After not being able to compete at state indoor last year because of Covid, the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs were eager to get back into the Randall Tyson Center where they have had loads of success over the recent years. State indoor is the first track meet of the year for many teams over the state, and the Bulldogs were looking to show their competition that the Waldron track teams were elite again this year.
Following a runner up finish at state indoor in 2020 the Lady Bulldogs had a bad taste left in their mouth and were determined to change that this year. Coach Angie Bailey and this year’s seniors: Hannah Jeffries, Molly Richmond, Tristan VanDeWiele, McKenzi Stidman, and Haylee Stidman led the Bulldogs to a state indoor championship in the 3A division. The Lady Bulldogs were not only state champions of the meet, but also won 2 individual races, 1 relay race, and 1 field event. McKenzi Stidman won the 400-meter dash and the 800-meter run with times of 1:06.27 and 2:43.99 respectably. The 3200-meter relay team as well came out on top with a team consisting of McKenzi Stidman, Kynlyn Frayer, Ailey Ledesma, and Ashlynn Stidman. Hannah Jeffries was the state champion in the long jump with an incredible jump of 14ft 8 in. Other amazing performances were Ashlynn Stidman, 2nd place in the 800, Macie Davis, 2nd place in the 60 and 2nd place in the long jump, Molly Richmond, 2nd place in High Jump, Hannah Jeffries, 2nd place in triple jump, and Haylee Stidman, 2nd place in pole vault. Coach Bailey said this after the win, “This year’s win felt good since last year indoor was canceled due to Covid. I was so proud of the effort the girls gave since our practices have been limited because of weather and school closings. The girls are looking forward to designing their state rings for sure! Now we have to keep that momentum going”
The Bulldogs were looking to three-peat at the Randall Tyson Center as the last two times they were there they emerged state indoor champions. Although they had lost a lot of seniors from the previous year’s team, this year’s team is stacked full of talent. Led by coach Chance Tanner, the Bulldogs were out to defend their title and bring another trophy back to Waldron. Although they did not quite get the result they were hoping for, they were still able to finish runners up and add another piece of hardware to their collection. Even if the team did not come out on top, two individuals were able to claim state champs as Cole Bailey won the 3200-meter run with a time of 12:02.70 and Kason Davis won the high jump with a height of 5ft 10in. Other great performances were Tyler Wright, 2nd in the 400m and 2nd place in high jump, Damien Macpherson, 2nd place in the 1600m, Landon Defoor, 2nd place in the 3200m, Kason Davis, 2nd place in the 60m. Coach Tanner had this to say “The state indoor track meet had to be moved around this yar due to weather. They decided to combine all classifications to compete on the same day, which made for a long day. Overall, our guys went out and competed very well. I was proud that they did not let lining up against the bigger schools from Northwest Arkansas deter them from performing at their best. Of course, nothing ever goes exactly as planned and we ended up finishing 2nd to a very good Ashdown team. At the end of the day, we had 14 guys finish in the top 3 of their events, including 2 individual state champions and 1 new indoor school record. Tyler Wright broke the indoor school record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.18, this placed him 2nd in 3A and 7th in all classifications. We start our outdoor season on March 4th at Van Buren. I am excited to see what these guys can do as the season progresses.”
📸 Sandy Tull
