HEBER SPRINGS — Like during the cross-country season last fall and the indoor track and field season in the winter, the Heber Springs boys track and field team entered the Class 4A state outdoor meet Saturday expecting the worst.
But also like those previous meets, the Panthers came out on top.
A 1-2 finish in the 800-meter run wrested the lead from Nashville and a more than four-second victory over the Scrappers in the 1,600 relay put an exclamation point on the Panthers’ 4A state title, which completed its first triple crown in school history.
Heber Springs finished with 120.5 points to win the state meet it hosted, while Nashville finished with 96 points. Newport finished third with 58 points and Shiloh Christian fourth with 45.
Nashville won its fifth consecutive girls state title with 110 points, while De Queen finished second with 81, Hamburg third with 60 and Valley View scored 54 to finish fourth.
“We always think the worst,” said Michael Dorsey, who won the 800 and ran the third leg on Heber Springs’ mile relay team. “I guess if you think you’re going to lose you come out here and tryyour best and it always works out.”
Dorsey was a big reason why.
He ran the 800 in 2 minutes, 3.21 seconds and his teammate, Blake Leonard did so in 2:04.40 for a combined 18points to give Heber Springs a 14-point lead over Nashville at the time.
The Panthers never gave up the lead, just as Coach Dale Cresswell figured once he watched Dorsey and Leonard cross the finish line.
“I knew [Nashville] didn’t have a [3,200 runner]. I knew they only had a mile relay after that,” Cresswell said. “I felt pretty good. … I didn’t think they could catch us.”
Creswell’s 1,600 relay team erased any doubt there mighthave been.
Clint Ligon ran the final leg as Nashville’s Reggie Wright trailed behind to cap a state meet with what Cresswell believes is a school-record 3:26.38.
The meet was originallyset to be held at Pocahontas, but because of flooding in northeast Arkansas, it was moved to Heber Springs, much to the delight of the Panthers.
Cresswell said he was confident of his team anyway, but the absence of a more than two-hour bus ride before the state meet certainly helped.
“I hate it for [Pocahontas], what happened to them,” Cresswell said. “But we’re glad we had it here.”
Heber Springs also had first-place finishers in the 100 (Bly, 11.01), 1,600 (Jake Sanders, 4:30.90), the 3,200 relay team and the pole vault (Andrew Hill, 13 feet, 4 inches).
Nashville girls Coach Ron Alexander celebrated his team’s latest state title by pulling on a black T-shirt commemorating the feat, an ode to his team’s confidence.
“Yeah, we just printed these up right out there in the truck,” Alexander said, joking. “We felt good. If we came up and competed and did what we do, we thought we would be right there in the running.”
Nashville’s catalyst for its latest state title was Monisa Poole, who won the 200, 400 and the high jump. She also finished second in the 100 hurdles, third in the 100 and fourth in the triple jump.
She scored 48 points for Nashville.
Sports, Pages 33 on 05/08/2011