Mansfield’s junior boys take a break after completing the 2 mile college loop at Clarksville. The Tiger prep cross country team took second place in the team standings among the small school entries. (Reference above image)
Despite not having any one runner in the top ten, Mansfield’s junior boys amassed a trophy producing team score anyway.
On September 19, the junior Tigers joined in a fray that included 267 total runners in their race at the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville. Behind solid overall marks the youthful squad of Mansfield long distance runners accumulated 101 points to take the runner-up prize.
A veteran Elkins team took top honors with 65 total points. Maumelle Charter (117), Lamar (119), and Pottsville (123) rounded out the top 5 schools among 11 qualifying teams.
Ethan Chapman and Steven Perez gave the junior Tigers the best boost as the pair of 8th graders finished 12th and 13th overall. Chapman ran the 2 mile race in 13:20.21 while Perez navigated the same distance in 13:23.89.
Completing the Mansfield scoring five were Tyler Escalante (29), Dru Buckner (31), and Levi Escalante (36). Tommy Phang and Darryl Little served as displacers.
Faith Rainwater and Olivia Bouse led the junior Lady Tigers as the team’s top two finishers. Rainwater was 17th overall among 124 players from just the 1A-4A ranks. Bouse was close behind at 19th place.
On the senior high women’s team, Mansfield’s Megan Rose continued to impress with a 7th place mark overall in the small school division. The senior recorded a time of 23 minutes and 18 seconds over the hilly 5K course.
The trio of Lennon Woods, Natalie Brewer, and Corrina Wesley all finished within five places of one another for the MHS older women. Each crossed the 5K line in the 27 minute range.
Newcomer Addison Goetz completed the course ahead of about one-fourth of the total 173 runners. It was Goetz’s first official 5K race.
Joris Felius and Devon Pyles finished 19th and 22nd among 93 small school runners. Both completed the course before any of the conference foes from Atkins, Charleston, Lamar, and Paris.
