Note to Our Readers: The following story was sourced directly and in its entirety from Mr. Jonathan Gipson, media relations coordinator, Magazine School District. Mr. Gipson is a RNN Sports contributor, and we thank him for bringing this story to our readers.
MAGAZINE – Magazine High School track and field coach Randy Bryan recalls watching a core group of his track student-athletes spend the better part of last summer toiling away in the weight room and fighting through the heat and humidity to complete their rigorous running regimen.
It did the veteran coach’s heart good to see their dedication or, as he likes to call it, commitment to excellence.
So it really wasn’t much of a surprise on Saturday when a small contingent of those student-athletes – Jailynn Sims, Elizabeth Merritt, Phoebe Hopper, Ainslee Chappell, Cecilia Mora, Serenity Mora and Josie Oliver – stood proud at the end of the Arkansas High School Indoor Track Championships, finishing fourth in the Class 1A/2A Division and 13th overall in a field of 77 teams from Class 1A-6A.
Magazine, which tallied 63 points, finished behind Class 1A/2A champion Yellville-Summit (98), Mansfield (97) and Carlisle (73). Bentonville won the overall title with 130 points, followed in the Top 15 by Rogers (111), Lake Hamilton (106), Fayetteville (102.5), Yellville-Summit, Mansfield, Prescott (95), DeWitt (89), Russellville (84), Gravette (80), Warren (74), Carlisle, Magazine, Harding Academy (56) and Heber Springs (53).
“The girls amaze me on a regular basis, so it was great but not surprising. Well, maybe Josie’s (performance) was a little surprising as she got out of her comfort zone of just throwing and ran multiple events,” Bryan said. “The girls spent the entire summer, five days a week, training two to four hours a day, occasionally more. They were prepared for excellence with their commitment. These are the seven girls who would excel at anything because they are willing to do what is required to be excellent.”
It was the first track and field meet of the spring and the only indoor meet on the spring schedule. Still, the Lady Rattlers competed as though they were in midseason form with 16 Top 10 finishes in 17 events in the Class 1A/2A Division.
Merritt, who was named All-State, added to her hefty cache of state championships with two state titles in the 1600-meter run (5:45.65) and 3200-meter run (12:33.83), bringing her prep career total to 10 state championships.
“Elizabeth puts in over 50 miles a week, weights, core, hills, speed sessions, etc. She dominated her two events,” Bryan said. “If you look at the pictures, you will see that she is running with elite runners from every classification. She truly earned gold.”
Sims, who was named All-State, had a personal-best heave of 32-foot, 10 inches in the shot put to win the state championship. Bryan said that state-title performance was a culmination of all of her hard work and extra effort this summer.
“I know the girls and guys from various sports know how hard she worked in the weight room. Plus, she put in the time all summer to polish her skills, and she finally attended the Razorback throws camp. She had been named All State multiple times before, but that elusive gold had not been captured until this past Saturday,” Bryan said.
“She actually had to hit a big throw to overcome the No. 1-ranked 1A/2A thrower, who had already hit over 32-feet. Jailynn is a competitor and calmly hit a nice 32-10 to take home her first gold. She was in a flight with the best throwers from Lake Hamilton, Siloam Springs, Russellville and the like. It was an impressive showing.”
The Lady Rattler relay teams also turned in impressive performances, too. The 3200-meter relay team of Hopper, Merritt, Cecilia Mora and Serenity Mora finished second (11:57.11), and the 1600-meter relay team of Cecilia Mora, Serenity Mora, Merritt and Chappell finished fifth (5:08.65). Hopper, Cecilia Mora and Serenity Mora were each named All-State.
“One junior, one sophomore and two freshmen showed grace under pressure and rose to the occasion. We were matched up in a heat with larger schools, but we also competed against the defending champions, Mansfield,” Bryan said.
“Each runner did their respective part as Phoebe got us into position with a sub 3-minute first leg. The Mora twins, Serenity and Cecilia, a sprinter/jumper/hurdler who was willing to run the event to help the team, could have let first-time nerves get to them, but they performed like veterans and handed the baton to our anchor, Elizabeth Merritt, in the silver position but about 10 seconds behind leader Greenland. Elizabeth shaved it to 1.5 seconds to secure the medals. It is rare for 9th graders to win any All-State honors, but the twins did just that along with Phoebe and Elizabeth.”
Hopper finished fifth in the 1600-meter run (6:42.05) and fourth in the 3200-meter run (14:59.26). Oliver finished eighth in the shot put (21-9) and 400-meter dash (1:18.15) and, subbing for an injured Gracee Franklin, finished 12th in the 200-meter dash (33.06). Cecilia Mora finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles (11.6), ninth in the long jump (13-1.75) and sixth in the triple jump (29-2).
Serenity Mora finished 10th in the 800-meter run (3:06.54), and Chappell finished seventh in the long jump (14-1) and ninth in the triple jump (26-9) and 60-meter dash (9.26).
Bryan said this type of impressive performance early in the season will provide some motivation and serve as a confidence-booster going into the outdoor season later this spring.
“Cecilia placing so well in hurdles and jumps, Ainslee hitting near 15-feet in long jump, Serenity winning a silver medal and Josie scoring in multiple events showed them how capable they are,” Bryan said. “Jailynn, Elizabeth and Phoebe will look to continue their success. If it is possible, they may work even harder to maintain greatness and improve upon their marks. I believe they saw what it takes to win a state championship and will do whatever is within their power to make it happen over the next year.”
