The Mansfield Tigers closed out last week on a positive note. Having traveled to West Fork to face the Tigers on Friday, March 15, Mansfield not only stole the win but they stole the show too.
The two teams kept things close the entire game coming to a 6-6 tie in the seventh inning. With zero action in inning eight, the Red Tigers were done playing eenie meenie miney mo. Getting their second wind, Mansfield came out of right field to charge West Forks bases with five runs ending the game 11-6 Red Tigers.
Coming in with their so fast if you blink your going to miss it pitching skills were seniors Seth Fudge and Hunter Willsey. Seth made 78 pitches in five innings facing 25 batters and striking out six of them. Throwing in four innings, Hunter made 57 pitches to 17 batters while striking out five of them.
Putting the numbers on the board and perfecting their left turn running abilities were Hunter Willsey and Isaac Cothran with two runs apiece. And bringing in the remaining seven runs were Aaron Brewer, Seth Fudge, Hayden Henson, Tyler Watkins, Codi Chick, Zach Woolbright, and Nathan Brewer. Seth and Hunter even earned extra sprinkles on their cupcakes by making one homerun each.
With more hits than Woody Woodpecker was Hunter with three. Seth, Hayden, Codi, and Cody Fudge with two each. And Tyler, Isaac, and Layton Howard with one apiece. Layton, Hayden, and Isaac also earned themselves a combined three steals.
Sitting cozy in the department of defense was Isaac with 13 putouts and Cody with 12. Nathan and Hunter each made one. Assisting the Red Tigers in their victory was Layton and Hayden with four assist each. Seth and Hunter with three each. And Cody with one.
After Friday’s successful outcome, the Mansfield Tigers have upgraded their total play record to 2-2 and 1-1 in conference play. Up next for Mansfield are the Booneville Bearcats on Monday, March 25 at 4:30 p.m.
Northwest Scott County Fire Department is set to undergo major renovations, and a few of them are already underway.
Fire Chief Donnie Adkins said “the contractors are starting the construction of three new bays and a total remodel of the old building.”
The department has two locations, one off Highway 71 in Abbott and the other off Highway 378.
Chief Adkins said he is hopeful that the concrete crew will start this week. “We already have the new signs up at both stations with our new logo,” he added.
When the work is complete at the Highway 378 location, work will begin on the Abbott station.
The Arkansas Forestry Commission will be conducting multiple prescribed burns over the next 24 hours near Waldron.
Beginning Monday, March 18 at approximately 13 miles south of Waldron, the AFC will be strip-heading 70 acres of land. Additionally, 18 miles north east of Waldron, they will be backing over 1,000 acres of land.
Both of these prescribed burns are scheduled to be complete within 24 hours. Residents in that area, and the surrounding community will need to be aware of that activity.
On March 17 at around 6:30 p.m. Sebastian County deputies responded to the Mansfield Juvenile Treatment Center in reference to a fight between several juveniles.
Upon arrival, the fight had already been broken up by staff members. It was relayed to deputies that the fight had taken place between male and female juvenile detainees. EMS was on scene, but no one had to be transported to the hospital.
As deputies continued to investigate, they discovered one staff member had been injured during the fight and had been assaulted by a male detainee. They also determined a female detainee had tried to escape during the altercation.
As they were going to speak to another male detainee, deputies witnessed a staff member tell one of the males to be questioned to sit down. The detainee was handcuffed behind his back. As the deputies watched, the staff member kicked the detainee in his thigh area and forced him to the ground.
Deputies arrested staff member Caleb Davis, 25, of Huntington. Davis had told deputies he was the staff supervisor on duty. He was arrested for 3rd degree battery. He was booked into The Sebastian County Adult Detention Center and was given a $1,000 bond. He has since bonded out of jail.
Also arrested was a 16 year old male female detainee for 2nd degree battery and a 14 year old female detainee for 3rd degree attempted escape. They were taken to the Sebastian County Juvenile Detention Center.
The Waldron Bulldogs are having a rough go at their baseball season but with Spring Break upon us, the Bulldogs are taking the off time to perfect their skills and come back for a total takeover. Although the Bulldogs are 0-5 in total play, Coach Mark Brigance is feeling good about the season.
Waldron has only lost three games by one run. “We will hit our groove when we are able to make more contact at the plate and keep runners moving on the base paths,” explained Coach Brigance. “The starting pitching is getting better every time we play. We have to constantly work on ourselves and control the portions of the game in which we can control.”
Waldron stayed home and played the Elkins Elks on Friday, March 15. With a final score of 3-2 Elkins, Waldron had a hard time offensively at the plate. The board started moving in the fourth inning with a tied score of 2-2. But in the fifth inning, the Elks moved ahead with one run and with the Bulldogs unable to score more, that was the ballgame.
Coach Brigance offers up what happened during the game. “We really had trouble squaring up pitches and getting hard hit balls. One inning we had two errors that lead to Elkins taking the lead and we never could get another run.”
Senior pitcher Tyler Owens achieved a career high for himself by striking out 16 batters. “We are really proud for his accomplishment,” said Coach Brigance. He made 96 pitches to 24 batters only allowing two hits in six innings.
Seth Hunt made 11 pitches in the seventh inning and was flawless with two strike outs. Scoring the two runs for the Bulldogs were Tyler and Seth. Earning a combined three hits were Bryson Bailey, Seth Hunt, and Braden Williams. With a total of six putouts were Ruben Valdez, Braden Williams, Bryson Bailey, and Tyler Owens.
The Waldron Bulldogs will be back in action on Tuesday, March 26 on the road against the Greenland Pirates at 4:30 p.m.
This past Friday and Saturday, Mansfield’s very own sophomore Makayla Strutton, was invited to play in the Top 75 basketball camp by Arkansas Athletes Outreach (AAO) in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
During the 2018-2019 basketball season, Makayla stood out in the difficult 3A-1 conference. She led the Lady Tigers in many statistical categories including points scored, steals, rebounds and pass deflections. This helped gain her some attention from outside sources, earning her this prestigous invitation.
Makayla competed in multiple games throughout the two days, impressing many in attendance with her hard work and determination. Before the final game, she was honored with making the top 20 team at the camp.
Makayla Strutton ready to pounce with the ball
Makayla had this to say about her experience, “All of the girls there were very nice and encouraged you to do the best that you could do. Even though most of us have never played together, we played the game very well and worked very well together. It was a great experience and I’d love to do more things like it.”
Lady Tigers head coach, Joshua Bryan, said this about Makayla’s invite. “I’m excited that Makayla had the opportunity to take part in such a prestigious camp. She earned the right to take part and then made our Tiger family proud with her display of basketball talent and knowledge at the camp.”
Makayla doesn’t want her basketball career to end with high school and has plans to pursue ball in college. This past weekend she took a big step towards that goal.
Over the history of Mansfield track teams, the Tigers have typically been extremely efficient in the pole vault. Until last season, the crew had sent numerous athletes to post season play and had even won the event twice at the state meet. Graduation and general attrition had depleted the jumps team the past two seasons. So, Mansfield found help in two first time vaulters for the 2019 season.
“The two we found are seniors,” said Mansfield coach John Mackey. “That’s not ideal, but they are willing to learn even at this late stage in their careers.” Although not scoring among the top vaulters at the Greenwood meet on March 14, the pair of Lady Tigers did clear a bar at their first competitive experience at the vertical venue.
Seniors Alyssa Berry and Sara Willadsen nervously approached the large scale meet hosted by class 5A track school Greenwood. With only a few lessons under their belts, the pair each cleared the opening height of 6 feet having never made an approach from their full run. “It was a little scary and nerve-wracking for them I’m sure,” continued the coach. “They calmed the nerves and succeeded even if it was in a small way.”
Berry, a primary middle distance runner throughout her Mansfield career, had never competed in a field event before this meet. Willadsen, a track transfer from Hartford, had dabbled with some field events but was a primary runner when she enrolled in Mansfield this past summer. Willadsen also cleared her first high jump bar in track competition. It’s another new field event the senior player has learned since joining the team.
In total, Mansfield took a small group of women and men to Greenwood on the day school let out for spring break. The Lady Tiger squad was hit hard by graduation last season and only had three available sophomores to move into place for this year’s team. Consequently, they only took 11 active athletes to Greenwood for the women’s events.
The Tiger men revived their numbers last season for a competitive 2018 season. This season, a rash of non-track related injuries and sickness have sidelined the Tigers’ top four returners. The void has left the men unable to field all 17 events.
Despite the heavy handed handcuffs, sophomores Brooke Wright and Makayla Strutton had effective outings at the Bulldog Invitational through preliminary observations. Official meet results were unavailable as of press time because of computer glitches and timer malfunctions at Smith-Robinson Stadium delayed outcomes in all events.
What was determined was Wright had the right stuff at the throwing venues. The tenth grader who placed fifth at the class 3A state meet a year ago, went 91’ 9” for fifth place at the Bulldog Invitational. Wright also tossed the shot put 27’ 5” for another scoring opportunity. That mark claimed seventh place for the young Tiger thrower.
Strutton seemed fast through her heat of the 100m hurdles. Unofficially, the sophomore was clocked at 17.87. Her position looked to be in the running for a top eight time but official outcomes were not submitted. The tenth grader won her heat in the 300m hurdles. The unofficial time of 57.47 was two seconds faster than her sixth place ribbon earned at Van Buren nearly two weeks ago.
Teammates Lennon Woods and Delilah McKusker also ran solid 300m times for the first time in that event this season. Woods was coach timed at 58.39 while McKusker had a mark of 59.31. The pair also competed in the100m high hurdles with McKusker going approximately 19.70 and Woods crossing near the 20.50 mark.
Senior Haylee Buckner tied for 8th place in the women’s high jump at 4’ 6”. Strutton and Willadsen both cleared the opening height but failed to advance. Strutton showed promise in her first competitive high jump since the seventh grade. The multi-talented athlete was reaching heights well above the bar but inexperience placed her take off foot too far from the landing pad. As a result, she was landing short and on top of the cross bar.
Bri Sanderson was solid for the Tiger men at the discus ring. The sophomore flew the discus 112’ from the front of the ring. Teammate Jacob Brown followed at 85’ for Mansfield’s throws team. The two also gained in confidence at the smaller shot put sector with attempts of 37’ and 35’. Sanderson claimed the higher place among the Tiger shot putters.
Randall Claude continued to show signs of emerging speed with his two sprint results. The tenth grader unofficially went 12.56 in the 100m dash and 26.40 in the 200m race. Renden Emery won his heat of the men’s 300m hurdles and was in the hunt over the 110m high hurdles in his respective section. The tenth grader also cleared 5’ 6” in the high jump and sailed 36’ 2” in the triple jump.
Janna Coplin was happy with a personal record in the discus. The Lady Tiger junior found her mark of 75’ 9” particularly appealing especially with the windy conditions. Artem Zirka was similarly pleased in the men’s 1600m run. An unofficial time of 5:39.98 was the exchange student’s best time of the early season.
Victor Steffen ran the 300m hurdles, long jumped, and high jumped for the MHS men. Addison Goetz, Hailey Byers, and Willadsen covered the sprints for the Tiger women. Haylie Burns and Miracle Pettigrew contributed to the female throws. Next up are the Mansfield Tiger Relays on March 26.
Mansfield’s junior high track trip to Mena on March 12 was a memorable one in many ways. Twenty-three medals, 40 ribbons, 16 honey buns, 1 school record, and a runner-up trophy all found their way into Tiger paws. Yes, it was a memorable night.Mansfield’s athletes attended the first junior high school track meet hosted by Mena in over ten years. With the Bearcat facilities being refurbished this season after a decade of decay, it proved fertile hunting grounds for the Tigers.
Lady Tiger Skylynn Harris pounced on the shot put competition with a Mansfield school record. The eighth-grader broke her own mark from a year ago with an astonishing 41’ 10” toss of the six-pound shot. The shot put judge had been marking throws ranging from 20 feet to the second best measure of the day at 34’ 8”. Harris put the judge on high alert as her hefty heaves nearly took out unsuspecting field event workers.
Skylynn Harris sets another shot put record
Consecutive tosses of 37’ 11” and 41’ 2” by Harris prompted meet spotters to back up. Finally in position, they were ready when Harris hit the extra-large dinger to break the MJH record. The winning shot put was just the beginning of a feel-good night for the Tiger women and men. Collectively, the group posted 17 top three places prompting a haul of 23 individual or team medals. They also collected a bag full of ribbons over 20 other events.
One of the night’s highlights, however, was a non-scoring event partnering throwers only in a “honey bun” relay race. Mansfield rolled out throwing specialists Shawn Brown, Levi Cothran, Zayne Dugan, and Shaddon Moore for a 4x100m relay made up of “big boys” only. With a start to finish punctuation mark, the quad squad of beef blistered the single lap course in 59.70 seconds for the win and 2 boxes of honey buns.
Levi Cothran, Shawn Brown, Zayne Dugan, and Shaddon Moore enjoy the spoils of their “Honey Bun” race
“This was our first ever honey bun win that I can remember,” said longtime Mansfield mentor John Mackey. “I’ve enjoyed many memorable occasions over the years, but this was one of the finest or funniest. I’m not sure which.” Despite his honey bun heroics, Dugan was the top performer for the Tiger men through his normal events. The 6’ 4” ninth-grader produced 18 points for the team with a pair of second place medals. Both came through the throwing events.
At the discus ring, the part time baseball player sent the 1kg implement 113’ 3”. Over at the shot, he pushed the 4kg ball 39’ 11”. Each measure garnered silver medals and eight points apiece.
Madelen Jones joined Harris as one of two gold medalists from Mansfield. Jones was the Lady Tiger top scorer with 28 points. The eighth-grader placed in five different disciplines. She won the 100m hurdles in 18.16 seconds. She was second in the 300m hurdles at 54.41. She was third in the long jump at 14’, sixth in the high jump at 4’ 4”, and fifth in the 4x100m relay.
Sadie Roberts was the second leading scorer for the Mansfield women with 24 points. Those included an individual second place in the high jump at 4’ 8”, third place in the pole vault at 6’ 6”, fourth in the long jump at 13’ 8”, and fifth in the triple jump at 28’ 0.5”. Roberts also ran the third leg in the women’s 4x100m relay. That fifth place partnership included Kinley Hanfelder, Alexis Rivera, and Jones.
Pole Vaulters Ashton Hinkle, Sadie Roberts, and Steven Perez
On the men’s team, Steven Perez had a busy night for Mansfield as well. The ninth grader offered up a personal record in the pole vault at 9’ 6”. That was good for second place. He anchored a fifth-place 4x800m relay and ran second leg on the fourth-place 4x400m relay. Perez also completed the Tigers’ third-place 4x100m relay in an impromptu role. An injury and an illness to two different Tiger sprinters necessitated the middle distance runner’s move to the sprint team.
The 4x100m combination of Perez, Gage Rogers, Tommy Phang, and Dru Buckner executed the one-lap sprint exchange in 53.30 for third place. Natalie Allison, Olivia Bouse, Buckner, McKenzie Griffin, Harris, and Faith Rainwater gained silver medals like Jones, Perez, and Roberts did earlier in the meet. The combination of Allison, Griffin, Bouse, and Rainwater posted a terrific time of 11:49.46 for the silver award in the 4x800m relay.
Buckner stormed over the 300m hurdles in 48.81 for the silver reward. It was his first attempt this season at that race. Brooklyn Adams, Shawn Brown, and Harleigh Mars collected bronze medals as Phang, Rogers, Buckner, Jones, Perez, and Roberts did earlier as well. Adams went 68’ 10” in the discus for her third place reward. It was her second scoring attempt in as many meets.
Brown established a new personal record in the discus at 104’ 1” for the first of two third place accolades. His other came from a 37’ 5.5” shot put throw. Mars moved efficiently in the 300m hurdles for the first time since winning the district championship as a seventh grader in the same event. Her third place time of 55.02 was a welcome site to the Tiger freshman who had to sit out all of her eighth gradeyear with injury.
John Branche, Zac Desormeaux, Mikeal Harrison, Ashton Hinkle, and Tyler Turnipseed all scored in their respective events for the Tiger men. Cassidy Carlton, Shelby Cole, Magean Newman, Hope Rainwater, Seven Sanderson, Kynslee Ward, and Jadelynn Wood all placed among the top eight performers in their races or field events for the Lady Tigers.
Having already tabulated trophy times a week earlier, the Mansfield seventh grade girls built upon that team runner-up status earned at Booneville as momentum when they headed to Mena four days later. In only their second track meet of their young career, the Tiger Cubs found victory at the Mena Invitational.
Behind Kynslee Ward’s second consecutive high point performance, Mansfield tallied 153.5 points in route to the team championship. Mansfield’s seventh-grade boys pushed for top honors as well but fell short with 110.5 points for the third place overall prize. Tiger talent Tyler Turnipseed earned his first high point award in the process.
Kynslee Ward getting teammates pumped up
This is the first time in several years that Mansfield individuals came away with high point trophies in both gender divisions at the same meet. Ward produced her medalist honor with wins in the long jump, high jump, 300m hurdles, and 4x400m relay. She was also a second place member of the 4x100m relay team along with being an individual fourth in the 100m hurdles.
Turnipseed carried home blue ribbons in the boys long jump, 100m dash, and 200m dash. He was also part of the two third-place relays teams as anchor to the 4x100m and 4x400m relay squads. Collectively, the Tigers earned eleven first place awards across both divisions. Peyton Martin earned top honors in the pole vault. Dakota Langford won the discus. Rachel Johnson took the shot put prize. Katelyn Corson ran away with the 400m dash to go along with Ward’s four wins and Turnipseed’s three.
Raine Hecox, Zac Hayslip, Donovan Walker, and Tyler Turnipseed
Harlie Fuller fueled the Lady Tiger scoring with high marks across five different events. Individually, she was second in the pole vault, third in the 300m hurdles, and fifth in the 100m hurdles. As a partner in two relays, she got a second place ribbon in the 4x100m relay and a first place jewel in the 4x400m relay. Fuller, Corson, Ward, and Eden Mounts were teamed for the winning 4x400m.
Mounts, Raine Hecox, Kadence Mathisen, Emile Nelson, Kadynce Robinson, Trinity Scott, and Kalie Sysakayavong all had individual scores for the Tiger girls. Mounts was third in the 100m dash and fifth in the high jump. Hecox placed fourth in the triple jump and seventh in the 1600m run. Mathisen was silver medalist in the discus and seventh in the shot.
Nelson took bronze in the triple jump and fourth in the 400m dash. Robinson scored fifth place in the discus. Scott was seventh in the 800m run. Sysakayavong crossed fourth in the 200m dash, seventh in the 100m dash, and landed third in the long jump. She was also on the red ribbon sprint relay team with Mounts, Fuller, and Ward. Nelson and Hecox joined Scott and Charity Crowe for the third place in the 4x800m relay team.
Emile Nelson sticks the landing in the triple jump
Martin earned stripes for the men with scoring marks in four events. He was third in the 110m high hurdles and sixth in the high jump to go along with his pole vault win. He was also the lead leg in the second place 4x100m relay. Zach Hayslip, Jonathon Norris, Dylan Sensinger, Donovan Walker, Ethan Walker, and Turner Wright all placed in the top eight for the Tigers.
Hayslip earned a pair of thirds through the triple jump and 4x400m relay. Norris knocked out a pair of fourth places in the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles. He was also fifth in the 200m dash. Sensinger and Wright scored in the throws. Wright went long in the discus with a third place 63’ 2” measurement. Sensinger put the steel shot 21’ 0” for seventh place.
The Walker twins formed half of two different award-winning relay teams. They joined Martin and Turnipseed for bronze crossings in both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. Ethan Walker was also fifth in the 400m dash. Next up for the Tigers is the Mansfield Ribbon Run on March 25.
Jim Sher and his family will be hosting the 2019 Spring Cleanup event in Waldron. The event is scheduled for Saturday, March 30, from 9 a.m.-noon.
Volunteers are needed to help pick up trash and recyclable items. The spring cleanup event is being held as part of the Great American Cleanup and Keep Arkansas Beautiful campaigns.
According to their website, the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission “inspires and educates individuals to improve their communities by preventing litter, promoting recycling and keeping Arkansas beautiful. We encourage everyone to accept responsibility for maintaining Arkansas’s scenic beauty, environmental health and quality of life. These efforts positively impact civic pride, livability and economic growth – creating communities where people want to work, live and play.”
For more information, please contact Event Coordinator Jim Sher at 479-207-0508 or [email protected].
