Mansfield medal winners at the Tom Stuthard Top 25: Aiden Fildes, Trinity Triska, Laney Wood, Azlynn Stover, Raine Hecox, Rylan Nichols, and Joey Fildes.
Host Acorn and now conference rival Mansfield have been battling for most of this year’s cross country season. Each team has taken their turn racing out in front. But, on this night at the Tom Sturthard Top 25 Southwest Regionals it was the Mansfield junior Lady Tigers that claimed the top prize.
Mansfield, behind their dynamic duo of Laney Wood and Trinity Triska, squeaked out a 38 to 39 win over Acorn on October 21 at the Mena Lion’s Club cross country course. Wood was second place overall while Triska was third.
Acorn has been a tough nut to crack this season. The two schools were pushed into the same conference for the 2020-2022 AAA cycle and immediately began a heated rivalry. Seeing each other on multiple occasions, it has been the red and white Tigers of Mansfield that have seen the better times versus the blue and gold Tigers of Acorn. Before Wednesday’s event, Mansfield prevailed on 2 of 3 previous occasions. Wednesday’s win made it 3 of 4 but all were close.
Mansfield loaded up an extra player this past meet to help in the cause. As it turned out, the move made the difference. Raine Hecox, the only female football player competing for the school, gave the cross country team a boost by making the trip with the distance runners.
“Raine has been playing football full time this year,” stated Mansfield mentor John Mackey. “She had cross country experience from the past so we asked her to give us a hand. With only a couple weeks of practice, she came through in a big way.”
Hecox finished 20th overall. In the team scoring, however, she accounted for just ten points as non-affiliated individuals were deleted from the team totals. Regular Mansfield runners Azylnn Stover and Aiden Fildes finished in consecutive order right behind the freshmen extra. All three had their rankings bumped because of the deletions giving the visiting Tigers the one-point win.
“Laney and Trinity have been doing all they can,” acknowledged Mackey. “We would only gain a point or two difference from them since they are always at the top. The real difference had to come from our third, fourth, and fifth runners. That grouping came through tonight.”
Wood cruised the 1.5-mile course in 10:49.4. Eighth-grade teammate Triska came immediately after in a time of 10:54.3. The Mansfield pair was bested by only one big school runner. Macy Weathers of Clarksville ran 10:24.4 and finished first place overall.
This was Wood and Triska’s sixth time this season to finish inside the top 5 at a meet. It was the second consecutive season the pair earned All-Region honors while leading the team to the Tom Stuthard Championship.
Mansfield’s boys had a pair of medal winners as well. Joey Fildes took his second consecutive accolade with a 12th place finish. He ran the 1.5-mile course in 10:42.9. Teammate Rylan Nichols won his first medal of the season with a 10:54.5 measure. Both boys are seventh graders.
With their win, Mansfield’s junior high teams were invited to attend the Southern District’s 1A-2A Regional hosted at Acorn on October 28. That meet, to be held on the campus of Acorn High School, will feature teams from Mt. Ida, Caddo Hills, Horatio, Cossatot River, Murfreesboro, Mansfield, Ouachita, and Acorn.
The Jr Tigers will conclude their season at Magazine for the 2A-4 Conference meet on October 31. It will run concurrently with the 1A West league but scored separately.
