LITTLE ROCK — AAA adds dash heats to its meet
The different feel of Wednesday's Meet of Champs will be more than Lake Hamilton High School's new Mondo surface.
For the first time, the Meet of Champs will have fast and slow heats in events under 400 meters.
The Arkansas Activities Association's board of directors adopted the change earlier this year in response to sweeping reclassification and waning participation in an event designed to bring together winners from the seven state meets.
Traditionally, winners from each of the five classificationsand the next three best performances - regardless of classification - were eligible to enter the Meet of Champs.
But reclassification has created two additional athletic classes.
Now, there are 12 invitees to the Meet of Champs in each event - seven winners from the state meets and the next five best performances, regardless of classification.
"Fast heat, slow heat doesn't sound like the right thing for the Meet of Champs," Lake Hamilton Coach Karl Koonce said. "It's always been just eight, one heat. But I think this will be better. The little guys, if they want to step up and compete with the big guys, they will have that opportunity. And they should have that opportunity if they want to."
If dropouts or no-shows reduce the field to eight or fewer, only one heat will be run. Slow heats must have at least three competitors.
"We were having less than eight in some events," Koonce said. "I think this is going to help."
Field events begin at 1 p.m. The 3,200 relay, the first running event, is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Back on track
England hasn't won a state championship since claiming the Class AA title in 1979, but the Lions did the next best thing with a runner-up finish in Tuesday's Class 3A meet at Prescott.
Prescott won its second consecutive statechampionship, and fifth recognized by the Arkansas Activities Association, with 117.50 points. England had 73.50 points.
"The kids ran well," England Coach Mike Morrison said.
"With the number of events that we had kids in, I thought we had a slim chance at the title - until I got the heat sheets."
Morrison was referring to Prescott's dominance in the jumping events.
Led by B.J. Haynie's meet record (22 feet, 4 inches), the Curley Wolves went 1-2-3-5 in the long jump.
Prescott's Ray Smith's meet 1 record in the triple jump (45-1/2) triggered a 1-2-3 finish.
Tony Gillard of Prescott also won the high jump with a meetrecord 6-4.
"Prescott had no distance runners or throwers," Morrison said. "Just shows how talented they are. When they were up by 30 points after four events, weset our sights on [second]."
Senior Leonard Ridgle won the shot put (48-4) for England's only victory.
Ridgle was part of a 20-man team that won the 8-3A championship with 230.5 points. Runner-up Lake Village had 177.
Morrison said all but one member of the track team played football last fall, including senior Chris Roberts, the Class 3A runnerup in the 200 meters (22.94 seconds).
Roberts played football last season at Ashdown before transferring to England.
Morrison said.
Morrison, also England's football coach, said the school is working on resurfacing its track for the first time in more than 30 years.
Broken record
There were 22 records broken at Tuesday's Class 3Astate meet at Prescott, including three by Mansfield sophomore Clara Ellingburg.
Ellingburg, who helped Mansfield win its second consecutive state championship, set meet records in the 100 meters (12.43 seconds), 200 (26.04) and long 1 jump (17 feet, 3/2 inches).
Magnet Cove senior Alyssa Merriot set 3A records in the 100 hurdles (15.36) and 300 low hurdles (47.33).
Merriot also set a 3A record in the 100 - 12.64 in the preliminaries - before Ellingburg erased the mark in the final.
Ellingburg set Class 3A records in the 100 (12.65) and 200 (26.59) in last year's inaugural state meet.
The only overall record set last week was by Lake Hamilton senior Stephanie Foreman in the pole vault (13-0.5).
Foreman set the previous record (13-0) last year.
Sports, Pages 46 on 05/18/2008