Contributed article
The Bearcat Relays in Booneville on March 13 saw a variety of high school teams descend on the scene for track and field action. Mansfield, among the many, took second place overall just slightly behind class 4A DeQueen.
With two events to go, Mansfield’s senior girls were just 10.5 points out of first place in the team standings. DeQueen, who was solid in anything hurdle related or 400m races or above, kept the pressure up.
“We just didn’t have the depth we needed to close the gap,” offered John Mackey, Mansfield’s head track coach since 1999. “The outcome wasn’t a disappointment. We have depth coming later in the season as conflicting spring schedules settle down. Right now, we are just building foundational pieces.”
The usual suspects once again produced for Mansfield. Jadelynn Wood in the hurdles and horizontal jumps, Carter Whiley in the sprints and vertical jumps, and Seven Sanderson in the shot and discus offered high marks.
Wood brought in 29.5 points through four individual events and two relays. Whiley tacked on 18.5 points in her four individual skills and the winning 4x100m relay. Sanderson produced 18 points by winning the shot put and placing second in the discus.
“You count on those three to produce each night,” expressed the coach. “There’s a solid mix of others that are finding their way and making contributions as well.”
Azlynn Stover made an impression starting two relays and anchoring two more. The sophomore nearly touched all bases with a first place, a third, and two fourths from those cooperatives.
The women’s 4x100m relay was the Lady Tiger’s best race of the evening. The combination of Laney Wood, Whiley, Jadelynn Wood, and Stover won the sprint relay in 56.72.
Stover added Raine Hecox with the Wood sisters for the third place 4x400m relay as the team made one final push in the overall standings.
Earlier Stover and Hecox joined Summer Frazier and Addie Bowman in a resilient 4x200m finish for fourth. Stover, Hecox, Frazier, and Laney Wood also knocked out a fourth place 4x800m partnership.
Laney Wood was third in the pole vault at 7-6. Similarly, Kaylie Lowery finished third in the discus. Ashley Martin rounded out the scoring with points in the 3200m run.
DeQueen closed out the meet in first place with 123 points. Mansfield followed as runner-up with 99.5 points. Mena came strong landing in third with 89 points among 20 attending schools.
Aston Hinkle and Austin Ruiz of Mansfield went second and third in the men’s pole vault. The pair jumped 10-6 and 10-0 respectively.
Trey Powell ran a modest 11.56 in the 100m dash before a tender ankle sidelined him for the remainder of the night.
