ARKANSAS STATE MEET

Lilly Beshears Leads 1-2 Finish For Rogers Girls; Bentonville Boys Wins Eighth Straight State Title

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

The Rogers girls cross country team’s potential path to a birth in a national meet appears to be headed in the right direction.

On Friday at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Rogers placed six runners in the top 20 to score 46 points and repeat as the Class 6A Arkansas state champions. The team was led by the efforts of standout junior Lilly Beshears, who covered the 5,000-meter course in a state meet record time of 17 minutes, 5.4 seconds.

Beshears' teammate and fellow junior Samantha Schmersahl was second (18:26.1). Rogers, ranked No. 22 nationally,  won the prestigious Chile Pepper Festival earlier this fall. The Mountaineers are looking to become the first girls team from the state of Arkansas to qualify for Nike Cross Nationals. They’ll get that opportunity soon when they run at Nike Cross Regionals South. 

The Bentonville boys kept their impressive winning streak intact, scoring 31 points en route to the program’s eighth straight championship. Bentonville was led by the two-three finish of Owen Kelley (15:28.8) and Matthew Shelly (15:30.4).

Fayetteville junior Alan Gallardo-Lopez won the 6A individual title in 15:21.3. 

The Mountain Home boys 33 points dominated the 5A field to claim another team title. Junior Jackson Free won the race in 16:06.1, as all five finished in the top eight. 

The Russellville girls won the 5A title with 56 points. The team had four in the top 12, including a 10-11-12 finish. Aubrey Minton of Valley was the top finisher and only runner under 19 minutes going 18:59.1. 

It was a tight three-way battle for the boys 4A title, as Pottsville gained the slight edge with 69 points to win the program's first title in 28 years. Gravitate was second (70) and Shiloh Christian was third (72). Shiloh’s Matthew Thurman, a junior, won the race in 16:34.6. 

Senior Ella Gary led the Episcopal Collegiate girls to the 4A team title after moving up from 3A. Her winning time was 19:59.7. 

The Maumelle Charter boys edged out Providence Academy, 56-61 to claim the 3A title. Maumelle had three runners finish in the top seven. Individually, Rocky Stone of Harding Academy won in 16:38.1.

Led by junior Gabbie Stone, Providence Academy, in its first year as an Arkansas Activities Association member, won the 3A title with a dominating 29 points. Stone’s time of 17:47.0 was the second-fastest of the state meet regardless of classification. Teammates Maggie Bishop finished second (17:57.0) and Jane Adams was third (19:03.9). 

Moving up a classification, the Ozark Catholic boys had no problems. The team defended won the state crown with 20 points as senior Isaac Pohlmeier claimed his third individual title in 17:00.7. Last year he was the 1A champion. 

The Quitman girls won the 2A again with 25 points as all five runners placed in the top 12. Mountainburg’s Olivia Prothro was the top finisher in 21:49 in less than ideal conditions. 

Founders Classic ran away with the boys 1A title with 20 points, placing four in the top five. Nicholas Wheeler was the top finisher, winning in 17:05.9. 

The Kingston girls repeated as 1A champs with 44 points. Magazine High senior Elizabeth Merritt finished first in 20:32.37 as teammate Phoebe Hopper was a close second in 20:38.7.

TEAM CHAMPIONS

Class 6A: Bentonville boys 31 points; Rogers girls 46 points

Class 5A: Mountain Home boys 33 points; Russellville girls 56 points

Class 4A: Pottsville boys 69 points; Episcopal Collegiate girls 37 points 

Class 3A:  Maumelle Charter boys 56 points; Providence Academy girls 29 points 

Class 2A: Ozark Catholic boys 20 points; Quitman girls 25 points

Class 1 A: Founders Catholic boys 20 points; Kingston girls 44 points