PEARCY -- When the Lake Hamilton girls track team was announced as the Class 6A state track and field champions Thursday night at Wolf Stadium, Coach Karl Koonce had one message for his team.
"Lady Wolves, get on over here!" Koonce yelled as the host school's athletes and fans cheered.
The Lady Wolves are state champions for the fourth time, besting Texarkana 109.50 points to 96.
"It was wonderful," Koonce said. "We get our points in the few events, the distance runs and the pole vault."
Two underclassmen helped seal the deal for Lake Hamilton.
Junior Josie Carson won three events, the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. She won the 800 in 2:29.61, the 1,600 in 5:37.44 and the 3,200 in 12:13.18. Carson was followed by her classmate Morgan Pruitt in the 800 and 1,600.
"Our goal was to win all three," Koonce said. "She [Carson] had a great night."
In the pole vault, sophomore Edie Murray jumped 12 feet, 8 inches for her first state title. She finished ahead of Lake Hamilton senior Madison Shinn (12-4).
Lake Hamilton earned 56 points, more than half of their final point total, in Carson's three victories and Murray's event. Carson and Murray had 40 points between them, with 10 going to the winner in each event. With Pruitt finishing second in two of Carson's victories and Shinn being a runner-up to Murray, the Lady Wolves picked up an extra eight points in each of those events for an extra 24 points between them.
"It's a point event. The big points are really important," Koonce said. "When the points get split up, the more 10 points is valuable. Those really beared out today."
Murray attempted to go for the Class 6A record, which was 13-½ set by Lake Hamilton's Stephanie Foreman in 2008, but she did not convert at 13-1.
Texarkana won the boys championship for the fifth consecutive season and 12th time overall. The Razorbacks outpointed Lake Hamilton 148-120, earning four individual titles.
Tyler Braswell won the 1,600 for Texarkana in 4:24.79. Cameron Collier earned the 110 hurdles title in 14.48. Texarkana also won the high jump (Jonathan Gullatt, 6-4) and triple jump (Irijah Price, 43-9½).
Lake Hamilton's Michael Harris won the pole vault, jumping 16 feet. His teammate Haze Farmer was second at 15-2.
On the girls side, West Memphis Paris Perkins and El Dorado's Breya Clark each won two state titles. Perkins won the 100 (12.31) and 400 (1:00.60). Clark took the high jump (5-1) and triple jump (38-5).
Sports on 05/05/2017