to score Shepard. Davlin then scored on an error for a 2-0 Lady Badger lead.
Again the Lady Mustangs went down in order in the top of the fourth, and Beebe drew two walks, but left the runners stranded.
The last eight batters for Forrest City went down on strikes and although the Lady Badgers picked up a hit in the fifth and doubles by Reaves and Sydney Smith in the sixth, they did not score again, and the final score remained 2-0.
“I thought it was really different to play in that situation where you warm up, and then you sit for 30 minutes, then play half an inning,” said Beebe head coach Eric Chambers. “I thought we did really well in that aspect. We left some runners out there, moved some runners and couldn’t score them. We thought it would be a kind of close game, thinking we might have trouble scoring, and then them having trouble scoring on us, as it kind of panned out. We’re proud, you have to get the first one to keep moving. We didn’t do that last year. It feels a lot better this year.”
Reaves struck out 14 in her no-hitter and walked one for the only Forrest City base runner.
Shepard was 2 for 3 with a double and a single. The Lady Badgers had a total of six base hits.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
SPORTS STORY >> Central teams lose out to East at state
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Class 5A state soccer tournament began Thursday in Hope, but none of The Leader’s local teams made it to Friday’s second round.
On the boys’ side of the bracket, all three teams from the 5A-Central Conference lost to 5A-East teams. Jacksonville was beaten 3-1 on penalty kicks by East No. 3 seed Nettleton. North Pulaski lost 3-1 in regulation to East No. 2 seed Batesville, and Beebe was beaten 5-1 in regulation by top-seeded Valley View.
Of those three games, the Red Devils played the most competitive game. Jacksonville’s game with Nettleton was tied at 3-3 at the end of regulation, and after two scoreless 10-minute extra periods, the game was decided by PKs, where the Red Devils were outshot 3-1, ending their season.
“We had a long game and both teams were exhausted,” said Jacksonville coach Adam Thrash. “It was the most heat and humidity we’ve played in this year and it really showed. We weren’t used to it, and after 15 minutes into the game you could tell we were tired.
“But our kids played hard. They did everything they could do.”
Jacksonville (12-4) trailed 2-1 at halftime, and Nettleton scored again early in the second half to take a 3-1 lead. Jacksonville’s Brady Delp scored a goal with about 20 minutes left to make it a 3-2 game, and that gave the Red Devils the momentum.
R.J. Moore scored the game-tying goal with about eight minutes left to play, and at the end of regulation, the score was tied at 3-3. Cortez Jordan scored the Red Devils’ first goal of the game on a header.
After two scoreless extra periods, the game was decided by penalty kicks. The Raiders made three of their kicks and Moore made the Red Devils’ lone PK goal to set the final score.
In the North Pulaski boys’ game against Batesville, the Falcons (12-5) scored the game’s first goal.
That goal was scored by sophomore forward Andrew McMaster, but the Pioneers responded with three unanswered goals to close the first half, which also set the final score.
Batesville played more defensive-minded in the second half, but throughout the game, the Pioneers focused their defense on keeping the ball away from NP standout Illajah Carter, often triple- and quadruple-teaming the junior forward.
“They were a very physical team,” said NP coach Donny Lantrip of Batesville. “They were triple-teaming and quadruple-teaming Illajah Carter. They had three or four on him at all times. He did the best he could do. He shook them three or four times, but there was always somebody else there.”
On the girls’ side of the bracket, like the 5A-Central boys, the Central girls lost all of their games to East teams. The North Pulaski girls lost to East No. 3 seed Batesville 2-1 on penalty kicks. Sylvan Hills dropped a 2-1 game to two seed Greene County Tech, and Beebe lost a 9-0 decision to top-seeded Valley View.
The Lady Falcons (9-4) trailed 1-0 in regulation, but a late goal scored by senior forward Ilycia Carter tied the game at 1-1, and eventually sent it to overtime. Neither team scored in the two extra periods, so the game went to PKs, where the Lady Pioneers outshot the Lady Falcons 2-1. Carter made the one PK for NP.
The Lady Bears’ game was a pretty even matchup, but Sylvan Hills (8-8) gave up two goals to GCT, and scored its lone goal late on a trick play that was scored by Nakiya Smith, setting the final score of that game.
Leader sportswriter
The Class 5A state soccer tournament began Thursday in Hope, but none of The Leader’s local teams made it to Friday’s second round.
On the boys’ side of the bracket, all three teams from the 5A-Central Conference lost to 5A-East teams. Jacksonville was beaten 3-1 on penalty kicks by East No. 3 seed Nettleton. North Pulaski lost 3-1 in regulation to East No. 2 seed Batesville, and Beebe was beaten 5-1 in regulation by top-seeded Valley View.
Of those three games, the Red Devils played the most competitive game. Jacksonville’s game with Nettleton was tied at 3-3 at the end of regulation, and after two scoreless 10-minute extra periods, the game was decided by PKs, where the Red Devils were outshot 3-1, ending their season.
“We had a long game and both teams were exhausted,” said Jacksonville coach Adam Thrash. “It was the most heat and humidity we’ve played in this year and it really showed. We weren’t used to it, and after 15 minutes into the game you could tell we were tired.
“But our kids played hard. They did everything they could do.”
Jacksonville (12-4) trailed 2-1 at halftime, and Nettleton scored again early in the second half to take a 3-1 lead. Jacksonville’s Brady Delp scored a goal with about 20 minutes left to make it a 3-2 game, and that gave the Red Devils the momentum.
R.J. Moore scored the game-tying goal with about eight minutes left to play, and at the end of regulation, the score was tied at 3-3. Cortez Jordan scored the Red Devils’ first goal of the game on a header.
After two scoreless extra periods, the game was decided by penalty kicks. The Raiders made three of their kicks and Moore made the Red Devils’ lone PK goal to set the final score.
In the North Pulaski boys’ game against Batesville, the Falcons (12-5) scored the game’s first goal.
That goal was scored by sophomore forward Andrew McMaster, but the Pioneers responded with three unanswered goals to close the first half, which also set the final score.
Batesville played more defensive-minded in the second half, but throughout the game, the Pioneers focused their defense on keeping the ball away from NP standout Illajah Carter, often triple- and quadruple-teaming the junior forward.
“They were a very physical team,” said NP coach Donny Lantrip of Batesville. “They were triple-teaming and quadruple-teaming Illajah Carter. They had three or four on him at all times. He did the best he could do. He shook them three or four times, but there was always somebody else there.”
On the girls’ side of the bracket, like the 5A-Central boys, the Central girls lost all of their games to East teams. The North Pulaski girls lost to East No. 3 seed Batesville 2-1 on penalty kicks. Sylvan Hills dropped a 2-1 game to two seed Greene County Tech, and Beebe lost a 9-0 decision to top-seeded Valley View.
The Lady Falcons (9-4) trailed 1-0 in regulation, but a late goal scored by senior forward Ilycia Carter tied the game at 1-1, and eventually sent it to overtime. Neither team scored in the two extra periods, so the game went to PKs, where the Lady Pioneers outshot the Lady Falcons 2-1. Carter made the one PK for NP.
The Lady Bears’ game was a pretty even matchup, but Sylvan Hills (8-8) gave up two goals to GCT, and scored its lone goal late on a trick play that was scored by Nakiya Smith, setting the final score of that game.
SPORTS STORY >> Devils take win against Nettleton
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
HARRISON — The Jacksonville Red Devils crushed the baseball and hammered Nettleton 7-1 Thursday in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament.
Jacksonville finished with a modest eight base hits, but only struck out once and many of the outs were hard-hit line drives directly to Raider outfielders.
The Red Devils managed to find openings in the third and fifth innings, with most of the openings in the fifth found on the outside of the playing field.
Left-handed hitter Ryan Mallison went opposite field for a two-run home run down the third base line in the fifth. After Caleb McMunn doubled off the wall in left, catcher Greg Jones smashed a towering shot over the wall and scoreboard in straightaway center field.
It was the final hit for Jacksonville in the game, something coach Larry Burrows didn’t like to see.
“After that, everybody wanted to hit one,” said Burrows. “Our next six outs were all high pop-ups, and that ain’t good. We have to be smarter than that.”
Burrows was happy that his club made solid contact most of the game.
“Their pitcher (Mason Gibson) was averaging close to double-digit strikeouts,” Burrows said. “We were on it. We just have to remember, base hits, gaps. We can’t be swinging for the fences.”
Hitting wasn’t the only thing that went well for Jacksonville. Starting pitcher Derek St. Clair was dominant. He threw a two-hitter and gave up zero earned runs in the complete-game victory. He struck out nine Raiders, hit three and walked two.
Jacksonville’s first rally in the third started when Laderrious Perry was hit by a pitch. Courtland McDonald doubled to left-center to score Perry, and Mallison singled to the same area to score McDonald. Still with no outs, McMunn sacrificed Mallison to second and he moved to third on a passed ball. Jones then hit a sac fly to center to score Mallison and give the Red Devils a 3-0 lead.
McDonald went 2 for 3 at the plate with two runs scored. Mallison went 2 for 4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Jones was 1 for 2 with three RBIs.
Nettleton’s lone run came in the seventh inning when Luke Sexton reached on an error at shortstop, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Hunter Smith’s single, the second and last Nettleton hit of the game.
“D is solid,” Burrows said of St. Clair. “I don’t really even think he had his best stuff today, and he was still pretty dominant.”
The Red Devils faced tournament host Harrison on Friday, a 9-7, come-from-behind winner of Hot Springs Lakeside in the first round.
Come from behind wins were commonplace in Thursday’s first round, especially late comebacks. In other games, the East’s top seed Greene County Tech scored two runs in the bottom of the last inning to beat Central four Pulaski Academy 4-3.
West No. 2 seed Little Rock Christian and South No. 3 seed Magnolia traded the lead four times, with Magnolia taking the lead for the final time with two home runs in the sixth inning to prevail 9-6.
5A-South champion Watson Chapel mimicked GCT, scoring two runs in its final at-bat to beat Greenbrier 3-2, and Sylvan Hills rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Batesville 6-3.
The only two games besides Jacksonville’s that didn’t feature a comeback was Beebe’s 1-0, extra innings loss to Valley View, and White Hall’s 4-1 win over Vilonia. In that game, White Hall ace Daniel Sprinkle hit 95 mph on the radar guns.
Leader sports editor
HARRISON — The Jacksonville Red Devils crushed the baseball and hammered Nettleton 7-1 Thursday in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament.
Jacksonville finished with a modest eight base hits, but only struck out once and many of the outs were hard-hit line drives directly to Raider outfielders.
The Red Devils managed to find openings in the third and fifth innings, with most of the openings in the fifth found on the outside of the playing field.
Left-handed hitter Ryan Mallison went opposite field for a two-run home run down the third base line in the fifth. After Caleb McMunn doubled off the wall in left, catcher Greg Jones smashed a towering shot over the wall and scoreboard in straightaway center field.
It was the final hit for Jacksonville in the game, something coach Larry Burrows didn’t like to see.
“After that, everybody wanted to hit one,” said Burrows. “Our next six outs were all high pop-ups, and that ain’t good. We have to be smarter than that.”
Burrows was happy that his club made solid contact most of the game.
“Their pitcher (Mason Gibson) was averaging close to double-digit strikeouts,” Burrows said. “We were on it. We just have to remember, base hits, gaps. We can’t be swinging for the fences.”
Hitting wasn’t the only thing that went well for Jacksonville. Starting pitcher Derek St. Clair was dominant. He threw a two-hitter and gave up zero earned runs in the complete-game victory. He struck out nine Raiders, hit three and walked two.
Jacksonville’s first rally in the third started when Laderrious Perry was hit by a pitch. Courtland McDonald doubled to left-center to score Perry, and Mallison singled to the same area to score McDonald. Still with no outs, McMunn sacrificed Mallison to second and he moved to third on a passed ball. Jones then hit a sac fly to center to score Mallison and give the Red Devils a 3-0 lead.
McDonald went 2 for 3 at the plate with two runs scored. Mallison went 2 for 4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Jones was 1 for 2 with three RBIs.
Nettleton’s lone run came in the seventh inning when Luke Sexton reached on an error at shortstop, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Hunter Smith’s single, the second and last Nettleton hit of the game.
“D is solid,” Burrows said of St. Clair. “I don’t really even think he had his best stuff today, and he was still pretty dominant.”
The Red Devils faced tournament host Harrison on Friday, a 9-7, come-from-behind winner of Hot Springs Lakeside in the first round.
Come from behind wins were commonplace in Thursday’s first round, especially late comebacks. In other games, the East’s top seed Greene County Tech scored two runs in the bottom of the last inning to beat Central four Pulaski Academy 4-3.
West No. 2 seed Little Rock Christian and South No. 3 seed Magnolia traded the lead four times, with Magnolia taking the lead for the final time with two home runs in the sixth inning to prevail 9-6.
5A-South champion Watson Chapel mimicked GCT, scoring two runs in its final at-bat to beat Greenbrier 3-2, and Sylvan Hills rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Batesville 6-3.
The only two games besides Jacksonville’s that didn’t feature a comeback was Beebe’s 1-0, extra innings loss to Valley View, and White Hall’s 4-1 win over Vilonia. In that game, White Hall ace Daniel Sprinkle hit 95 mph on the radar guns.
SPORTS STORY >> Bears win first round of play in 5A tourney
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
HARRISON – Not often does a baseball team’s fortunes improve after the starting pitcher gets beamed in the head with a ball and has to leave the game, but it happened for Sylvan Hills on Thursday in a 6-3 victory over Batesville in the first round of the Class 5A state baseball tournament.
The Bears trailed 2-1 in the fourth inning when starting pitcher Hunter Heslep had men on first and third, and missed a signal. The Bears expected the Pioneers to steal second, and called for a cut throw to the pitcher to keep the runner at third from trying to score. Heslep, however, ducked believing the throw was going to second. The hard throw hit him behind the right ear and careened into right field. Another Pioneer run scored, and Heslep left the game after a long time lying on the mound.
Senior lefty Marcus Long took over on the mound, inheriting a 3-1 deficit, two outs and a runner on third.
Batesville, the No. 3 seed from the 5A-East, did not get another hit.
“Marcus didn’t expect to pitch today and we didn’t expect to put him in,” said Sylvan Hills coach Denny Tipton. “But he’s been that guy that’s come through for us all year long. I had to go with him and he did a great job. You know what you get with Marcus and you know you can rely on him. It was a tough situation and he came in and shut them down and gave us a chance to get back in it.”
Batesville built a 2-0 lead with a leadoff double off the wall in left field by Zach Langston, and a two-run home run to the same spot by pitcher Kenton Crawford.
Sylvan Hills answered in the bottom of the first with a solo home run by Mackenzie Seats, but the Bears still trailed 3-1 going into the fifth inning, when they took the lead for the first time in the game.
Jacob Franco started the rally by taking a pitch between the shoulder blades. Carson Sanders, Lukas Burrow and Nathan Thomas hit consecutive singles and Batesville committed an error to give the Bears a 4-3 lead.
Sylvan Hills added two more in the bottom of the sixth inning, again starting with a leadoff single by Franco. Sanders reached on an error and Burrow walked to load the bases. Thomas hit a fly ball to deep center field to drive in one run, and another error led to the final run of the game.
Sylvan Hills got nine base hits with Seats going 2 for 3 with a walk and a home run. Franco reached base on every at-bat, going 1 for 1 with two HBPs. The Bears only struck out once.
Batesville got four hits off Heslep in his three and two-thirds innings. Long pitched three and a third innings of no-hit ball, striking out four and walking none. Long fanned the first batter he faced for the final out of the fourth inning, and struck out the first batter of each subsequent inning.
The win ended a five-year streak of first-round losses for the tradition-rich Sylvan Hills baseball program. The Bears faced Watson Chapel in a weather-delayed second-round game on Friday. Chapel is the No. 1 seed from the 5A-South. Look for details of that game and others in the 5A state tournament in Wednesday’s edition of The Leader.
Leader sports editor
HARRISON – Not often does a baseball team’s fortunes improve after the starting pitcher gets beamed in the head with a ball and has to leave the game, but it happened for Sylvan Hills on Thursday in a 6-3 victory over Batesville in the first round of the Class 5A state baseball tournament.
The Bears trailed 2-1 in the fourth inning when starting pitcher Hunter Heslep had men on first and third, and missed a signal. The Bears expected the Pioneers to steal second, and called for a cut throw to the pitcher to keep the runner at third from trying to score. Heslep, however, ducked believing the throw was going to second. The hard throw hit him behind the right ear and careened into right field. Another Pioneer run scored, and Heslep left the game after a long time lying on the mound.
Senior lefty Marcus Long took over on the mound, inheriting a 3-1 deficit, two outs and a runner on third.
Batesville, the No. 3 seed from the 5A-East, did not get another hit.
“Marcus didn’t expect to pitch today and we didn’t expect to put him in,” said Sylvan Hills coach Denny Tipton. “But he’s been that guy that’s come through for us all year long. I had to go with him and he did a great job. You know what you get with Marcus and you know you can rely on him. It was a tough situation and he came in and shut them down and gave us a chance to get back in it.”
Batesville built a 2-0 lead with a leadoff double off the wall in left field by Zach Langston, and a two-run home run to the same spot by pitcher Kenton Crawford.
Sylvan Hills answered in the bottom of the first with a solo home run by Mackenzie Seats, but the Bears still trailed 3-1 going into the fifth inning, when they took the lead for the first time in the game.
Jacob Franco started the rally by taking a pitch between the shoulder blades. Carson Sanders, Lukas Burrow and Nathan Thomas hit consecutive singles and Batesville committed an error to give the Bears a 4-3 lead.
Sylvan Hills added two more in the bottom of the sixth inning, again starting with a leadoff single by Franco. Sanders reached on an error and Burrow walked to load the bases. Thomas hit a fly ball to deep center field to drive in one run, and another error led to the final run of the game.
Sylvan Hills got nine base hits with Seats going 2 for 3 with a walk and a home run. Franco reached base on every at-bat, going 1 for 1 with two HBPs. The Bears only struck out once.
Batesville got four hits off Heslep in his three and two-thirds innings. Long pitched three and a third innings of no-hit ball, striking out four and walking none. Long fanned the first batter he faced for the final out of the fourth inning, and struck out the first batter of each subsequent inning.
The win ended a five-year streak of first-round losses for the tradition-rich Sylvan Hills baseball program. The Bears faced Watson Chapel in a weather-delayed second-round game on Friday. Chapel is the No. 1 seed from the 5A-South. Look for details of that game and others in the 5A state tournament in Wednesday’s edition of The Leader.
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot girls beat Heritage
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sports writer
The Cabot girls’ soccer team’s first-round Class 7A state tournament game against Rogers Heritage was a defensive battle from start to finish Thursday morning at Bryant High School, but Lady Panther sophomore Leelee Denton scored a goal in each half to give Cabot the hard-fought 2-0 shutout win.
The game was scoreless after the first 35 minutes of play. In that time, Cabot had a couple of opportunities to score, but could never capitalize. The last of those missed opportunities was an 11-yard Denton kick from the right corner of the goal that sailed high with 6:37 remaining in the first half.
Denton, though, punched one in shortly after – just over two minutes later. From nearly the same spot she missed from earlier, Denton delivered a high kick that grazed the bottom of the crossbar and landed into the middle of the goal for a 1-0 Lady Panther lead with 4:12 left in the half.
That goal was set up by a nice pass from midfield off the foot of senior teammate Melody Sampson. Not only did Denton’s goal give the Lady Panthers the lead, but it took some of the pressure off of them and, in turn, allowed them to settle down and play more focused throughout the second half, according to CHS coach Kerry Castillo.
“They played a bit timid in the first half,” said Castillo of his team. “They were very nervous and you could see that in the way that they played. I could see it on their faces. In the second half, they played so much better.
“I think then (after Denton’s first goal), they probably saw the opportunities that were there for us. It just produced a lot more opportunities for us in the second half.”
Heritage had a couple of decent looks on the offensive end within the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Cabot goalkeeper Riley Patterson thwarted those opportunities with some nice saves.
The score remained 1-0 until Denton sealed the game in the Lady Panthers’ favor with a goal from about 20 yards out in the middle of the field with 6:46 left to play. That second goal from Denton gave Cabot its 2-0 lead.
“She’s such a calm player on the ball,” Castillo said of Denton. “She doesn’t get nervous even when someone’s pressuring her.”
Freshman Tristyn Edgar earned the assist on Denton’s second goal.
Heritage, the No. 6 West seed, did its best to score in the final six minutes of play, but every War Eagle scoring threat was thwarted by Patterson and the Lady Panthers’ defense.
With the win, the Lady Panthers, the No. 2 East seed, advanced to the quarterfinals where they lost to No. 1 West seed Bentonville by the final score of 4-0 on Friday in Bryant.
Friday’s game was the last for CHS seniors Sydney Farquharson, Braxton Reed, Sampson, Kimberley Hogan, Patterson and Vanessa Weidling, and gives the Lady Panthers a 9-8-2 overall record to finish the season.
Leader sports writer
The Cabot girls’ soccer team’s first-round Class 7A state tournament game against Rogers Heritage was a defensive battle from start to finish Thursday morning at Bryant High School, but Lady Panther sophomore Leelee Denton scored a goal in each half to give Cabot the hard-fought 2-0 shutout win.
The game was scoreless after the first 35 minutes of play. In that time, Cabot had a couple of opportunities to score, but could never capitalize. The last of those missed opportunities was an 11-yard Denton kick from the right corner of the goal that sailed high with 6:37 remaining in the first half.
Denton, though, punched one in shortly after – just over two minutes later. From nearly the same spot she missed from earlier, Denton delivered a high kick that grazed the bottom of the crossbar and landed into the middle of the goal for a 1-0 Lady Panther lead with 4:12 left in the half.
That goal was set up by a nice pass from midfield off the foot of senior teammate Melody Sampson. Not only did Denton’s goal give the Lady Panthers the lead, but it took some of the pressure off of them and, in turn, allowed them to settle down and play more focused throughout the second half, according to CHS coach Kerry Castillo.
“They played a bit timid in the first half,” said Castillo of his team. “They were very nervous and you could see that in the way that they played. I could see it on their faces. In the second half, they played so much better.
“I think then (after Denton’s first goal), they probably saw the opportunities that were there for us. It just produced a lot more opportunities for us in the second half.”
Heritage had a couple of decent looks on the offensive end within the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Cabot goalkeeper Riley Patterson thwarted those opportunities with some nice saves.
The score remained 1-0 until Denton sealed the game in the Lady Panthers’ favor with a goal from about 20 yards out in the middle of the field with 6:46 left to play. That second goal from Denton gave Cabot its 2-0 lead.
“She’s such a calm player on the ball,” Castillo said of Denton. “She doesn’t get nervous even when someone’s pressuring her.”
Freshman Tristyn Edgar earned the assist on Denton’s second goal.
Heritage, the No. 6 West seed, did its best to score in the final six minutes of play, but every War Eagle scoring threat was thwarted by Patterson and the Lady Panthers’ defense.
With the win, the Lady Panthers, the No. 2 East seed, advanced to the quarterfinals where they lost to No. 1 West seed Bentonville by the final score of 4-0 on Friday in Bryant.
Friday’s game was the last for CHS seniors Sydney Farquharson, Braxton Reed, Sampson, Kimberley Hogan, Patterson and Vanessa Weidling, and gives the Lady Panthers a 9-8-2 overall record to finish the season.
Friday, May 15, 2015
TOP STORY >> The Old White House
 |
| The renovated Old White House at the corner of East Mountain Springs Road and Locust Street is being used as a place for weddings and photo shoots. The house is more than 100 years old. |
Leader staff writer
One of Cabot’s few historic homes, the Old White House beside Northside Elementary, is getting a new lease on life.
Owners Sheila and Leonard Grinstead purchased the 100-year-old-plus house in May 2014. They along with their son, Kevin, have worked on renovating the structure to its original state.
They are turning the house and the grounds into a picturesque setting for weddings, meetings, quinceañeras and parties. People can use their own caterers, because the Grinsteads will not be serving food.
“Everybody has stopped by and thanked us for keeping it in its original shape. A lady said we should use it as an events center,” Shelia Grinstead said.
Erik Brun of Austin is a University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate student who is working on a degree in public history. He has studied the Old White House and recently wrote a research paper on it.
Brun classifies the house as turn of the 20th Century. It is a Queen Anne Victorian cottage style in a classical design with columns. He said the house was likely built from a design book that could be ordered for the builder.
According to Brun’s research, the property goes back to a land grant to veterans of the War of 1812. The 168-acre parcel of land was awarded to Abraham Bennett. It was later held by a member of the Sanders family of the Old Austin community, sometimes referred to as Sandersville.
“The house had gone through 12 property owners and a handful of families: Bostics, Butterworths and Skillerns,” Brun said.
One of the interior doors has writing with the Bostics’ name on it.
Brun said the house was built on the property so that it would be seen, at the intersection of East Mountain Springs Road and Old Tates Mill Road (now Locust Street) that was the old way out of town.
The wood floors and doors in the house are originals. Many of the wavy glass windows were saved. The wallpaper was removed in several rooms to show the old wood plank walls.
A student’s homework project — timeline of authors from colonial times to 1914 —was found in the house and is now preserved and hanging on the meeting room’s wall.
The Grinsteads have saved the bricks from the collapsed chimneys and repurposed them into walkways. The bricks are imprinted with Dickinson Little Rock. According to Brun’s research paper, Dickinson was a hardware store from 1885 to 1904 in what is now the River Market area.
“Bricks were made to order back then,” Brun said.
For information about rental prices and reservations, call 501-843-5670 or visit www.cabotarweddings.com.
TOP STORY >> The last time King of Blues sang at home
By GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader executive editor
“To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.”
—William Faulkner
“I wish I could play the guitar like B.B. King.”
— John Lennon
B.B. King, who passed away in his sleep in his Las Vegas home Thursday night at the age of 89, had been frail for years. Yet he kept performing until last fall, always willing to meet his fans and pose for pictures and sign autographs.
King made his last appearance in Mississippi last Memorial Day on the grounds of his museum in Indianola, not far from where he was born in the farming community of Berclair on Sept. 16, 1925.
The free concert was announced as his last homecoming. His diabetes had taken a toll on the legendary performer — for once, the adjective is deserved — and when he was helped onstage he looked disoriented for a moment. But then he sat down and played his Gibson guitar — he called it Lucille — as if he were 40 years younger. He was glad to be back home.
He’d been performing in Mississippi for free every spring for about 45 years. It gave him a chance to return to his roots and visit family. On this night, he was onstage for more than an hour and seemed to get stronger the more he played and sang. He’d been on the road for 65 years, longer than any performer alive today, even longer than Tony Bennett, who is a year younger than King but who could surpass B.B. for longevity in a couple of years.
The Memorial Day audience was raucous, and King asked them to quiet down a bit. “I want you to have a good time, but I don’t want you to be so loud that I can’t hear myself,” said the 88-year-old bluesman.
The program included “The Thrill Is Gone,” “Every Day I Have the Blues,” “Rock Me, Baby,” “You Are My Sunshine,” “When the Saints Go Marching In” and more. This playlist might be the songs he wants played at his funeral.
Riley B. King started performing as a teenager on a street corner across from the county courthouse in Indianola, a couple of blocks from his museum where we were listening to him.
He heard the “King Biscuit Time” blues show on radio station KFFA from Helena during lunch breaks at the plantation.
His influences included deep-blues musicians such as Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson, but also rhythm-and-blues artists like Louis Jordan of Brinkley and the Texas wailer T-Bone Walker. B.B. borrowed music from other musicians and turned their songs into hits — first Lowell Fulson’s “Three O’Clock in the Morning” and “Every Day I Have the Blues” (which became B.B.’s opener at his concerts) and Roy Hawkins’ “The Thrill Is Gone,” which became King’s crossover hit in 1970 and made him a star for the next 45 years.
Sonny Boy, who appeared on “King Biscuit Time,” later let King substitute for him in a West Memphis nightclub. B.B. also picked cotton in Arkansas, where the pay was better than in Mississippi.
King left the plantation and moved to Memphis after serving in the Army during the Second World War. He became a disc jockey and the most famous blues singer in the world: Beale Street Blues Boy King, or B.B. King for short.
King, who won 15 Grammys, made many fine live recordings besides “Live at the Regal” in Chicago from 1965. Also listen to “Blues Is King” and “Live in Cook County Jail,” which were also recorded in Chicago in 1967 and 1971 respectively. “Live in Japan,” which is as good as “Live at the Regal,” was recorded in 1971 but not released in this country until 1999.
His early singles, “The RPM Hits 1951-1957,” are also essential. “B.B. King Sings Spirituals,” also from the 1950s, is worth checking out. What an amazing legacy.
He lived for a time in Parkin (Cross County) and made a memorable appearance at a nightclub in nearby Twist. (Howlin’ Wolf farmed near a bend in the St. Francis River and also lived in Parkin for a time.)
A marker honors King in an empty lot in Twist, where back in the 1950s,
a couple of fellows were fighting over a woman and knocked over a barrel filled with kerosene used to heat the club.
Everybody fled, but King realized he’d left his guitar inside the burning club.
Risking his life, he retrieved the guitar. He found out the woman the men had fought over was named Lucille, so he named all his Gibson guitars after her.
We heard B.B. perform about 10 times — several times in Indianola, twice in Little Rock, once in Helena, as well as at Ole Miss, where he received an honorary doctorate from Morgan Freeman in 2006.
After the program, B.B. autographed my old “Live at the Regal” LP that I’d brought with me. He was sitting at a table at the Ford Theater where he’d just performed and said, “Many critics say this is my best record.”
I said, “It’s the best live recording ever made,” before I realized how many others he’d made.
I asked him to sign an autograph for my son Jonathan.
“My band leader’s son is also named Jonathan,” King said. “He’s in Iraq.”
James (Boogaloo) Bolden, the band leader and trumpet player, was standing nearby. He nodded with pride, and so did I.
Leader executive editor
“To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.”
—William Faulkner
“I wish I could play the guitar like B.B. King.”
— John Lennon
B.B. King, who passed away in his sleep in his Las Vegas home Thursday night at the age of 89, had been frail for years. Yet he kept performing until last fall, always willing to meet his fans and pose for pictures and sign autographs.
King made his last appearance in Mississippi last Memorial Day on the grounds of his museum in Indianola, not far from where he was born in the farming community of Berclair on Sept. 16, 1925.
The free concert was announced as his last homecoming. His diabetes had taken a toll on the legendary performer — for once, the adjective is deserved — and when he was helped onstage he looked disoriented for a moment. But then he sat down and played his Gibson guitar — he called it Lucille — as if he were 40 years younger. He was glad to be back home.
He’d been performing in Mississippi for free every spring for about 45 years. It gave him a chance to return to his roots and visit family. On this night, he was onstage for more than an hour and seemed to get stronger the more he played and sang. He’d been on the road for 65 years, longer than any performer alive today, even longer than Tony Bennett, who is a year younger than King but who could surpass B.B. for longevity in a couple of years.
The Memorial Day audience was raucous, and King asked them to quiet down a bit. “I want you to have a good time, but I don’t want you to be so loud that I can’t hear myself,” said the 88-year-old bluesman.
The program included “The Thrill Is Gone,” “Every Day I Have the Blues,” “Rock Me, Baby,” “You Are My Sunshine,” “When the Saints Go Marching In” and more. This playlist might be the songs he wants played at his funeral.
Riley B. King started performing as a teenager on a street corner across from the county courthouse in Indianola, a couple of blocks from his museum where we were listening to him.
He heard the “King Biscuit Time” blues show on radio station KFFA from Helena during lunch breaks at the plantation.
His influences included deep-blues musicians such as Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson, but also rhythm-and-blues artists like Louis Jordan of Brinkley and the Texas wailer T-Bone Walker. B.B. borrowed music from other musicians and turned their songs into hits — first Lowell Fulson’s “Three O’Clock in the Morning” and “Every Day I Have the Blues” (which became B.B.’s opener at his concerts) and Roy Hawkins’ “The Thrill Is Gone,” which became King’s crossover hit in 1970 and made him a star for the next 45 years.
Sonny Boy, who appeared on “King Biscuit Time,” later let King substitute for him in a West Memphis nightclub. B.B. also picked cotton in Arkansas, where the pay was better than in Mississippi.
King left the plantation and moved to Memphis after serving in the Army during the Second World War. He became a disc jockey and the most famous blues singer in the world: Beale Street Blues Boy King, or B.B. King for short.
King, who won 15 Grammys, made many fine live recordings besides “Live at the Regal” in Chicago from 1965. Also listen to “Blues Is King” and “Live in Cook County Jail,” which were also recorded in Chicago in 1967 and 1971 respectively. “Live in Japan,” which is as good as “Live at the Regal,” was recorded in 1971 but not released in this country until 1999.
His early singles, “The RPM Hits 1951-1957,” are also essential. “B.B. King Sings Spirituals,” also from the 1950s, is worth checking out. What an amazing legacy.
He lived for a time in Parkin (Cross County) and made a memorable appearance at a nightclub in nearby Twist. (Howlin’ Wolf farmed near a bend in the St. Francis River and also lived in Parkin for a time.)
A marker honors King in an empty lot in Twist, where back in the 1950s,
a couple of fellows were fighting over a woman and knocked over a barrel filled with kerosene used to heat the club.
Everybody fled, but King realized he’d left his guitar inside the burning club.
Risking his life, he retrieved the guitar. He found out the woman the men had fought over was named Lucille, so he named all his Gibson guitars after her.
We heard B.B. perform about 10 times — several times in Indianola, twice in Little Rock, once in Helena, as well as at Ole Miss, where he received an honorary doctorate from Morgan Freeman in 2006.
After the program, B.B. autographed my old “Live at the Regal” LP that I’d brought with me. He was sitting at a table at the Ford Theater where he’d just performed and said, “Many critics say this is my best record.”
I said, “It’s the best live recording ever made,” before I realized how many others he’d made.
I asked him to sign an autograph for my son Jonathan.
“My band leader’s son is also named Jonathan,” King said. “He’s in Iraq.”
James (Boogaloo) Bolden, the band leader and trumpet player, was standing nearby. He nodded with pride, and so did I.
TOP STORY >> Lester: Millage needed
By GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader executive editor
Jacksonville’s new school district will need a millage increase to help pay for new facilities and improve the schools academically.
That was the message Bobby Lester, the interim superintendent of the Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District, brought to the Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council luncheon on Tuesday.
He said a poll of local residents shows 85 percent support for a millage increase. He pointed out that 95 percent of the voters last fall supported forming the independent school district.
In partnership with Little Rock Air Force Base, which has offered to give land to the new district for a new elementary school and a high school, Lester said the Jacksonville district would be one of the best in the state.
Lester, who is stepping down June 30, introduced Tony Wood, his successor who takes over July 1. Wood is a former Searcy superintendent and state education commissioner.
“Tony Wood in Searcy made the district one of the best,” Lester said. “He’ll get the job done for us. The next few years won’t be easy for us.”
But Lester added, “He’ll put the district at the top.”
“We need a millage in-crease that’s more comparable to other districts so parents and military families are proud to send their kids to our schools,” Lester said.
PCSSD’s current millage rate is 40.7. PCSSD voters on Tuesday rejected a 5.6 millage increase to raise $220 million, which would have paid for new facilities and schools in the district.
The Little Rock millage rate is at 46.4, Lonoke at 43.4 and North Little Rock at 40.9.
Cabot’s is at 39 mills. Beebe’s is at 36.6 and Searcy at 35.7.
The average millage rate in the state is 37.2.
Lester, a former Pulaski County Special School Superintendent, said the extra superintendent, said the extra funds would build several new schools with significant funding from the Defense Department.
“We need to get out of court to build better facilities,” Lester said. “Our kids deserve the best.”
“We’re not a rich district,” he told the community council. “We don’t have a lot of assets.”
He said Wood will soon hire two assistant superintendents and principals will be announced in the fall.
“Most will be rehired,” Lester said.
He also said the district will rehire most of the teachers in Jacksonville, but they could be paid less.
“There will be a new pay schedule,” Lester predicted. “We can’t afford Pulaski County’s pay schedule. They couldn’t afford it either. That’s why they’re in fiscal distress.”
Lester said his visit to Jacksonville Middle School was “demoralizing.”
“I was appalled at conditions at Jacksonville Middle School,” the interim superintendent said. “There are a lot more horror stories I could tell you.”
He said no students should learn in that environment or teachers work in a rundown school.
The school will close this fall and middle school students will go to Northwood Middle School for a year before North Pulaski High School is turned into a middle school. North Pulaski students will go to Jacksonville High School.
The Air Force has offered a long-term lease at no cost to the district to build a new elementary school near the base perimeter on Harris Road across from North Pulaski High School.
The nearby Tolleson Elementary would be combined with Arnold Drive Elementary School at the 27-acre site.
A new high school would be built farther up the road near Paradise Lake.
In addition, a millage increase and matching funds from the state and the military would pay for renovating Jacksonville’s dilapidated elementary schools, Lester said.
Leader executive editor
Jacksonville’s new school district will need a millage increase to help pay for new facilities and improve the schools academically.
That was the message Bobby Lester, the interim superintendent of the Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District, brought to the Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council luncheon on Tuesday.
He said a poll of local residents shows 85 percent support for a millage increase. He pointed out that 95 percent of the voters last fall supported forming the independent school district.
In partnership with Little Rock Air Force Base, which has offered to give land to the new district for a new elementary school and a high school, Lester said the Jacksonville district would be one of the best in the state.
Lester, who is stepping down June 30, introduced Tony Wood, his successor who takes over July 1. Wood is a former Searcy superintendent and state education commissioner.
“Tony Wood in Searcy made the district one of the best,” Lester said. “He’ll get the job done for us. The next few years won’t be easy for us.”
But Lester added, “He’ll put the district at the top.”
“We need a millage in-crease that’s more comparable to other districts so parents and military families are proud to send their kids to our schools,” Lester said.
PCSSD’s current millage rate is 40.7. PCSSD voters on Tuesday rejected a 5.6 millage increase to raise $220 million, which would have paid for new facilities and schools in the district.
The Little Rock millage rate is at 46.4, Lonoke at 43.4 and North Little Rock at 40.9.
Cabot’s is at 39 mills. Beebe’s is at 36.6 and Searcy at 35.7.
The average millage rate in the state is 37.2.
Lester, a former Pulaski County Special School Superintendent, said the extra superintendent, said the extra funds would build several new schools with significant funding from the Defense Department.
“We need to get out of court to build better facilities,” Lester said. “Our kids deserve the best.”
“We’re not a rich district,” he told the community council. “We don’t have a lot of assets.”
He said Wood will soon hire two assistant superintendents and principals will be announced in the fall.
“Most will be rehired,” Lester said.
He also said the district will rehire most of the teachers in Jacksonville, but they could be paid less.
“There will be a new pay schedule,” Lester predicted. “We can’t afford Pulaski County’s pay schedule. They couldn’t afford it either. That’s why they’re in fiscal distress.”
Lester said his visit to Jacksonville Middle School was “demoralizing.”
“I was appalled at conditions at Jacksonville Middle School,” the interim superintendent said. “There are a lot more horror stories I could tell you.”
He said no students should learn in that environment or teachers work in a rundown school.
The school will close this fall and middle school students will go to Northwood Middle School for a year before North Pulaski High School is turned into a middle school. North Pulaski students will go to Jacksonville High School.
The Air Force has offered a long-term lease at no cost to the district to build a new elementary school near the base perimeter on Harris Road across from North Pulaski High School.
The nearby Tolleson Elementary would be combined with Arnold Drive Elementary School at the 27-acre site.
A new high school would be built farther up the road near Paradise Lake.
In addition, a millage increase and matching funds from the state and the military would pay for renovating Jacksonville’s dilapidated elementary schools, Lester said.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
EDITORIAL >> Fireworks set fuse in Cabot
The Cabot City Council is considering lifting the city’s ban on fireworks, which would make official what has long been known: Police officers have stopped responding to every complaint about bottle rockets.
Rather than ignore the ban and complaints, the police department would like to change the law. Under a proposed ordinance, which must be read two more times before it is put to a vote, residents will be allowed to shoot fireworks from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. July 1-5 and 10 a.m. Dec. 31 until 1 a.m. New Year’s Day.
But there has been a lot of opposition from people who value their peace and quiet. Recent letters to the editor in these pages highlight those concerns. (See letter below.)
Opponents are also concerned about safety, saying that risk of fire and people getting injured or burned is reason enough to keep the ban.
Fire Chief Phil Robinson points out that fireworks in recent years have only caused small grass fires in town. But, in 2012, on July Fourth, an elderly woman lost her home when her neighbors, ignoring a burn ban, started a wildfire on Mountain Springs Road. Other homes could have been destroyed had not four fire departments, including Cabot’s, responded to the scene.
A county-ordered burn ban will always trump Cabot residents’ right to shoot fireworks if the rules are to be changed. But news about severe droughts and burn bans is hard to compete with July Fourth fervor.
As much as fireworks are considered a minor seasonal nuisance, shooting fireworks still bothers neighbors who value their peace and quiet. Everyone has a neighbor who is already putting together a small arsenal of fireworks to mark their new freedom.
Allowing fireworks to be shot over five days in July has especially raised concerns that the proposed ordinance is going overboard.
Some residents are also skeptical that celebrants will end the fireworks promptly at 11 p.m. when it’s common to hear them well after midnight on the Fourth.
But city officials have been careful to respect quality of life with a recognition that the ban has failed and police officers have better things to do than run all over town all night asking people to stop celebrating Independence Day so loudly.
Assistant Police Chief Danny Clem said, “We could put every officer on our force on during those nights, and it’d be troublesome for us (to enforce the ban).”
Founding Father John Adams, our country’s second president and a key figure in the American Revolution, wrote to his wife that July Fourth should be celebrated “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
So it could be far more raucous.
In the meantime, the council will hear the proposal read for a second time at 7 p.m. Monday. Alderman Rick Prentice has said he will probably vote against it, and Alderman Doyle Tullos has invited some concerned residents to speak against the measure. Expect a big turnout.
Rather than ignore the ban and complaints, the police department would like to change the law. Under a proposed ordinance, which must be read two more times before it is put to a vote, residents will be allowed to shoot fireworks from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. July 1-5 and 10 a.m. Dec. 31 until 1 a.m. New Year’s Day.
But there has been a lot of opposition from people who value their peace and quiet. Recent letters to the editor in these pages highlight those concerns. (See letter below.)
Opponents are also concerned about safety, saying that risk of fire and people getting injured or burned is reason enough to keep the ban.
Fire Chief Phil Robinson points out that fireworks in recent years have only caused small grass fires in town. But, in 2012, on July Fourth, an elderly woman lost her home when her neighbors, ignoring a burn ban, started a wildfire on Mountain Springs Road. Other homes could have been destroyed had not four fire departments, including Cabot’s, responded to the scene.
A county-ordered burn ban will always trump Cabot residents’ right to shoot fireworks if the rules are to be changed. But news about severe droughts and burn bans is hard to compete with July Fourth fervor.
As much as fireworks are considered a minor seasonal nuisance, shooting fireworks still bothers neighbors who value their peace and quiet. Everyone has a neighbor who is already putting together a small arsenal of fireworks to mark their new freedom.
Allowing fireworks to be shot over five days in July has especially raised concerns that the proposed ordinance is going overboard.
Some residents are also skeptical that celebrants will end the fireworks promptly at 11 p.m. when it’s common to hear them well after midnight on the Fourth.
But city officials have been careful to respect quality of life with a recognition that the ban has failed and police officers have better things to do than run all over town all night asking people to stop celebrating Independence Day so loudly.
Assistant Police Chief Danny Clem said, “We could put every officer on our force on during those nights, and it’d be troublesome for us (to enforce the ban).”
Founding Father John Adams, our country’s second president and a key figure in the American Revolution, wrote to his wife that July Fourth should be celebrated “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
So it could be far more raucous.
In the meantime, the council will hear the proposal read for a second time at 7 p.m. Monday. Alderman Rick Prentice has said he will probably vote against it, and Alderman Doyle Tullos has invited some concerned residents to speak against the measure. Expect a big turnout.
TOP STORY >> Sister competes for special van
By BRANDY ROBINSON
Special to the Leader
My sister, Tonya Lovercheck of Jacksonville, is competing again this year to win a handicapped-accessible van after a November 2011 car crash left her with limited use of her hands and arms and no use of her legs.
She was rendered unable to care for herself after the accident and is now a resident of Woodland Hills Nursing and Rehab.
Tonya needs the van so we can get her back to living life.
To vote for her, visit http://www.mobilityawarenessmonth.com/entrant/tonya-lovercheck-jacksonville-ar/.
Signing up for an account is not required. You can instead sign in using your Facebook, Instagram or Google Plus account. Please vote for Tonya once a day through May 31.
My sister was just 38 years old when her life changed.
A wife and mother of two girls, Tonya worked a full-time job and spent much of her free time at her 14-year-old daughter’s softball games, while chasing her 3-year-old around the ballpark.
Her daughters are now 17 and 6. Tonya is 41, and she is a graduate of Jacksonville High School.
Laughter, fun, friends and family – her life was rich and full. Tonya loved adventure and was always on the go.
Her neck was broken and her spinal cord was injured at cervical levels five, six and seven in the one-vehicle rollover accident on Dick Jeter Road between North Little Rock and Jacksonville.
Tonya was rendered unable to care for herself after that and went from living in a house with her girls and husband to living in a small room with cold tile floors and empty white walls.
It’s a nice facility, and she has found friends on the staff that takes care of her.
But Tonya has no way to go anywhere or do the things she was used to doing.
My sister relies on visits from friends and family and her faith in God to get her through each day.
Occasionally, her family is able to borrow a van to get Tonya out of the facility.
She loves to get out and see the world she has been missing for the past three years. She especially enjoys attending events her children are involved in.
Visits in a nursing home can’t be compared with a trip to the park or shopping with her teenage daughter – things Tonya is unable to do on her own. She’s already missed so much.
Please vote for my sister so she won’t have to miss any more.
Special to the Leader
My sister, Tonya Lovercheck of Jacksonville, is competing again this year to win a handicapped-accessible van after a November 2011 car crash left her with limited use of her hands and arms and no use of her legs.
She was rendered unable to care for herself after the accident and is now a resident of Woodland Hills Nursing and Rehab.
Tonya needs the van so we can get her back to living life.
To vote for her, visit http://www.mobilityawarenessmonth.com/entrant/tonya-lovercheck-jacksonville-ar/.
Signing up for an account is not required. You can instead sign in using your Facebook, Instagram or Google Plus account. Please vote for Tonya once a day through May 31.
My sister was just 38 years old when her life changed.
A wife and mother of two girls, Tonya worked a full-time job and spent much of her free time at her 14-year-old daughter’s softball games, while chasing her 3-year-old around the ballpark.
Her daughters are now 17 and 6. Tonya is 41, and she is a graduate of Jacksonville High School.
Laughter, fun, friends and family – her life was rich and full. Tonya loved adventure and was always on the go.
Her neck was broken and her spinal cord was injured at cervical levels five, six and seven in the one-vehicle rollover accident on Dick Jeter Road between North Little Rock and Jacksonville.
Tonya was rendered unable to care for herself after that and went from living in a house with her girls and husband to living in a small room with cold tile floors and empty white walls.
It’s a nice facility, and she has found friends on the staff that takes care of her.
But Tonya has no way to go anywhere or do the things she was used to doing.
My sister relies on visits from friends and family and her faith in God to get her through each day.
Occasionally, her family is able to borrow a van to get Tonya out of the facility.
She loves to get out and see the world she has been missing for the past three years. She especially enjoys attending events her children are involved in.
Visits in a nursing home can’t be compared with a trip to the park or shopping with her teenage daughter – things Tonya is unable to do on her own. She’s already missed so much.
Please vote for my sister so she won’t have to miss any more.
TOP STORY >> Report card paints poor picture
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of articles examining the state-issued report cards on area schools.
Out of the 10 schools that are part of the new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District breaking away from PCSSD, one received a B, two had C’s, four had D’s and two had F’s on the state’s recent report cards.
Dr. Laura Bednar, PCSSD’s deputy superintendent for academic affairs, has problems with the state-required letter grades, but she does agree that the district has plenty of room for improvement.
She said the grades are “very confusing and difficult. You just can’t use one type of test score to grade schools or students.”
About the complex state grading system, Bednar said, “Depending on the matrix used, you can get a different grade every time.” She added, “Our focus is on the students and for that we are going to use those who know the most about the kids, the classroom teachers. They are the experts on what is going on and what is needed.”
The Pulaski County Special School District spends almost $4,000 per student, more than the state average, in efforts to educate the students, but, according to the state report cards, that extra expenditure has garnered Jacksonville mostly sub-par grades.
The two high schools have a graduation rate roughly 15 points below the state average, and most groups of students are not up to the state average or the state-required level of proficiency.
All state schools were recently graded (A-F) by the state.
The school report cards are part of a 2013 law requiring an easy-to-comprehend system that parents and others could understand.
What the state produced were report cards for each school, averaging 18 pages long — each full of information, often conflicting, and no clear summary or explanation of the grade.
Bednar said, “If we can’t explain the letter grades, then it is an issue, and we can’t explain it.”
But she said what makes things worse is that all parents or prospective school patrons will see when they go online is that letter grade and not all the good things going on behind it or in spite of it.
Taking an in-depth look at the state issued report cards on the Pulaski County Special School District the data shows that the district spends about $4,000 more to educate a student than the state average. PCSSD spends $13,268 per student and the state average is $9,379.
Teacher salaries are about $4,000 above state average: $51,946 compared to $48,060.
The total budget for the school district in the 2013-2014 school year was $210.5 million, according to the state report. That broke down to $99.5 million for instruction expenses, $13.8 million for administrative costs, $3.5 million on extracurricular activities, $12.7 million for capital expenditures and debt service of $10.3 million.
The report also shows that 65 percent of PCSSD students are eligible for free or reduced meals, about four points above the state average.
JACKSONVILLE HIGH
The flagship of the new JNPSD will be Jacksonville High School. In 2013-2014, the school had 830 students, an average class size of 14 students and teachers averaged 10 years of experience.
The student population is 62 percent black, 28 percent white, 5 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.
On the state report card the school garnered 226 points or a strong “C,” and was listed as a “needs improvement priority” school. For the 2011-2012 school year, the state called JHS a “school meeting standards.”
Students taking the end-of-course Algebra I exam were 42.99 percent proficient or advanced, a drop of 27 points from the previous year and missing the state requirement of 53.71 percent proficient or better.
In geometry, 64 percent who took the end-of-course exam scored proficient or better, up 13 points from the previous year and besting the state requirement by 11 points.
There is no state mandated goal for the end-of-course biology exam where just 20.9 percent of the students were proficient or advanced. That’s up three points from the previous year.
The school saw a big jump in its 11th-grade literacy exam scores in 2013-2014. Students were 62.5 percent proficient or better compared to the previous year’s score of 45.8 percent making the cut. The juniors beat the state mandated goal of 54.32 percent.
Students taking the ACT exam were two to four points under the state average scores. Students also scored substantially below the state average on the SATs.
The rate of Jacksonville High students going to college was 38.9 percent, 13 points below the state average. The college remediation rate at 85.2 percent is about double the sate average.
The school has a dropout rate of 8.19 percent, almost four times higher than the state dropout rate of 2.1 percent. It has a graduation rate of 66 percent, about 20 points below the state average.
In 2013-2014, JHS expelled eight students and had seven assaults on staff members, six student assaults and two weapons incidents.
The school is properly accredited and all teachers are properly certified and licensed and 58 percent have master’s degrees and two percent have even higher degrees.
NORTH PULASKI HIGH SCHOOL
Students at North Pulaski, within the next year or two, will be transferred to Jacksonville High School and current plans call for North Pulaski to be revamped into a middle school campus.
But in 2013-2014, the school had 736 students, an average class size of 12 students and teachers averaged eight years of experience.
The student population is 52 percent white, 36 percent black, 5 percent Hispanic and 2 percent Asian and 1 percent Pacific Islander.
On the state report card the school garnered 210 points for a “C,” but just one point above a “D,” and was listed as a “needs improvement” school. For the 2011-2012 school year, the state called NPHS a “school meeting standards.”
Students taking the end-of-course Algebra I exam were 54.5 percent proficient or advanced, a drop of nine points from the previous year and missing the state requirement of 71.22 percent proficient or better.
In geometry, 64.3 percent who took the end-of-course exam scored proficient or better, up 13 points from the previous year and missing the state requirement by eight points.
There is no state mandated goal for the end-of-course biology exam where 47.9 percent of the students were proficient or advanced. That’s up 23 points from the previous year.
The school saw a jump in its 11th-grade literacy exam scores in 2013-2014 as students were 62.1 percent proficient or better compared to the previous year’s score of 57.65 percent making the cut. The juniors missed the state mandated goal of 67.08 percent.
Students taking the ACT exam were two to four points under the state average scores. Students also scored substantially below the state average on the SATs.
The rate of NPHS students going to college was 46.4 percent, five points below the state average. The college remediation rate at 57.4 percent is about 13 points higher than the sate average.
The school has a dropout rate of 4.91 percent, twice as high than the state dropout rate of 2.1 percent. It has a graduation rate of 71.6 percent, about 15 points below the state average.
In 2013-2014, NPHS expelled two students and had seven student assaults, three staff assaults and two weapons incidents.
The school is properly accredited and 97.5 percent of the teachers are properly certified and licensed, while 2.5 percent have emergency or provisional licenses and 52 percent have master’s degrees.
JACKSONVILLE MIDDLE
Three years ago JMS was listed as a “school meeting standards,” but in the latest round of report cards, the state gave the school an “F,” and listed it as a “needs improvement” school.
The middle school, with 606 students, an average class size of 15 students and teachers with an average experience of four years, garnered 162 points from the state, meaning it would need 18 more points to get a “D.”
The school population is 62 percent black, 27 percent white, 7 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.
On the state’s annual literacy section of the Benchmark exam, 38.89 percent of the students scored proficient or advanced, down eight points from the previous years and 22 points short of the state mandated goal of 60.52 percent proficient or better.
On the math portion, sixth graders were 50.28 percent proficient or better, down a point from the previous year, and almost 15 points off the state required mark.
Seventh graders were 37.42 percent proficient or better on the literacy portion of the exam, down 13 points from the previous year and 23 points shy of the state required 60.52 percent proficient or better.
In math, the seventh graders were 49.08 percent proficient or better, two points better than the previous year, but still 15 points off the state mark.
Eighth graders were 53.19 percent proficient or better in literacy, up three points from the previous years, but seven points short of the state mark.
In math, students were 34.57 percent proficient or advanced, up six points from the previous year, but 30 points short of the state mandate of 64.94 percent proficient or advanced.
The school is properly accredited and 95.7 percent of its teachers are completely certified and 1 percent are operating on emergency or provisional licenses.
The school retained 27 students in the 2013-2014 school years. Also, there were two expulsions, nine weapons incidents, six staff assaults and 10 student assaults.
NORTHWOOD MIDDLE
PCSSD has plans to close Northwood in the next year or so and the Jacksonville distinct is eyeing it as the district’s temporary home for middle school students.
Three years ago, North-wood was listed as a “school exceeding standards,” but in the latest round of report cards, the state gave the school an “F,” and listed it as a “needs improvement” school.
The middle school, with 413 students, an average class size of 13 students and teachers with an average experience of six years, garnered 179 points from the state, meaning it would need just two more points to get a “D.”
The school population is 55 percent white, 36 percent black, 6 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.
On the state’s annual literacy section of the Benchmark exam, 64.52 percent of the sixth graders scored proficient or advanced, down three points from the previous year and 10 points short of the state mandated goal of 74.81 percent proficient or better.
On the math portion, sixth graders were 70.97 percent proficient or better, down about 15 point from the previous year, and almost four points off the state required mark.
Seventh graders were 75.86 percent proficient or better on the literacy portion of the exam, up 13 points from the previous year and one point better than the state required 74.81 percent proficient or better.
In math, the seventh graders were 65.52 percent proficient or better, up 15 points, but still nine points under the state required points.
Eighth graders were 78.29 percent proficient or better in literacy, up eight points from the previous year, beating the state mark by four points.
In math, students were 64.34 percent proficient or advanced, up nine points from the previous year, but 10 points short of the state mandate of 64.94 percent proficient or advanced.
The school is properly accredited and 97.9 percent of its teachers are completely certified and 1 percent are operating on an emergency or provisional licenses.
The school retained five students in the 2013-2014 school year. Also, there were two expulsions, one weapons incidents, nine staff assaults and 41 student assaults.
ARNOLD DRIVE
According to the state report card, the Blue Ribbon school received 262 points and an overall grade of B, just eight points from an “A” and is listed as a “needs improvement” school. Three years ago, using a different rating system, the state said Arnold Drive Elementary was a “school of excellence.”
Last year the school had 258 students, an average class size of 20 students and teachers had an average of eight years of experience. The student population was 47 percent white, 22 percent, black, 17 percent Hispanic, 3 percent Asian and 2 percent Pacific Islander.
Arnold Drive Elementary’s accreditation status was at the highest level. The report said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified (better than the state average), but 4.7 percent were working under emergency or provisional credentials and that 17 percent had master’s degrees.
In 2013-2014, the school retained two students. The school also reported one weapons incident, one staff assault and two student assaults.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders were 83 percent proficient or better, seven points below the previous year and 12 points shy of the state-mandated goal of 95.16 percent.
In math, third graders were 90.3 percent proficient or better, a slight drop from the previous year, but short of the 97.58 percent required by the state.
In literacy, fourth graders missed the state goal by 0.16 of a percent. The fourth graders were 95 proficient or better, but the requirement was 95.16 percent. In math, fourth graders were at 90 percent proficient or better, five points better than the previous year, but close to eight points under the state requirement.
The fifth graders showed they were excellent readers with 100 percent of them scoring proficient or advanced in literacy, up 17 points from the year before, and five points above the state bar.
In math, 81.8 percent of the students made the cut, up four points from the previous year, but 16 points below the state required 97.58 percent.
Third and fourth graders bested the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
BAYOU METO
This elementary school with 306 students, an average class size of 20 students and teachers averaging eight years of experience, garnered 236 points from the state for a letter grade of “C.” The school was just four points from a “B.” It was listed as a “needs improvement” school although three years ago the state called Bayou Meto a “school of excellence.”
The student population last year was 85 percent white, 8 percent, black and 6 percent Hispanic.
Bayou Meto’s accreditation status was at the highest level. The report said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified and 45 percent had master’s degrees.
In 2013-2014, the school retained three students.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders were 73.2 percent proficient or better, six points below the previous year and 14 points under of the state-mandated goal of 87.42 percent.
In math, third graders beat the state goal by almost two points. The students were 92.7 percent proficient or better and the state said 91.08 percent had to make the cut.
In literacy, fourth graders were 85.8 proficient or better, five points lower than the previous year and less than two points shy of the state requirement.
The fifth graders were 85.1 percent proficient or better, down a point from the previous year and short of the 87.42 percent required by the state. In math, 76.6 percent of the students made the cut, down seven points from the previous year and 15 points below the state required 97.58 percent.
None of the grades beat the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
MURRELL TAYLOR
According to the state report card, this elementary school received 203 points and an overall grade of “D”, just seven points from a “C” and is listed as a “needs improvement focus” school. Three years ago, using a different rating system, the state said Murrell Taylor was a “school exceeding standards.”
Last year the school had 464 students, an average class size of 15 students and teachers had an average of eight years of experience. The student population was 60 percent black, 29 percent white, 4 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.
Murrell Taylor’s accreditation status was at the highest level. The report said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified and 54 percent had master’s degrees.
In 2013-2014, the school retained 10 students. The school also reported six weapons incident, three staff assault and 16 student assaults.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders were 66.6 percent proficient or better, 13 points below the previous year and about 14 points shy of the state-mandated goal of 81.12 percent.
In math, third graders were 72.7 percent proficient or better, a two-point drop from the previous year, but short of the 75.18 percent required by the state.
In literacy, fourth graders were 72.7 percent proficient or better, down two points from the previous year and missing the state mark of 81.12 percent by about nine points.
In math, fourth graders were only 56.4 percent proficient, a 20 point drop from the previous year and 19 points below the state mandate.
The fifth graders were 80.3 percent proficient or better in literacy, down three points from the previous year and one point below the state bar of 81.12 percent proficient or better.
In math, 53.6 percent of the students made the cut, up slightly from the previous year, but 21 points below the state required 75.18 percent.
None of the grades beat the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
PINEWOOD
This elementary school garnered just 195 points from the state which equated to a solid “D” grade. It was listed as a “needs improvement” school, but three years ago the state classified Pinewood as a “school exceeding standards.”
The school, last year, had 426 students, an average class size of 20 students and teachers had an average of seven years of experience. The student population was 48 percent black, 39 percent white and 5 percent Hispanic.
Pinewood Elementary had no issues with its accreditation. The state report card said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified (better than the state average) and 40 percent had master’s degrees.
In 2013-2014, the school retained nine students. The school also reported two weapons incident, two staff assault and five student assaults.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders fell from 71.05 percent proficient or better two years ago to 60.9 percent last year and missed the state mark of 81.46 percent by 21 points.
In math, third graders were 64.7 percent proficient or better, a three-point drop from the previous year and 11 points short of the 81.46 percent required by the state.
In literacy, fourth graders surpassed the state goal of 81.46 proficient or better. Students had a proficiency rate of 82.4 percent, above the state, but a three-point drop from the previous year.
In math, fourth graders were at 57.4 percent proficient or better, 16 points lower than the previous year and 24 points off the state mandate of 81.46 percent.
Fifth graders were 91.1 percent proficient or advanced in literacy, down about a point from last year, but a whopping 10 points over the state bar of 81.45 percent proficient or better. In math, just 33.9 percent of the students made the cut, down 19 points from the previous year and 18 points below the state required 81.46 percent.
None of the grades bested the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
TOLLESON
Tolleson Elementary, with 379 students, an average class size of 18 students and teachers with an average of nine years of experience, received 221 points from the state for as “C.” The score was closer to a “D” than a “B.” It was also categorized as a “needs improvement” school. Three years ago, using a different rating system, the state said Tolleson Elementary was a “school exceeding standards.”
The student population last year was 48 percent white, 37 percent, black, 9 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.
There were no issues with the school’s accreditation. The report card said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified, but 2.9 percent were working under emergency or provisional credentials and that 52 percent had master’s degrees.
In 2013-2014, the school retained 13 students. The school also reported two weapons incident, four staff assault and two student assaults.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders were 80 percent proficient or better, eight points better than the previous year but still eight points shy of the state-mandated goal of 88.16 percent.
In math, third graders were 83.6 percent proficient or better, a slight drop from the previous year, but short of the 86.85 percent required by the state.
In literacy, 75.7 percent of the fourth graders made the cut, down nine points from the previous year and missing the state goal of 88.16 percent proficient by 12 points
In math, fourth graders were at 69.7 percent proficient or better, 18 points worse than the previous year, and 17 points under the state requirement.
The fifth graders showed were 89.9 percent proficient or advanced in literacy, about the same as the year before and close to two points above the state mandate of 88.16 percent proficient or better.
In math, there was a big jump with fifth graders going from 68.42 percent proficient or better to 84.6 percent, but it was still two points shy of the required 86.85 percent.
The fifth graders beat the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
WARREN DUPREE
According to the state report card, this elementary school received 204 points and an overall grade of “D,” just six points from a “C” and is listed as a “needs improvement” school. Three years ago, using a different rating system, the state said Warren Dupree was a “school exceeding standards.”
The school, last year, had 430 students, an average class size of 21 students and teachers had an average of four years of experience. The student population was 52 percent black, 31 percent white, 10 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Native American.
The school’s accreditation status was at the highest level. The report said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified and 46 percent had master’s degrees.
The fifth graders moved up 27 points in literacy, going from 40.48 percent making the cut to 67.35 percent scoring proficient or better, but that was still17 points shy of the state mandate. In 2013-2014, the school retained five students. The school also reported one weapons incident and two student assaults.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders were 66 percent proficient or better, two points below the previous year and 15 points shy of the state-mandated goal of 81.1 percent.
In math, third graders were 76.8 percent proficient or better, nine points better than the previous year, but short of the 85.23 percent required by the state.
In literacy, fourth graders missed the state goal by four points. The fourth graders were 77.1 percent proficient or better, but the requirement was 81.1 percent. In math, fourth graders were at 50.8 percent proficient or better, 20 points worse than the previous year, and 25 points under the state requirement.
The fifth graders moved up two points in literacy, going from 80.95 percent, making the cut to 82.6 percent scoring proficient or better, more than a point over of the state mandate of 81.1 percent.
In math, fifth graders improved 27 points, but still didn’t make the state required goals. The students went from 40.48 percent proficient or better to 67.35 making the grade, but need 85.23 to be proficient or advanced.
None of the grades beat the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
Leader staff writer
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of articles examining the state-issued report cards on area schools.
Out of the 10 schools that are part of the new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District breaking away from PCSSD, one received a B, two had C’s, four had D’s and two had F’s on the state’s recent report cards.
Dr. Laura Bednar, PCSSD’s deputy superintendent for academic affairs, has problems with the state-required letter grades, but she does agree that the district has plenty of room for improvement.
She said the grades are “very confusing and difficult. You just can’t use one type of test score to grade schools or students.”
About the complex state grading system, Bednar said, “Depending on the matrix used, you can get a different grade every time.” She added, “Our focus is on the students and for that we are going to use those who know the most about the kids, the classroom teachers. They are the experts on what is going on and what is needed.”
The Pulaski County Special School District spends almost $4,000 per student, more than the state average, in efforts to educate the students, but, according to the state report cards, that extra expenditure has garnered Jacksonville mostly sub-par grades.
The two high schools have a graduation rate roughly 15 points below the state average, and most groups of students are not up to the state average or the state-required level of proficiency.
All state schools were recently graded (A-F) by the state.
The school report cards are part of a 2013 law requiring an easy-to-comprehend system that parents and others could understand.
What the state produced were report cards for each school, averaging 18 pages long — each full of information, often conflicting, and no clear summary or explanation of the grade.
Bednar said, “If we can’t explain the letter grades, then it is an issue, and we can’t explain it.”
But she said what makes things worse is that all parents or prospective school patrons will see when they go online is that letter grade and not all the good things going on behind it or in spite of it.
Taking an in-depth look at the state issued report cards on the Pulaski County Special School District the data shows that the district spends about $4,000 more to educate a student than the state average. PCSSD spends $13,268 per student and the state average is $9,379.
Teacher salaries are about $4,000 above state average: $51,946 compared to $48,060.
The total budget for the school district in the 2013-2014 school year was $210.5 million, according to the state report. That broke down to $99.5 million for instruction expenses, $13.8 million for administrative costs, $3.5 million on extracurricular activities, $12.7 million for capital expenditures and debt service of $10.3 million.
The report also shows that 65 percent of PCSSD students are eligible for free or reduced meals, about four points above the state average.
JACKSONVILLE HIGH
The flagship of the new JNPSD will be Jacksonville High School. In 2013-2014, the school had 830 students, an average class size of 14 students and teachers averaged 10 years of experience.
The student population is 62 percent black, 28 percent white, 5 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.
On the state report card the school garnered 226 points or a strong “C,” and was listed as a “needs improvement priority” school. For the 2011-2012 school year, the state called JHS a “school meeting standards.”
Students taking the end-of-course Algebra I exam were 42.99 percent proficient or advanced, a drop of 27 points from the previous year and missing the state requirement of 53.71 percent proficient or better.
In geometry, 64 percent who took the end-of-course exam scored proficient or better, up 13 points from the previous year and besting the state requirement by 11 points.
There is no state mandated goal for the end-of-course biology exam where just 20.9 percent of the students were proficient or advanced. That’s up three points from the previous year.
The school saw a big jump in its 11th-grade literacy exam scores in 2013-2014. Students were 62.5 percent proficient or better compared to the previous year’s score of 45.8 percent making the cut. The juniors beat the state mandated goal of 54.32 percent.
Students taking the ACT exam were two to four points under the state average scores. Students also scored substantially below the state average on the SATs.
The rate of Jacksonville High students going to college was 38.9 percent, 13 points below the state average. The college remediation rate at 85.2 percent is about double the sate average.
The school has a dropout rate of 8.19 percent, almost four times higher than the state dropout rate of 2.1 percent. It has a graduation rate of 66 percent, about 20 points below the state average.
In 2013-2014, JHS expelled eight students and had seven assaults on staff members, six student assaults and two weapons incidents.
The school is properly accredited and all teachers are properly certified and licensed and 58 percent have master’s degrees and two percent have even higher degrees.
NORTH PULASKI HIGH SCHOOL
Students at North Pulaski, within the next year or two, will be transferred to Jacksonville High School and current plans call for North Pulaski to be revamped into a middle school campus.
But in 2013-2014, the school had 736 students, an average class size of 12 students and teachers averaged eight years of experience.
The student population is 52 percent white, 36 percent black, 5 percent Hispanic and 2 percent Asian and 1 percent Pacific Islander.
On the state report card the school garnered 210 points for a “C,” but just one point above a “D,” and was listed as a “needs improvement” school. For the 2011-2012 school year, the state called NPHS a “school meeting standards.”
Students taking the end-of-course Algebra I exam were 54.5 percent proficient or advanced, a drop of nine points from the previous year and missing the state requirement of 71.22 percent proficient or better.
In geometry, 64.3 percent who took the end-of-course exam scored proficient or better, up 13 points from the previous year and missing the state requirement by eight points.
There is no state mandated goal for the end-of-course biology exam where 47.9 percent of the students were proficient or advanced. That’s up 23 points from the previous year.
The school saw a jump in its 11th-grade literacy exam scores in 2013-2014 as students were 62.1 percent proficient or better compared to the previous year’s score of 57.65 percent making the cut. The juniors missed the state mandated goal of 67.08 percent.
Students taking the ACT exam were two to four points under the state average scores. Students also scored substantially below the state average on the SATs.
The rate of NPHS students going to college was 46.4 percent, five points below the state average. The college remediation rate at 57.4 percent is about 13 points higher than the sate average.
The school has a dropout rate of 4.91 percent, twice as high than the state dropout rate of 2.1 percent. It has a graduation rate of 71.6 percent, about 15 points below the state average.
In 2013-2014, NPHS expelled two students and had seven student assaults, three staff assaults and two weapons incidents.
The school is properly accredited and 97.5 percent of the teachers are properly certified and licensed, while 2.5 percent have emergency or provisional licenses and 52 percent have master’s degrees.
JACKSONVILLE MIDDLE
Three years ago JMS was listed as a “school meeting standards,” but in the latest round of report cards, the state gave the school an “F,” and listed it as a “needs improvement” school.
The middle school, with 606 students, an average class size of 15 students and teachers with an average experience of four years, garnered 162 points from the state, meaning it would need 18 more points to get a “D.”
The school population is 62 percent black, 27 percent white, 7 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.
On the state’s annual literacy section of the Benchmark exam, 38.89 percent of the students scored proficient or advanced, down eight points from the previous years and 22 points short of the state mandated goal of 60.52 percent proficient or better.
On the math portion, sixth graders were 50.28 percent proficient or better, down a point from the previous year, and almost 15 points off the state required mark.
Seventh graders were 37.42 percent proficient or better on the literacy portion of the exam, down 13 points from the previous year and 23 points shy of the state required 60.52 percent proficient or better.
In math, the seventh graders were 49.08 percent proficient or better, two points better than the previous year, but still 15 points off the state mark.
Eighth graders were 53.19 percent proficient or better in literacy, up three points from the previous years, but seven points short of the state mark.
In math, students were 34.57 percent proficient or advanced, up six points from the previous year, but 30 points short of the state mandate of 64.94 percent proficient or advanced.
The school is properly accredited and 95.7 percent of its teachers are completely certified and 1 percent are operating on emergency or provisional licenses.
The school retained 27 students in the 2013-2014 school years. Also, there were two expulsions, nine weapons incidents, six staff assaults and 10 student assaults.
NORTHWOOD MIDDLE
PCSSD has plans to close Northwood in the next year or so and the Jacksonville distinct is eyeing it as the district’s temporary home for middle school students.
Three years ago, North-wood was listed as a “school exceeding standards,” but in the latest round of report cards, the state gave the school an “F,” and listed it as a “needs improvement” school.
The middle school, with 413 students, an average class size of 13 students and teachers with an average experience of six years, garnered 179 points from the state, meaning it would need just two more points to get a “D.”
The school population is 55 percent white, 36 percent black, 6 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.
On the state’s annual literacy section of the Benchmark exam, 64.52 percent of the sixth graders scored proficient or advanced, down three points from the previous year and 10 points short of the state mandated goal of 74.81 percent proficient or better.
On the math portion, sixth graders were 70.97 percent proficient or better, down about 15 point from the previous year, and almost four points off the state required mark.
Seventh graders were 75.86 percent proficient or better on the literacy portion of the exam, up 13 points from the previous year and one point better than the state required 74.81 percent proficient or better.
In math, the seventh graders were 65.52 percent proficient or better, up 15 points, but still nine points under the state required points.
Eighth graders were 78.29 percent proficient or better in literacy, up eight points from the previous year, beating the state mark by four points.
In math, students were 64.34 percent proficient or advanced, up nine points from the previous year, but 10 points short of the state mandate of 64.94 percent proficient or advanced.
The school is properly accredited and 97.9 percent of its teachers are completely certified and 1 percent are operating on an emergency or provisional licenses.
The school retained five students in the 2013-2014 school year. Also, there were two expulsions, one weapons incidents, nine staff assaults and 41 student assaults.
ARNOLD DRIVE
According to the state report card, the Blue Ribbon school received 262 points and an overall grade of B, just eight points from an “A” and is listed as a “needs improvement” school. Three years ago, using a different rating system, the state said Arnold Drive Elementary was a “school of excellence.”
Last year the school had 258 students, an average class size of 20 students and teachers had an average of eight years of experience. The student population was 47 percent white, 22 percent, black, 17 percent Hispanic, 3 percent Asian and 2 percent Pacific Islander.
Arnold Drive Elementary’s accreditation status was at the highest level. The report said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified (better than the state average), but 4.7 percent were working under emergency or provisional credentials and that 17 percent had master’s degrees.
In 2013-2014, the school retained two students. The school also reported one weapons incident, one staff assault and two student assaults.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders were 83 percent proficient or better, seven points below the previous year and 12 points shy of the state-mandated goal of 95.16 percent.
In math, third graders were 90.3 percent proficient or better, a slight drop from the previous year, but short of the 97.58 percent required by the state.
In literacy, fourth graders missed the state goal by 0.16 of a percent. The fourth graders were 95 proficient or better, but the requirement was 95.16 percent. In math, fourth graders were at 90 percent proficient or better, five points better than the previous year, but close to eight points under the state requirement.
The fifth graders showed they were excellent readers with 100 percent of them scoring proficient or advanced in literacy, up 17 points from the year before, and five points above the state bar.
In math, 81.8 percent of the students made the cut, up four points from the previous year, but 16 points below the state required 97.58 percent.
Third and fourth graders bested the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
BAYOU METO
This elementary school with 306 students, an average class size of 20 students and teachers averaging eight years of experience, garnered 236 points from the state for a letter grade of “C.” The school was just four points from a “B.” It was listed as a “needs improvement” school although three years ago the state called Bayou Meto a “school of excellence.”
The student population last year was 85 percent white, 8 percent, black and 6 percent Hispanic.
Bayou Meto’s accreditation status was at the highest level. The report said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified and 45 percent had master’s degrees.
In 2013-2014, the school retained three students.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders were 73.2 percent proficient or better, six points below the previous year and 14 points under of the state-mandated goal of 87.42 percent.
In math, third graders beat the state goal by almost two points. The students were 92.7 percent proficient or better and the state said 91.08 percent had to make the cut.
In literacy, fourth graders were 85.8 proficient or better, five points lower than the previous year and less than two points shy of the state requirement.
The fifth graders were 85.1 percent proficient or better, down a point from the previous year and short of the 87.42 percent required by the state. In math, 76.6 percent of the students made the cut, down seven points from the previous year and 15 points below the state required 97.58 percent.
None of the grades beat the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
MURRELL TAYLOR
According to the state report card, this elementary school received 203 points and an overall grade of “D”, just seven points from a “C” and is listed as a “needs improvement focus” school. Three years ago, using a different rating system, the state said Murrell Taylor was a “school exceeding standards.”
Last year the school had 464 students, an average class size of 15 students and teachers had an average of eight years of experience. The student population was 60 percent black, 29 percent white, 4 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.
Murrell Taylor’s accreditation status was at the highest level. The report said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified and 54 percent had master’s degrees.
In 2013-2014, the school retained 10 students. The school also reported six weapons incident, three staff assault and 16 student assaults.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders were 66.6 percent proficient or better, 13 points below the previous year and about 14 points shy of the state-mandated goal of 81.12 percent.
In math, third graders were 72.7 percent proficient or better, a two-point drop from the previous year, but short of the 75.18 percent required by the state.
In literacy, fourth graders were 72.7 percent proficient or better, down two points from the previous year and missing the state mark of 81.12 percent by about nine points.
In math, fourth graders were only 56.4 percent proficient, a 20 point drop from the previous year and 19 points below the state mandate.
The fifth graders were 80.3 percent proficient or better in literacy, down three points from the previous year and one point below the state bar of 81.12 percent proficient or better.
In math, 53.6 percent of the students made the cut, up slightly from the previous year, but 21 points below the state required 75.18 percent.
None of the grades beat the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
PINEWOOD
This elementary school garnered just 195 points from the state which equated to a solid “D” grade. It was listed as a “needs improvement” school, but three years ago the state classified Pinewood as a “school exceeding standards.”
The school, last year, had 426 students, an average class size of 20 students and teachers had an average of seven years of experience. The student population was 48 percent black, 39 percent white and 5 percent Hispanic.
Pinewood Elementary had no issues with its accreditation. The state report card said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified (better than the state average) and 40 percent had master’s degrees.
In 2013-2014, the school retained nine students. The school also reported two weapons incident, two staff assault and five student assaults.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders fell from 71.05 percent proficient or better two years ago to 60.9 percent last year and missed the state mark of 81.46 percent by 21 points.
In math, third graders were 64.7 percent proficient or better, a three-point drop from the previous year and 11 points short of the 81.46 percent required by the state.
In literacy, fourth graders surpassed the state goal of 81.46 proficient or better. Students had a proficiency rate of 82.4 percent, above the state, but a three-point drop from the previous year.
In math, fourth graders were at 57.4 percent proficient or better, 16 points lower than the previous year and 24 points off the state mandate of 81.46 percent.
Fifth graders were 91.1 percent proficient or advanced in literacy, down about a point from last year, but a whopping 10 points over the state bar of 81.45 percent proficient or better. In math, just 33.9 percent of the students made the cut, down 19 points from the previous year and 18 points below the state required 81.46 percent.
None of the grades bested the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
TOLLESON
Tolleson Elementary, with 379 students, an average class size of 18 students and teachers with an average of nine years of experience, received 221 points from the state for as “C.” The score was closer to a “D” than a “B.” It was also categorized as a “needs improvement” school. Three years ago, using a different rating system, the state said Tolleson Elementary was a “school exceeding standards.”
The student population last year was 48 percent white, 37 percent, black, 9 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.
There were no issues with the school’s accreditation. The report card said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified, but 2.9 percent were working under emergency or provisional credentials and that 52 percent had master’s degrees.
In 2013-2014, the school retained 13 students. The school also reported two weapons incident, four staff assault and two student assaults.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders were 80 percent proficient or better, eight points better than the previous year but still eight points shy of the state-mandated goal of 88.16 percent.
In math, third graders were 83.6 percent proficient or better, a slight drop from the previous year, but short of the 86.85 percent required by the state.
In literacy, 75.7 percent of the fourth graders made the cut, down nine points from the previous year and missing the state goal of 88.16 percent proficient by 12 points
In math, fourth graders were at 69.7 percent proficient or better, 18 points worse than the previous year, and 17 points under the state requirement.
The fifth graders showed were 89.9 percent proficient or advanced in literacy, about the same as the year before and close to two points above the state mandate of 88.16 percent proficient or better.
In math, there was a big jump with fifth graders going from 68.42 percent proficient or better to 84.6 percent, but it was still two points shy of the required 86.85 percent.
The fifth graders beat the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
WARREN DUPREE
According to the state report card, this elementary school received 204 points and an overall grade of “D,” just six points from a “C” and is listed as a “needs improvement” school. Three years ago, using a different rating system, the state said Warren Dupree was a “school exceeding standards.”
The school, last year, had 430 students, an average class size of 21 students and teachers had an average of four years of experience. The student population was 52 percent black, 31 percent white, 10 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Native American.
The school’s accreditation status was at the highest level. The report said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified and 46 percent had master’s degrees.
The fifth graders moved up 27 points in literacy, going from 40.48 percent making the cut to 67.35 percent scoring proficient or better, but that was still17 points shy of the state mandate. In 2013-2014, the school retained five students. The school also reported one weapons incident and two student assaults.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders were 66 percent proficient or better, two points below the previous year and 15 points shy of the state-mandated goal of 81.1 percent.
In math, third graders were 76.8 percent proficient or better, nine points better than the previous year, but short of the 85.23 percent required by the state.
In literacy, fourth graders missed the state goal by four points. The fourth graders were 77.1 percent proficient or better, but the requirement was 81.1 percent. In math, fourth graders were at 50.8 percent proficient or better, 20 points worse than the previous year, and 25 points under the state requirement.
The fifth graders moved up two points in literacy, going from 80.95 percent, making the cut to 82.6 percent scoring proficient or better, more than a point over of the state mandate of 81.1 percent.
In math, fifth graders improved 27 points, but still didn’t make the state required goals. The students went from 40.48 percent proficient or better to 67.35 making the grade, but need 85.23 to be proficient or advanced.
None of the grades beat the state average in math and literacy on the norm-referenced portion of the test, which is used to compare students nationally.
TOP STORY >> Voters defeat higher millage
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
No new schools or improvements for Sherwood or most the rest of the Pulaski County Special School District.Patrons resoundingly turned thumbs down 7,206 to 2,352 Tuesday on a millage increase that would have improved or replaced every school and would have helped the district become unitary in facilities.
That was the final but unofficial result.
Of the 9,568 votes, 75 percent sent a clear message that they didn’t want a tax increase.
“This was a hard-fought effort,” said PCSSD Superintendent Jerry Guess. “We had a lot of good people that worked very hard, teachers, administrators, politicians, parents and others. It was a good plan, and it would have been a remarkable shot in the arm. A lot of people saw the opportunity.”
Guess said the district would use some of the final $20.7 million desegregation payment from the state and issue some second-lien bonds to press on with plan B, which is construction of a $50 million high school to replace Mills and then remodel the old high school for middle school students who otherwise would have attended Fuller.
“That was our commitment to (U.S. Dist.) Judge Price Marshall,” he said.
Guess said some of that final payment would go to the new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District.
The 5.6-mill increase would have raised about $221 million to finance a $213 million building program that would have touched every student in the district.
In addition to scrapping plans for extensive work in the Maumelle and Robinson feeder systems, defeat of the increase also eliminates proposed changes in the Sherwood and Sylvan Hills schools.
The scope of work would have included a large addition to Sylvan Hills High School, making it basically a new school with additional classroom space, a new gymnasium and a new front approach to the school with a new façade.
Sylvan Hills Middle School, although recently built, would have received needed restrooms at the practice and play fields.
Sherwood Elementary would have gotten a gym, a cafeteria and new parking.
Sylvan Hills Elementary would have received additional classrooms, air conditioning in the gym and paved parking.
Cato Elementary, with open-space classrooms, could have moved in about three years into the building that currently houses Northwood Middle School.
Voters living within the boundaries of the new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District were not eligible to vote and would not have paid increased property taxes.
Leader senior staff writer
No new schools or improvements for Sherwood or most the rest of the Pulaski County Special School District.Patrons resoundingly turned thumbs down 7,206 to 2,352 Tuesday on a millage increase that would have improved or replaced every school and would have helped the district become unitary in facilities.
That was the final but unofficial result.
Of the 9,568 votes, 75 percent sent a clear message that they didn’t want a tax increase.
“This was a hard-fought effort,” said PCSSD Superintendent Jerry Guess. “We had a lot of good people that worked very hard, teachers, administrators, politicians, parents and others. It was a good plan, and it would have been a remarkable shot in the arm. A lot of people saw the opportunity.”
Guess said the district would use some of the final $20.7 million desegregation payment from the state and issue some second-lien bonds to press on with plan B, which is construction of a $50 million high school to replace Mills and then remodel the old high school for middle school students who otherwise would have attended Fuller.
“That was our commitment to (U.S. Dist.) Judge Price Marshall,” he said.
Guess said some of that final payment would go to the new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District.
The 5.6-mill increase would have raised about $221 million to finance a $213 million building program that would have touched every student in the district.
In addition to scrapping plans for extensive work in the Maumelle and Robinson feeder systems, defeat of the increase also eliminates proposed changes in the Sherwood and Sylvan Hills schools.
The scope of work would have included a large addition to Sylvan Hills High School, making it basically a new school with additional classroom space, a new gymnasium and a new front approach to the school with a new façade.
Sylvan Hills Middle School, although recently built, would have received needed restrooms at the practice and play fields.
Sherwood Elementary would have gotten a gym, a cafeteria and new parking.
Sylvan Hills Elementary would have received additional classrooms, air conditioning in the gym and paved parking.
Cato Elementary, with open-space classrooms, could have moved in about three years into the building that currently houses Northwood Middle School.
Voters living within the boundaries of the new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District were not eligible to vote and would not have paid increased property taxes.
SPORTS STORY >> Panthers, Jackrabbits excel in sprints, field events at meet
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panther boys’ track team turned in an eighth-place finish at the Class 7A state track meet last Thursday at Ramay Junior High School in Fayetteville. The Panthers finished with 17 points, mostly from sprints and field events.
Senior discus thrower Brandon Jones took fourth in the discus with his best fling of the year, throwing 141-11.
Sophomore Britton Alley scored eight points for Cabot with a fourth-place finished in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.5, and a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.33.
Pole vaulters Rocky Burke and Braxton Burton finished seventh and eighth respectively in that event. Burke cleared 13-feet while Burton got 11-feet, 6-inches. The final point came from an eight-place finish for the Cabot 4x400-meter relay team.
“The boys’ team is not that strong as whole, but we have some good you talent,” said Cabot coach Leon White.
“We’ve had so many boys drop track for various reasons, we could’ve had a pretty good team. We just have to get participation numbers back up. But Britton is just a sophomore and our pole vaulters are both coming back next year. So we’ve got some things to look forward to. I expect all those guys to improve. They all work hard,” White said.
Class 4A
After a strong second-place showing in the district meet, the Lonoke boys’ and girls’ track teams finished eighth and 15th respectively in the state meet last week in Heber Springs.
Dollarway won a close boys’ meet with 74 points to beat the host school by eight. Ashdown won an even closer girls meet with 98 points, beating Crossett by six.
The Lonoke boys finished with 23 points while the girls totaled 12.
Justin Meadows scored almost all of Lonoke’s points in the boys’ meet. He won the triple jump by bounding 46-6 1/2. He received a 2-foot, 1-inch foot penalty for wind aid, but that was still good enough to beat Highland’s Deon Stewart by 1/4 of an inch.
Meadows also took second in the long jump, losing to Mena’s Zach Jewell by four inches with a leap of 22-2. Meadows also finished eighth in the 100-meter dash, a race he won at the district meet a week earlier.
Lonoke’s Caleb Bailey took sixth in the triple jump by leaping 41-9 3/4.
In the girls’ 4A meet, Keiunna Walker finished third in the long jump with a leap of 17-1 1/2. She also took fourth in the high jump by clearing the bar at 5-feet.
Lonoke’s Janis Chapman picked up a point with an eighth-place finish in the 400-meter race.
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panther boys’ track team turned in an eighth-place finish at the Class 7A state track meet last Thursday at Ramay Junior High School in Fayetteville. The Panthers finished with 17 points, mostly from sprints and field events.
Senior discus thrower Brandon Jones took fourth in the discus with his best fling of the year, throwing 141-11.
Sophomore Britton Alley scored eight points for Cabot with a fourth-place finished in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.5, and a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.33.
Pole vaulters Rocky Burke and Braxton Burton finished seventh and eighth respectively in that event. Burke cleared 13-feet while Burton got 11-feet, 6-inches. The final point came from an eight-place finish for the Cabot 4x400-meter relay team.
“The boys’ team is not that strong as whole, but we have some good you talent,” said Cabot coach Leon White.
“We’ve had so many boys drop track for various reasons, we could’ve had a pretty good team. We just have to get participation numbers back up. But Britton is just a sophomore and our pole vaulters are both coming back next year. So we’ve got some things to look forward to. I expect all those guys to improve. They all work hard,” White said.
Class 4A
After a strong second-place showing in the district meet, the Lonoke boys’ and girls’ track teams finished eighth and 15th respectively in the state meet last week in Heber Springs.
Dollarway won a close boys’ meet with 74 points to beat the host school by eight. Ashdown won an even closer girls meet with 98 points, beating Crossett by six.
The Lonoke boys finished with 23 points while the girls totaled 12.
Justin Meadows scored almost all of Lonoke’s points in the boys’ meet. He won the triple jump by bounding 46-6 1/2. He received a 2-foot, 1-inch foot penalty for wind aid, but that was still good enough to beat Highland’s Deon Stewart by 1/4 of an inch.
Meadows also took second in the long jump, losing to Mena’s Zach Jewell by four inches with a leap of 22-2. Meadows also finished eighth in the 100-meter dash, a race he won at the district meet a week earlier.
Lonoke’s Caleb Bailey took sixth in the triple jump by leaping 41-9 3/4.
In the girls’ 4A meet, Keiunna Walker finished third in the long jump with a leap of 17-1 1/2. She also took fourth in the high jump by clearing the bar at 5-feet.
Lonoke’s Janis Chapman picked up a point with an eighth-place finish in the 400-meter race.
SPORTS STORY >> Lady Rabs advancing to final of East region
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Lonoke High School softball team earned its first state tournament berth in more than a decade Friday with a 3-0 victory over the host school in the first round of the Class 4A East Regional Tournament at Pocahontas, and on Saturday, the Lady Jackrabbits beat fellow 4A-2 Conference member Heber Springs, 4-2, to earn a spot in the regional championship game.
With Friday’s win, the Lady Jackrabbits (14-5) punched their ticket to the state tournament for the first time since 2004, and Saturday’s win over the 4A-2 Conference and District champion Lady Panthers put an exclamation point on Lonoke’s monumental weekend.
“They’ve had a great weekend,” said Lonoke assistant coach Heath Swiney. “The only thing that could top it off would be to win the thing, but other than that, you couldn’t ask for a whole lot more out of them.”
Lonoke lost to Heber Springs, 7-5, earlier in the season, but obviously got the best of the Lady Panthers in Saturday’s rematch. The Lady Rabbits scored a run in the first and fifth innings to lead 2-0, but Heber Springs scored two in sixth to tie the game at 2-2.
The Lady Rabbits, though, added two more runs to their side of the board in the top of the seventh, and winning pitcher Charley Jo Chesney retired the side in the bottom half of the final inning to give Lonoke the mild upset victory.
Lonoke scored its two go-ahead runs in the seventh on a two-out triple to left field off the bat of senior Jasalyn Truelove. Madison McFadden and Gracie Cole scored on the play, which set the final score at 4-2.
Both teams had five hits Saturday, but Lonoke had the more timely hits, and Heber Springs had one error while Lonoke had zero errors. In the two games played in the tournament, Lonoke has committed just one error.
Solid defense, timely hits and a few breaks are what Swiney said have been the biggest factors in Lonoke’s success throughout the regional tournament.
“Defensively, we’ve made one error in 14 innings of softball,” Swiney said. “In high school softball, that doesn’t happen a whole lot. We’ve made every routine play but that one. As far as the hitting, we are hitting the ball a little bit better, but not only are we hitting it a little bit better, but it’s timely.
“We’re getting hits with runners in scoring position, and you don’t necessarily have to be a great hitting team, you’ve just got to be a timely hitting team, and we’ve done a great job of being timely. Yeah, we’re putting the bat on the ball, but we’re especially timely with our hits.
“We’ve caught some breaks, too. Against Heber, they walked our seven- and eight-hole hitters and we bunted with our nine-hole hitter, so we’re back at the top of our lineup. But that’s the postseason. It’s part of it. You’ve got to have some breaks.”
Before beating Heber Springs, Lonoke had to get by tournament host Pocahontas in order to earn its first state tournament berth in 11 years. The Lady Rabbits scored a run in each of the first, third and seventh innings Friday, and Chesney threw another shutout gem to punch Lonoke’s ticket to the big dance.
Lonoke outhit Pocahontas, 6-3, the highlight of which was a solo home run by Truelove in the top of the first, which gave the Lady Rabbits the only run they’d need.
Truelove led Lonoke at the plate against Pocahontas, going 3 for 3 – a double shy of the cycle. Truelove also led Lonoke at the plate against Heber Springs, going 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Chesney earned both wins in the circle. She threw all seven innings in both games, and recorded two strikeouts against Heber Springs and six against Pocahontas.
Swiney said the team is currently playing its best ball of the season, and though he acknowledged that the team as a whole is playing very well, he gave much of the credit for the team’s success to the four seniors – Chesney, Truelove, Amanda Sexton and Janae Miller.
“I’m going to have to give it to the four seniors,” Swiney said. “I think they’ve got this group together. They’ve kept them focused and they’ve been trying to be good leaders all year. They’ve picked those young kids up when they needed to be picked up.
“They’ve helped them, they’ve coached them. I’m just going to have to give the credit to those four kids. There are other kids out there, but I’ve really got to give it to those four seniors.”
Lonoke played Brookland, the defending Class 4A state champion, last night after deadlines in the regional tournament championship game. The winner of that game enters this week’s Class 4A state tournament in Mena as the No. 1 East seed. The loser enters the state tournament as the No. 2 East seed.
Regardless of the outcome of that game, the top two East seeds receive first-round byes in the state tournament and will play their second-round games on Friday.
Leader sportswriter
The Lonoke High School softball team earned its first state tournament berth in more than a decade Friday with a 3-0 victory over the host school in the first round of the Class 4A East Regional Tournament at Pocahontas, and on Saturday, the Lady Jackrabbits beat fellow 4A-2 Conference member Heber Springs, 4-2, to earn a spot in the regional championship game.
With Friday’s win, the Lady Jackrabbits (14-5) punched their ticket to the state tournament for the first time since 2004, and Saturday’s win over the 4A-2 Conference and District champion Lady Panthers put an exclamation point on Lonoke’s monumental weekend.
“They’ve had a great weekend,” said Lonoke assistant coach Heath Swiney. “The only thing that could top it off would be to win the thing, but other than that, you couldn’t ask for a whole lot more out of them.”
Lonoke lost to Heber Springs, 7-5, earlier in the season, but obviously got the best of the Lady Panthers in Saturday’s rematch. The Lady Rabbits scored a run in the first and fifth innings to lead 2-0, but Heber Springs scored two in sixth to tie the game at 2-2.
The Lady Rabbits, though, added two more runs to their side of the board in the top of the seventh, and winning pitcher Charley Jo Chesney retired the side in the bottom half of the final inning to give Lonoke the mild upset victory.
Lonoke scored its two go-ahead runs in the seventh on a two-out triple to left field off the bat of senior Jasalyn Truelove. Madison McFadden and Gracie Cole scored on the play, which set the final score at 4-2.
Both teams had five hits Saturday, but Lonoke had the more timely hits, and Heber Springs had one error while Lonoke had zero errors. In the two games played in the tournament, Lonoke has committed just one error.
Solid defense, timely hits and a few breaks are what Swiney said have been the biggest factors in Lonoke’s success throughout the regional tournament.
“Defensively, we’ve made one error in 14 innings of softball,” Swiney said. “In high school softball, that doesn’t happen a whole lot. We’ve made every routine play but that one. As far as the hitting, we are hitting the ball a little bit better, but not only are we hitting it a little bit better, but it’s timely.
“We’re getting hits with runners in scoring position, and you don’t necessarily have to be a great hitting team, you’ve just got to be a timely hitting team, and we’ve done a great job of being timely. Yeah, we’re putting the bat on the ball, but we’re especially timely with our hits.
“We’ve caught some breaks, too. Against Heber, they walked our seven- and eight-hole hitters and we bunted with our nine-hole hitter, so we’re back at the top of our lineup. But that’s the postseason. It’s part of it. You’ve got to have some breaks.”
Before beating Heber Springs, Lonoke had to get by tournament host Pocahontas in order to earn its first state tournament berth in 11 years. The Lady Rabbits scored a run in each of the first, third and seventh innings Friday, and Chesney threw another shutout gem to punch Lonoke’s ticket to the big dance.
Lonoke outhit Pocahontas, 6-3, the highlight of which was a solo home run by Truelove in the top of the first, which gave the Lady Rabbits the only run they’d need.
Truelove led Lonoke at the plate against Pocahontas, going 3 for 3 – a double shy of the cycle. Truelove also led Lonoke at the plate against Heber Springs, going 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Chesney earned both wins in the circle. She threw all seven innings in both games, and recorded two strikeouts against Heber Springs and six against Pocahontas.
Swiney said the team is currently playing its best ball of the season, and though he acknowledged that the team as a whole is playing very well, he gave much of the credit for the team’s success to the four seniors – Chesney, Truelove, Amanda Sexton and Janae Miller.
“I’m going to have to give it to the four seniors,” Swiney said. “I think they’ve got this group together. They’ve kept them focused and they’ve been trying to be good leaders all year. They’ve picked those young kids up when they needed to be picked up.
“They’ve helped them, they’ve coached them. I’m just going to have to give the credit to those four kids. There are other kids out there, but I’ve really got to give it to those four seniors.”
Lonoke played Brookland, the defending Class 4A state champion, last night after deadlines in the regional tournament championship game. The winner of that game enters this week’s Class 4A state tournament in Mena as the No. 1 East seed. The loser enters the state tournament as the No. 2 East seed.
Regardless of the outcome of that game, the top two East seeds receive first-round byes in the state tournament and will play their second-round games on Friday.
SPORTS STORY >> JHS ladies hit state on streak
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Lady Red Devils will be the No. 3 seed from the 5A-Central when they begin play in the Class 5A state tournament tomorrow in Hot Springs, but they enter the playoffs having won four games, two against stiff competition, in the final week of the regular season.
Jacksonville beat Class 2A power Benton Harmony-Grove 3-1 last Tuesday. On Wednesday the Lady Red Devils swept an easy doubleheader against McClellan to close out conference play. On Thursday, they defeated the 5A-West four seed Maumelle 4-0. The four wins followed a 9-4 loss to Morrilton last Monday, a game Jacksonville coach Hank Hawk was glad to put behind him.
“We played horrible in that game,” said Hawk. “We played five games in a week, and were able to bounce back and play really well in the other four. That’s good. You want to hit state playing your best, and we did really well defensively in those last few games.”
Kym House and Brianna Loyd each threw perfect games against McClellan. Each faced the minimum nine batters with House striking out eight and Loyd fanning six Lady Lions.
Playing as the home team in the 15-0 game-one win, Jacksonville scored eight in the first, six in the second and ended the game with a run in the third.
All eight first-inning runs came with two outs after two of the first three Jacksonville hitters flew out to the left side. Two-hole hitter Morgan Lloyd reached on an error. Emily Lovercheck finally got Jacksonville’s first base hit with an RBI double to right, and scored on the same play after a McClellan error. Loyd then reached on the third error of the inning before back-to-back doubles made it 4-0. Kinley Burrows and Zylah Richardson got back-to-back singles, and leadoff hitter Bailea Jones tripled to left field to make it 7-0. She scored on a hit by Lloyd to cap the inning.
Five more hits and two more McClellan errors set the tone in the second inning. Jacksonville finished it with a Lion error and a base hit in the third.
As the visiting team in game two, Jacksonville scored 13 runs in the first inning. A McClellan pitching change resulted in several walks and hit batters. In all, eight Lady Red Devils walked and three were hit by pitches, with four of those walks coming in succession in the final inning after the change on the mound. There were also five errors by McClellan. Jacksonville needed just eight base hits to score the 16 runs.
Jacksonville will face Greene County Tech, the number two seed from 5A-East Conference, in the first round of state at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Lady Red Devils will be the No. 3 seed from the 5A-Central when they begin play in the Class 5A state tournament tomorrow in Hot Springs, but they enter the playoffs having won four games, two against stiff competition, in the final week of the regular season.
Jacksonville beat Class 2A power Benton Harmony-Grove 3-1 last Tuesday. On Wednesday the Lady Red Devils swept an easy doubleheader against McClellan to close out conference play. On Thursday, they defeated the 5A-West four seed Maumelle 4-0. The four wins followed a 9-4 loss to Morrilton last Monday, a game Jacksonville coach Hank Hawk was glad to put behind him.
“We played horrible in that game,” said Hawk. “We played five games in a week, and were able to bounce back and play really well in the other four. That’s good. You want to hit state playing your best, and we did really well defensively in those last few games.”
Kym House and Brianna Loyd each threw perfect games against McClellan. Each faced the minimum nine batters with House striking out eight and Loyd fanning six Lady Lions.
Playing as the home team in the 15-0 game-one win, Jacksonville scored eight in the first, six in the second and ended the game with a run in the third.
All eight first-inning runs came with two outs after two of the first three Jacksonville hitters flew out to the left side. Two-hole hitter Morgan Lloyd reached on an error. Emily Lovercheck finally got Jacksonville’s first base hit with an RBI double to right, and scored on the same play after a McClellan error. Loyd then reached on the third error of the inning before back-to-back doubles made it 4-0. Kinley Burrows and Zylah Richardson got back-to-back singles, and leadoff hitter Bailea Jones tripled to left field to make it 7-0. She scored on a hit by Lloyd to cap the inning.
Five more hits and two more McClellan errors set the tone in the second inning. Jacksonville finished it with a Lion error and a base hit in the third.
As the visiting team in game two, Jacksonville scored 13 runs in the first inning. A McClellan pitching change resulted in several walks and hit batters. In all, eight Lady Red Devils walked and three were hit by pitches, with four of those walks coming in succession in the final inning after the change on the mound. There were also five errors by McClellan. Jacksonville needed just eight base hits to score the 16 runs.
Jacksonville will face Greene County Tech, the number two seed from 5A-East Conference, in the first round of state at 5 p.m. Thursday.
SPORTS STORY >> Lonoke wins it in eighth
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Lonoke Jackrabbits advanced to the championship game of the Class 4A-East Region baseball tournament with a 3-2 victory over Gosnell on Saturday in Pocahontas. The regional final against Brookland was originally scheduled for Monday afternoon, but was moved to Tuesday evening because of heavy rain. Look for details of that game and early action in the Class 4A state tournament in Saturday’s edition of The Leader.
Saturday’s game was an exciting one. The Jackrabbits led most of the way, but the Pirates tied it in the top of the seventh inning then held Lonoke scoreless in the bottom half to force extra innings.
Gosnell got two runners on base in the top of the eighth thanks to an error and a base hit, but a little good fortune came through for the Jackrabbits. After the error, Gosnell’s Tino Collins hit a hard line drive right to Lonoke third-baseman Nick Graves. The hit-and-run was on, and Graves threw to first to double up the base runner.
It proved very fortunate because the next batter, Tabari Herron, singled to right field before relief pitcher Christian James struck out Michael Miller to get out of the inning.
Lonoke’s Cody Martin lined out to left to start the bottom of the eighth. Graves was then hit by a pitch and James singled to put runners at first and second.
Lonoke put on the hit-and-run with Todd Pool at the plate. Pool hit a grounder to second base and Gosnell went for the double play. The throw to second got James, but the throw to first wasn’t in time. Graves never slowed down, rounding third and scoring the game-winning run during the double-play attempt.
Lonoke took the game’s first lead with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Casey Martin hit a leadoff single to left field. Two batters later with two outs, Graves hit a line-drive double to the wall in left field to drive in the run.
Gosnell tied it in the top of the fifth without a base hit. A hit batter, a walk and an error led the Pirates’ first run. Lonoke didn’t take long to regain the lead. Casey Martin sent the first pitch of the bottom half of the fifth over the fence in left field to put the Jackrabbits up 2-1.
Gosnell threatened in the sixth, putting runners at second and third with no outs on a single and another Lonoke error. But pitcher Savonte Rountree got a pop-up to first base, a groundout back to the mound and a strikeout to get out of the jam.
Two singles and another Lonoke error led to the game-tying run in the seventh by Gosnell.
The Jackrabbits committed six errors in the game while the Pirates committed none.
Casey Martin went 2 for 4 with a home run and an RBI. Graves went 2 for 3 at the plate with a double and an RBI.
Rountree pitched six innings for the Jackrabbits, giving up four hits and zero earned runs while striking out three and walking one. James threw the last two innings, giving up three hits and one unearned run while fanning two and walking one.
Leader sports editor
The Lonoke Jackrabbits advanced to the championship game of the Class 4A-East Region baseball tournament with a 3-2 victory over Gosnell on Saturday in Pocahontas. The regional final against Brookland was originally scheduled for Monday afternoon, but was moved to Tuesday evening because of heavy rain. Look for details of that game and early action in the Class 4A state tournament in Saturday’s edition of The Leader.
Saturday’s game was an exciting one. The Jackrabbits led most of the way, but the Pirates tied it in the top of the seventh inning then held Lonoke scoreless in the bottom half to force extra innings.
Gosnell got two runners on base in the top of the eighth thanks to an error and a base hit, but a little good fortune came through for the Jackrabbits. After the error, Gosnell’s Tino Collins hit a hard line drive right to Lonoke third-baseman Nick Graves. The hit-and-run was on, and Graves threw to first to double up the base runner.
It proved very fortunate because the next batter, Tabari Herron, singled to right field before relief pitcher Christian James struck out Michael Miller to get out of the inning.
Lonoke’s Cody Martin lined out to left to start the bottom of the eighth. Graves was then hit by a pitch and James singled to put runners at first and second.
Lonoke put on the hit-and-run with Todd Pool at the plate. Pool hit a grounder to second base and Gosnell went for the double play. The throw to second got James, but the throw to first wasn’t in time. Graves never slowed down, rounding third and scoring the game-winning run during the double-play attempt.
Lonoke took the game’s first lead with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Casey Martin hit a leadoff single to left field. Two batters later with two outs, Graves hit a line-drive double to the wall in left field to drive in the run.
Gosnell tied it in the top of the fifth without a base hit. A hit batter, a walk and an error led the Pirates’ first run. Lonoke didn’t take long to regain the lead. Casey Martin sent the first pitch of the bottom half of the fifth over the fence in left field to put the Jackrabbits up 2-1.
Gosnell threatened in the sixth, putting runners at second and third with no outs on a single and another Lonoke error. But pitcher Savonte Rountree got a pop-up to first base, a groundout back to the mound and a strikeout to get out of the jam.
Two singles and another Lonoke error led to the game-tying run in the seventh by Gosnell.
The Jackrabbits committed six errors in the game while the Pirates committed none.
Casey Martin went 2 for 4 with a home run and an RBI. Graves went 2 for 3 at the plate with a double and an RBI.
Rountree pitched six innings for the Jackrabbits, giving up four hits and zero earned runs while striking out three and walking one. James threw the last two innings, giving up three hits and one unearned run while fanning two and walking one.
SPORTS STORY >> Panthers seal top spot, bye at state
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot High School baseball team clinched the No. 1 East seed for this week’s Class 7A state playoffs with a win against arguably the best pitcher in the state Friday at West Memphis, as the Panthers got just enough offense to beat the host Blue Devils, 2-0.
Cabot routed West Memphis 13-0 at Brian Wade Conrade Memorial Field on May 5, but had to face Blue Devil ace and Mississippi State signee Gray Fenter on Friday, and Fenter proved to be a much tougher challenge.
Fenter pitched all seven innings and recorded 10 strikeouts against the Panthers, but Cabot took advantage of the Blue Devils’ mistakes in the field, shortstop Dylan Bowers scored a run in each of the third and fifth innings, and winning pitcher Chase Kyzer threw another shutout gem to give the Panthers (16-8) the top seed from the East.
“It was really a gutsy effort by Kyzer,” said Cabot coach Ronnie Goodwin, “going against arguably the best pitcher in the state. In fact, he’s one of the best high school arms I’ve ever seen, to be honest with you. He was 93 to 95 miles an hour Friday night, according to all the scouts in the stands.
“So, for us to go in there with a No. 1 seed on the line, having to win it to get the No. 1 seed, that was really a gutsy performance by Kyzer, because one little hiccup here or there and we’re not a No. 1 seed going into this tournament.”
Fenter, who’s currently projected to be picked anywhere between 41st and 60th overall in the upcoming Major League Baseball draft with one publication ranking him as the 17th best high school prospect in the country, held Cabot scoreless through the first two innings Friday, but the Panthers got on the board in the top of the third with an unearned run.
Bowers reached on an error by the Blue Devil second baseman to lead off the top of the third. Bowers stole second base before being sacrificed to third on a well-executed bunt by catcher Denver Mullins, and the next at-bat, Bowers scored on a sac fly off the bat of Tristan Bulice.
Bowers’ run gave Cabot all it would need, but the speedy shortstop scored one more insurance run in the top of the fifth. He reached base on a one-out single in that inning, and stole second base with Mullins at the plate.
Mullins hit a ground ball to shortstop, but an error on the play left all runners safe and put Bowers at third. Bulice struck out swinging the next at-bat, and before clean-up hitter Landon James could draw a walk with first base open, Bowers stole home to set the final score.
It was a risky, but calculated call by the head Panther to send Bowers home, and one that paid off.
“The pitcher was in the wind-up and we actually got to a 3-1 count, and he kind of just gave Bulice a steady diet of breaking balls,” Goodwin said. “I didn’t think he would give our four-hole hitter (James) a fastball to hit, 3-1 with a base open. So I actually gambled a little bit, and we stole home to get the insurance run.
“Bowers, being the aggressive base runner he is, got a really aggressive lead. There were two outs, so their third baseman was playing back with our four-hole hitter up, so there was no opportunity for them to pick (Bowers off), and with him (Fenter) being in the wind-up, I just felt like this might be our best shot.
“Just having a feeling he would throw a breaking ball in that 3-1 count, we just gambled and the gamble paid off. We had the right runner at third to do it. I had the watch on the guy, as far as how much time it was taking him to get through the wind-up.
“It was a calculated gamble. It wasn’t like we were thinking, ‘Eh, let’s try and steal home.’ We thought the numbers were in our favor.”
Kyzer and the Panther defense kept West Memphis from threatening the rest of the way and in the bottom of the seventh, Kyzer retired the side, striking out two in that inning, to get the win and the Panthers the No. 1 seed in this week’s 7A playoffs.
West Memphis outhit Cabot, 6-4, but the Blue Devils committed two errors in the game while the Panthers had zero errors. Jonathan Latture led Cabot at the plate, going 2 for 3 with two singles. James and Bowers had Cabot’s other two hits – both singles.
Kyzer threw all seven innings Friday, and recorded a total of eight strikeouts.
As far as the playoffs, the Panthers receive a first-round bye for being a one seed, and will therefore play the Little Rock Catholic/Springdale Har-Ber winner in the second round of the 7A state tournament Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Bentonville High School field.
Goodwin, a state champion in his own right as a player at North Little Rock High School, knows the challenges and difficulties of succeeding in the state tournament, but he likes his team’s chances, as long as it takes the right approach and plays the way it’s capable of playing, and perhaps gets a couple of breaks as well.
“I like our chances,” Goodwin said. “I feel like our kids are confident, and I feel like having to win to get that No. 1 seed kind of created a playoff atmosphere for them, and they handled that adversity well.
“So, if we play the way we’re capable of playing, I’m very confident that we can go in there and make some noise. But, to me, the secret of this whole thing is you’ve got to treat this like it’s any other game. If you make it more than what it is, you’re going to put pressure on yourself that’s not going to help you succeed.
“But every time we’ve had adversity this year, we’ve responded. We’ve played well most of the year. Outside of one game, we’ve been in every game. Of our eight losses, I think five are one-run losses.
“I like the way we’re playing. If we can just keep our poise and stay relaxed, anything can happen in a single-elimination tournament. It’s really just going to boil down to who plays the best and who gets a break here and there.”
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot High School baseball team clinched the No. 1 East seed for this week’s Class 7A state playoffs with a win against arguably the best pitcher in the state Friday at West Memphis, as the Panthers got just enough offense to beat the host Blue Devils, 2-0.
Cabot routed West Memphis 13-0 at Brian Wade Conrade Memorial Field on May 5, but had to face Blue Devil ace and Mississippi State signee Gray Fenter on Friday, and Fenter proved to be a much tougher challenge.
Fenter pitched all seven innings and recorded 10 strikeouts against the Panthers, but Cabot took advantage of the Blue Devils’ mistakes in the field, shortstop Dylan Bowers scored a run in each of the third and fifth innings, and winning pitcher Chase Kyzer threw another shutout gem to give the Panthers (16-8) the top seed from the East.
“It was really a gutsy effort by Kyzer,” said Cabot coach Ronnie Goodwin, “going against arguably the best pitcher in the state. In fact, he’s one of the best high school arms I’ve ever seen, to be honest with you. He was 93 to 95 miles an hour Friday night, according to all the scouts in the stands.
“So, for us to go in there with a No. 1 seed on the line, having to win it to get the No. 1 seed, that was really a gutsy performance by Kyzer, because one little hiccup here or there and we’re not a No. 1 seed going into this tournament.”
Fenter, who’s currently projected to be picked anywhere between 41st and 60th overall in the upcoming Major League Baseball draft with one publication ranking him as the 17th best high school prospect in the country, held Cabot scoreless through the first two innings Friday, but the Panthers got on the board in the top of the third with an unearned run.
Bowers reached on an error by the Blue Devil second baseman to lead off the top of the third. Bowers stole second base before being sacrificed to third on a well-executed bunt by catcher Denver Mullins, and the next at-bat, Bowers scored on a sac fly off the bat of Tristan Bulice.
Bowers’ run gave Cabot all it would need, but the speedy shortstop scored one more insurance run in the top of the fifth. He reached base on a one-out single in that inning, and stole second base with Mullins at the plate.
Mullins hit a ground ball to shortstop, but an error on the play left all runners safe and put Bowers at third. Bulice struck out swinging the next at-bat, and before clean-up hitter Landon James could draw a walk with first base open, Bowers stole home to set the final score.
It was a risky, but calculated call by the head Panther to send Bowers home, and one that paid off.
“The pitcher was in the wind-up and we actually got to a 3-1 count, and he kind of just gave Bulice a steady diet of breaking balls,” Goodwin said. “I didn’t think he would give our four-hole hitter (James) a fastball to hit, 3-1 with a base open. So I actually gambled a little bit, and we stole home to get the insurance run.
“Bowers, being the aggressive base runner he is, got a really aggressive lead. There were two outs, so their third baseman was playing back with our four-hole hitter up, so there was no opportunity for them to pick (Bowers off), and with him (Fenter) being in the wind-up, I just felt like this might be our best shot.
“Just having a feeling he would throw a breaking ball in that 3-1 count, we just gambled and the gamble paid off. We had the right runner at third to do it. I had the watch on the guy, as far as how much time it was taking him to get through the wind-up.
“It was a calculated gamble. It wasn’t like we were thinking, ‘Eh, let’s try and steal home.’ We thought the numbers were in our favor.”
Kyzer and the Panther defense kept West Memphis from threatening the rest of the way and in the bottom of the seventh, Kyzer retired the side, striking out two in that inning, to get the win and the Panthers the No. 1 seed in this week’s 7A playoffs.
West Memphis outhit Cabot, 6-4, but the Blue Devils committed two errors in the game while the Panthers had zero errors. Jonathan Latture led Cabot at the plate, going 2 for 3 with two singles. James and Bowers had Cabot’s other two hits – both singles.
Kyzer threw all seven innings Friday, and recorded a total of eight strikeouts.
As far as the playoffs, the Panthers receive a first-round bye for being a one seed, and will therefore play the Little Rock Catholic/Springdale Har-Ber winner in the second round of the 7A state tournament Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Bentonville High School field.
Goodwin, a state champion in his own right as a player at North Little Rock High School, knows the challenges and difficulties of succeeding in the state tournament, but he likes his team’s chances, as long as it takes the right approach and plays the way it’s capable of playing, and perhaps gets a couple of breaks as well.
“I like our chances,” Goodwin said. “I feel like our kids are confident, and I feel like having to win to get that No. 1 seed kind of created a playoff atmosphere for them, and they handled that adversity well.
“So, if we play the way we’re capable of playing, I’m very confident that we can go in there and make some noise. But, to me, the secret of this whole thing is you’ve got to treat this like it’s any other game. If you make it more than what it is, you’re going to put pressure on yourself that’s not going to help you succeed.
“But every time we’ve had adversity this year, we’ve responded. We’ve played well most of the year. Outside of one game, we’ve been in every game. Of our eight losses, I think five are one-run losses.
“I like the way we’re playing. If we can just keep our poise and stay relaxed, anything can happen in a single-elimination tournament. It’s really just going to boil down to who plays the best and who gets a break here and there.”
SPORTS STORY >> Wolf sprinter breaks record in 100 meters
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter School tied for second place in the boys’ Class 1A state track meet at Genoa Central High School in Texarkana. Caddo Hills of Norman won the boys’ meet with 130 points while Lighthouse tied with a different Texarkana school, Trinity Christian, for second place with 72 points each.
JLCS coach Kelvin Parker felt like his team should’ve finished second all by itself.
The Wolves’ 4x100 relay team won by a large margin, and were then disqualified because two of its runners were wearing different colored tights.
“They came up to us after we won and showed us the rule book,” said Parker. “My thing is, we ran the prelims the same way, checked in for the finals and all that, and nobody said anything until after we won it. We won that race by five yards.”
It was no surprise that the Wolves would win the sprint relay. Junior Wolf Jordan McNair, who entered the race as the defending state champion, broke the Class 1A state record in winning it again with a time of 11:08. His teammate, Robert Whitfield, took second at 11:44. Those two also went first and second in the 200-meter dash. McNair finished in 23.22 and Whitfield in 23.91.
“Jordan still hasn’t run his best time in my opinion,” Parker said. “He hasn’t really been pushed yet. I think when he’s pushed he’s going to go faster. He got back to the Meet of Champs and I think he’ll do much better this time around.”
McNair had not lost a race last year before qualifying for the 2014 MOC, but finished way down the line against the competition from much bigger schools. Parker thinks he’ll do better this year.
“I think he’s going in with a lot more confidence this year,” Parker said. “Last year I think he was a little in shock at the MOC. I don’t think that’ll be the case this year. Plus I know he’s in much better shape. I don’t know if he’ll win it. There are some guys in the high classes that have all run below 11 seconds. I think Jordan is capable of that, so I think he can run right up there with the leaders.”
Chris Mims and Terrance Manuel joined McNair and Whitfield on the meet’s fastest 4x100 team. They finished in 44.84 seconds, a full second ahead of Caddo Hills.
Darin Burnett finished second for Lighthouse in the 300-meter hurdles behind Caddo Hills’ Christian Duggan. Whitfield placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles.
The Lighthouse 4x400 team finished eighth to pick up a point. It included Carl Hall, Eric Childs, Rashan Williams and Manuel.
McNair took third in the long jump with a leap of 20-feet, 5-inches, and was fifth in the triple jump, bounding 40-0.
The big surprise of the meet was Lighthouse freshman Joshua McNair winning the shot put with a toss of 43-06.
“That was a big shock,” Parker said. “We knew he was a strong kid and we thought he might go out there and get us some points. That’s just not an event that freshmen win.”
Abundant Life got all its points from middle distance runner Daniel Carrell. He won the 800-meter race over Hughes’ Martavious Johnson by almost two seconds with a time of 2:05.04. He also finished third in the mile behind Johnson and Southside-Bee Branches’ Donald Farley.
In the girls’ meet, Lighthouse’s Naje’ Harper took third in the 100-meter dash behind Paris Perkins of Hughes and Maggie Mahan of Nemo Vista. Mahan and Harper finished first and second in the preliminaries, ahead of Perkins, but Perkins shaved almost a full second off her preliminary time to break the Class 1A record with a time of 12.64 in the finals. Abundant Life’s Sydney Cossich finished seventh in that race. Cossich also took third in the 200-meter dash behind Perkins and Jessica Gangluff of Wonderview. Lady Wolfe Jayla Bobo finished fourth in the 200m.
The Lighthouse team of Harper, Bobo, Kaunecia McCoy and Racheal Johnson finished second in the 4x100-meter relay, less than a half-second behind Hughes.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter School tied for second place in the boys’ Class 1A state track meet at Genoa Central High School in Texarkana. Caddo Hills of Norman won the boys’ meet with 130 points while Lighthouse tied with a different Texarkana school, Trinity Christian, for second place with 72 points each.
JLCS coach Kelvin Parker felt like his team should’ve finished second all by itself.
The Wolves’ 4x100 relay team won by a large margin, and were then disqualified because two of its runners were wearing different colored tights.
“They came up to us after we won and showed us the rule book,” said Parker. “My thing is, we ran the prelims the same way, checked in for the finals and all that, and nobody said anything until after we won it. We won that race by five yards.”
It was no surprise that the Wolves would win the sprint relay. Junior Wolf Jordan McNair, who entered the race as the defending state champion, broke the Class 1A state record in winning it again with a time of 11:08. His teammate, Robert Whitfield, took second at 11:44. Those two also went first and second in the 200-meter dash. McNair finished in 23.22 and Whitfield in 23.91.
“Jordan still hasn’t run his best time in my opinion,” Parker said. “He hasn’t really been pushed yet. I think when he’s pushed he’s going to go faster. He got back to the Meet of Champs and I think he’ll do much better this time around.”
McNair had not lost a race last year before qualifying for the 2014 MOC, but finished way down the line against the competition from much bigger schools. Parker thinks he’ll do better this year.
“I think he’s going in with a lot more confidence this year,” Parker said. “Last year I think he was a little in shock at the MOC. I don’t think that’ll be the case this year. Plus I know he’s in much better shape. I don’t know if he’ll win it. There are some guys in the high classes that have all run below 11 seconds. I think Jordan is capable of that, so I think he can run right up there with the leaders.”
Chris Mims and Terrance Manuel joined McNair and Whitfield on the meet’s fastest 4x100 team. They finished in 44.84 seconds, a full second ahead of Caddo Hills.
Darin Burnett finished second for Lighthouse in the 300-meter hurdles behind Caddo Hills’ Christian Duggan. Whitfield placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles.
The Lighthouse 4x400 team finished eighth to pick up a point. It included Carl Hall, Eric Childs, Rashan Williams and Manuel.
McNair took third in the long jump with a leap of 20-feet, 5-inches, and was fifth in the triple jump, bounding 40-0.
The big surprise of the meet was Lighthouse freshman Joshua McNair winning the shot put with a toss of 43-06.
“That was a big shock,” Parker said. “We knew he was a strong kid and we thought he might go out there and get us some points. That’s just not an event that freshmen win.”
Abundant Life got all its points from middle distance runner Daniel Carrell. He won the 800-meter race over Hughes’ Martavious Johnson by almost two seconds with a time of 2:05.04. He also finished third in the mile behind Johnson and Southside-Bee Branches’ Donald Farley.
In the girls’ meet, Lighthouse’s Naje’ Harper took third in the 100-meter dash behind Paris Perkins of Hughes and Maggie Mahan of Nemo Vista. Mahan and Harper finished first and second in the preliminaries, ahead of Perkins, but Perkins shaved almost a full second off her preliminary time to break the Class 1A record with a time of 12.64 in the finals. Abundant Life’s Sydney Cossich finished seventh in that race. Cossich also took third in the 200-meter dash behind Perkins and Jessica Gangluff of Wonderview. Lady Wolfe Jayla Bobo finished fourth in the 200m.
The Lighthouse team of Harper, Bobo, Kaunecia McCoy and Racheal Johnson finished second in the 4x100-meter relay, less than a half-second behind Hughes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)