So far, so good for Mansfield High School’s most productive cross country team. With senior McKenzie Griffin’s commitment to the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, the number of Lady Tiger college signees for next season has reached three.

Like her classmates before her, Griffin took her turn under the spotlight in a signing ceremony on the campus of MHS. This February 23rd gathering gave yet another Lady Tiger off the 2021 Mansfield cross country team her moment to shine.

Griffin, a highly skilled distance runner for Mansfield over the past several seasons, made it official with her letter of intent to attend the University of the Ozarks. Before a crowd of teammates, close family and friends, the high school senior made the right decision for herself.

“The University of the Ozarks watched me at the state meet,” Griffin shared with her high school coach. “That meant alot to me.”

U. of O. is a small division III school nestled in nearby Clarksville.

Griffin and the majority of her high school teammates actually ran on the Eagle’s home course when they were junior high athletes.

“We used to go over to Clarksville and run a few seasons ago,” said John Mackey, the head coach at Mansfield. “They changed their meet date where it was in conflict with our home meet, so we stopped going. I’m glad the Eagles still found McKenzie on the scouting reports.”

Griffin has been a top 5 runner for the Tigers throughout her career. Multiple times she has earned All-District, All-Region, and All-Star awards.

As a sophomore, Griffin was the only Mansfield racer that reached All-District status. That was the year the Tigers were still in class 3A and grouped into one of the best conferences in the state. It was that 3A-2 conference that had five of the top 10 teams in the state. The league produced the state champions, three more highly ranked opponents, and Mansfield at number 10.

According to her high school coach, it was that sophomore season that Mansfield’s Griffin started believing a bit more in herself.

“Somewhere along the Van Buren race two years ago, McKenzie took over as the number one runner that season,” Mackey remembered. “She started really coming on and really worked at her opening mile. She produced her best state time that season and was the Player of the Year for our sport.”

These past two seasons Griffin’s teammates saw their own potential and began to chase. Together, Griffin and company flourished and found solid footing in their newly aligned class 2A setting.

Add Griffin’s steady play with fellow signees Faith Rainwater (Rich Mountain) and Darby Jones (Ouachita Baptist) into the mix; Mansfield pushed hard for the state championship in cross country. The crew fell just shy of that goal by taking the runner-up prize the last two seasons.

“It’s been a good run,” Mackey allowed. “Mansfield was blessed with some talented players. I give credit to McKenzie for getting her classmates interested in running. I remember her as a seventh grader. She really wanted to be a part of the program and convinced her classmates to do the same.”

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, 2^nd place in the 800, Macie Davis, 2^nd place in the 60 and 2^nd place in the long jump, Molly Richmond, 2^nd place in High Jump, Hannah Jeffries, 2^nd place in triple jump, and Haylee Stidman, 2^nd 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, 2^nd in the 400m and 2^nd place in high jump, Damien Macpherson, 2^nd place in the 1600m, Landon Defoor, 2^nd place in the 3200m, Kason Davis, 2^nd 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 2^nd 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 2^nd in 3A and 7^th in all classifications. We start our outdoor season on March 4^th at Van Buren. I am excited to see what these guys can do as the season progresses.”

📸 Sandy Tull

The Waldron Lady Bulldogs saw their season come to a close at the hands of the Lady Hornets of Hackett Monday evening in the opening round of the 2022 3A-4 District Tournament. Hackett captured the victory by a score of 48-32 at Cedarville High School to end the Lady Bulldog’s season. Waldron found themselves in a hole early, as Hacket raced out to a 17-7 advantage after the first period. Much like the entire season, the Lady Dogs did not go away easily scoring seven points in the 2nd quarter, with Hailey Stidman netting three points and an aggressive Molly Richmond adding four points. The defensive intensity was evaluated to start the second half as the Lady Dogs applied full court man to man pressure which cause Hackett to turn the ball over three consecutive trips, while also earning several attempts at the free-throw line. Entering the final period, Waldron had managed to cut the deficit to single digits with a chance to tighten the game even further, but the Dogs left some key free throws at the line and never could quite pull ahead. Hackett advanced to the 2nd round, as Waldron saw their season come to a close.

Leading the Lady Dogs in scoring was senior Bianca Hinojosa, who finished the night with 9 points and 8 rebounds, senior Hailey Stidman added another 8 points and 8 rebounds, and senior Molly Richmond threw in 4 points and 9 rebounds. Aaliyah Escoffier scored a game-high of 16 points with 5 rebounds and Teonna Best had 13 points and 5 rebounds as well for Hackett.

 Waldron did not have the record they had hoped for but battled through several obstacles. Coaching change, COVID, and injuries all played a part in the make-up of this year’s squad. “These girls have been through a lot; we had a great summer of practice and preparation but was bitten by the injury bug and suffered lots of illnesses throughout the season. Just never could quite get rolling,” Coach Tracie Adams went on to say. In several contests this season the Lady Dogs either had a lead in the second half or was within striking distance and never could get over that hump.

“Lady Bulldog This Year:  Lady Bulldogs did not grab many scoreboard wins in 2021-22 season, but what they did achieve was recognizing even when you have played the game of your life, it is the feeling of teamwork that you will remember. You will forget the plays, the shots, and the scores, but you will never forget your teammates. Of course, there will always be those heartbreaking losses and underdog wins that will stick with us forever, but the bonds we form will be some of the greatest relationships in our lives. The last game of the year for anyone is tough, for our team it was no different. The Lady Bulldogs dropped their final game of the season to Hackett Lady Hornets in the district tournament. Our seniors left all they had on the floor that night.  These three girls were positive leaders and role models. They will definitely be missed!”