ROGERS HIGH
Three make it official
ROGERS -- When Kimi Davis was a middle school student, the Rogers High senior got to see the Arkansas volleyball team up close as a ball girl for three seasons.
Next season, she'll take on a bigger role than retrieving errant volleyballs after signing a letter of intent on Wednesday to play volleyball at Arkansas.
Davis wasn't the only Rogers athlete to sign a national letter of intent Wednesday to play at the Division I level. Christian Liddell signed to run cross country/track at Oklahoma State, while Ian Smith signed to run cross country/track at Central Arkansas.
Davis, who earned All-Conference honors as a junior and senior and All-State honors as a senior, started playing volleyball a year before she became a ball girl and she is the first Rogers player to sign with Arkansas.
"I've always watched them play and I have dreamed of playing for Arkansas," she said. "I know I am going to have to work harder to be successful and help the team."
Lady Mounties coach Jeana Breedlove expects Davis to have an immediate impact at Arkansas.
"This is a major milestone in the history of our program," said Breedlove, who has been at Rogers for 14 seasons. "It's also exciting to have one of our own so close to home that we can get on a bus and go watch her play. In her three years in our program, she helped lead her team to state twice.
"With her working hard, she is as good at passing and digging as anybody. I think she can step in and make a difference."
Liddell and Smith were both members of the Mounties' Class 7A Cross Country championship teams the past two seasons. Liddell finished third at the 7A state cross country meet as a junior and senior, while Smith crossed in fourth both years.
Liddell won the 1,600-meter run at the Meet of Champs last springs, while Smith took second in the 3,200 at the same event. Liddell also won the 1,600 and the 3,200 at the Indoor State Track Meet earlier this year.
Mounties track coach Jim Yurwitz said that both Liddell and Smith have what it takes to be successful in college.
"They are both dependable athletes," Yurwitz said. "You can depend on them to get in the top three every time they are on the track. You don't have to worry about them, you know they are going to perform. Those guys run every day. It is hard to get them to rest because they are so dedicated to it."
— Paul Nielsen • @NWAPaul
Paul Nielsen can be reached by email at pnielsen@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAPaul
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER
Four Wildcats sign LOIs
SPRINGDALE -- Playing together for one year proved beneficial for Springdale Har-Ber's leading scorers.
Seniors Tereke Eckwood and Mason Cline will each continue their basketball careers in college after signing letters-of-intent Wednesday at Wildcat Arena. Eckwood signed with Central Missouri State while Cline signed with Arkansas Tech.
Class 7A state diving champion Ryan Reed also signed Wednesday with Denver, while track and field standout Peyton Powell signed with Missouri Southern. Reed won the state championship after being coaxed off the Har-Ber cheerleading team.
Eckwood and Cline meshed well together after Eckwood transferred from Springdale High prior to his senior season. Eckwood, a penetrating guard, averaged 16.1 points and 5.2 points per game. Cline, who led Har-Ber in scoring as a junior, added 15.3 points per game and shot 43 percent from the 3-point line. He led Har-Ber by shooting 89 percent on free throws.
Both players were named to the NWA Arkansas Democrat-Gazette all-area team after leading Har-Ber to a 20-8 record.
"There's not enough adjectives to describe what Tereke and Mason meant to us," Har-Ber boys basketball coach Scott Bowlin said. "They'll leave an impression on this program for a lot of years."
-- Rick Fires • @NWARick
ROGERS HERITAGE
Cea, Zien ink scholarships
ROGERS -- Jorge Cea and Kenzi Ziem both inked national letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college in a ceremony Wednesday afternoon at Rogers Heritage.
Cea signed to play soccer at John Brown, while Ziem will play softball at Rogers State in Claremore, Okla.
Cea, who moved from Rogers High to Heritage this year, plays stopper for the War Eagles, but will play in the midfield in college.
Heritage boys soccer coach Christhian Saavedra said Cea has earned the players' respect quickly and become a leader, despite being new to the school.
"He's one of my captains and has great character," Saavedra said. "I told him that we need him to play defense and he quickly said 'Coach, I'll play where ever you need me to play. The fact he's never played there before tells ou a lot about his qualities. He's worked very hard and is a great leader on and off the field.
Ziem is a three-year starter for the Lady War Eagles in the outfield. She leads the team with a .448 batting average and has an on-base percentage of .500. Ziem also has the career record for stolen bases at Heritage currently with 39.
"Her speed is a great asset," Heritage softball coach Tiffany Taylor said. "She's got more pop this year in her bat."
-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB
Bentonville
Exner, Tabler sign letters
BENTONVILLE -- Bentonville athletes Julianne Exner and Mallory Tabler made their college intentions known by signing their letter of intents with a pair of smaller Christian schools.
Exner, a triple jumper and high jumper on Bentonville's track team, signed her letter of intent with Taylor University, an NAIA school located northeast of Indianapolis in Upland, Ind. Exner was the Class 7A state runnerup in the triple jump last year with a leap of 35 feet, 9 inches and automatically qualified for this year's meet with her performance last weekend at the John McDonnell Inviational.
"Originally, I wasn't planning on going into track for college," Exner said. "I was searching small, private Christian colleges, and I had never been to Indiana before. I did a little research on their website and convinced my dad to let me visit during spring break last year, and fell in love it."
Tabler, a member of the Lady Tigers tennis team, signed her national letter of intent with Ouachita Baptist. Tabler teamed with Kendra Dinsmore to win the Class 7A state doubles and state overall titles last fall after finishing as a 7A state runnerup two of the previous three years.
"I'm so excited and ready to get down there and start college," Tabler said. "I love the Ouachita campus, and their Christian studies are going to be really good. Both my parents went there, so it was in my blood to go there too. I love the location and I'm close to my grandparents' house."
-- Henry Apple • @NWAHenry
Sports on 04/16/2015