MVPs of The State Track Meets (ALL CLASSES)

[AT]

First off, I've done this for a couple of years and it's one of my favorite things I do here because it recognizes the hard working athletes.

No, I have no delusions that this MVP thing I do means anything more than just a few more encouraging words about an athlete.

Do you just use the high point athlete from the meets?
I have not held myself to that restriction although I do think I have used the high point athlete from the WINNING TEAM every time. I really do just go in and look at what athlete carried their team to a win. Sometimes it's difficult (Bentonville's girls last year were loaded and had such a well rounded team, it was a tough choice). But yes I do always choose from the winning team. The closest I have come to not choosing the athlete from the winning team was when Grant Williams of Lake Hamiton pulled the distance triple a couple of years back in a runner up finish (winning the 800, 1600, 3200)

Without further ado:

7A GIRLS MVP: Once again, the Bentonville girls were a well-rounded team, having an unprecedented 22 different ladies score for them. The lady who sticks out the most is Taylor Mahone, though. Although the Bentonville team is good in all areas, they are a distance machine. Mahone brought points in the short sprints where each one was needed as they only beat Cabot by half a point. Mahone won the 100 meter dash, was part of the 4th place 4 x 100 meter relay team, and finished 3rd in the 200. Mahone's efforts in areas of need for the Lady Tigers helped propel them to a state title.

7A BOYS MVP: The Bryant Hornets came out and knocked off the monster that was Bentonville. They did it on the back of sprinting beast John Winn. Winn needed every point he could get in the sprints because Bentonville had some athletes right behind him and the Tigers also were loaded in the distance. Winn did just that by finishing 2nd in the 100 meter dash, winning the 400 meter dash, finishing 3rd in the 200 meter dash, and if I was a betting man, I'd say he was probably part of the winning 4 x 400 meter relay team also, although Bryant did not enter who was on their team. John Winn's excellent sprinting day gave Bryant the push they needed to pass Bentonville and win a state title.

6A GIRLS MVP: Lake Hamilton is known for two things: Distance running and pole vaulting, and that's how they won this state title. Yet, their distance crew was led by an unlikely lady named Josie Carson. I say unlikely not because I know anything about her physical strength or running aptitude, but because she is only a FRESHMEN. This (very) young lady was on the winning 4 x 800 meter relay team, won the 1600 meter run, finished 2nd in the 800 meter run, and was even part of the 7th place 4 x 400 meter relay team. Carson will be a name to look out for the in the future. I would be surprised if this girl was a Lady Razorback in a few years. The freshmen stepped up big time to hold off defending champion Texarkana and help her Lady Wolves win a state title.

6A BOYS MVP: Over the past three years, people have become accustomed to Texarkana winning meets with their incredible depth in the sprints and the jumps. Once again, those events were big for Texarkana, but someone else sticks out that doesn't fit that mold and that's Tyler Braswell. Braswell, just a sophomore, was part of the winning 4 x 800 meter relay team, won the 1600 meter run, and won the 800 meter run. The man picked up three gold medals to help Texarkana easily pick up a third straight title. Braswell will be a force to be reckoned with in the next two years and not just in 6A.

5A GIRLS MVP: The Magnolia Lady Panthers won their 2nd straight title and did it by riding Briana Hardiman for as many points as possible and Hardiman stepped up. She ran in all 3 sprints and particpated in both horizontal jumps and placed in all five of those events. She finished 8th in the 200 (probably because of exhaustion), she won the 100 meter dash, finished 6th in the 400 meter dash, won the long jump, won the triple jump, and I'm going to go ahead and guess she was part of the winning 4 x 100 relay team. Magnolia just needed a few athletes to score some points along with Hardiman's workhorse effort to win this meet.

5A BOYS MVP: The Magnolia boys' team had their points spread out among more athletes than their women's side, but the man who stepped up the biggest would have to be Antwan Jones. He won the 200 meter dash at a very important time in the meet, finished 4th in the 100, and was probably part of the 2nd place 4 x 100 meter relay team. His efforts in the sprints were needed to break up the Forrest City sprint beast. Jones's timely 200 meter dash win carried Magnolia to their 6th title in the past decade plus.

4A GIRLS MVP: The Ashdown Lady Panthers weren't being talked much about this year as a contender for a state title. But looking back on it, they should have been recognized for having sprints, jumps, and throwers. It was Ashdown vs. Crossett punch for punch and Ashdown got the knock out in the end, in large part to Shacoya Poole. Shacoya was put in the max amount of events and needed to place in all of them to give Ashdown the edge over Crossett. She did just that by finishing 2nd in the high jump, 6th in the long jump, winning the 100 meter hurdles, finishing 6th in the 100 meter dash, winning the 300 meter hurdles, and finishing 5th in the 200 meter dash. Shacoya went against Crossett athletes in every single one of those events and broke up their point total to help propel Ashdown to a state title.

4A BOYS MVP: ----

3A GIRLS MVP: A total domination of a state meet usually means you had a lot of athletes score in a lot of areas and Genoa Central had just that (in respect to a class 3A school). That being said, one athlete maxed out on their number of events and picked up some gold medals along the way. Jordan Avance finished 2nd in the 100 meter hurdles, won the 300 meter hurdles, was part of the winning 4 x 100 meter relay team and the winning 4 x 400 meter relay team, finished 3rd in the long jump, and finished 6th in the triple jump. Avance's worked her tail off that meet even though she might have known her team didn't need her too.

3A BOYS MVP: Although Prescott wasn't expected to, the Curley Wolves really came out and won the meet very comfortably. One name showed up consistently when you look at who scored points for Prescott. Bralyn Wilson finished 4th in the 100, 5th in the 200, was part of the state record breaking and winning 4 x 400 meter relay team (3:29.75), finished 2nd in the long jump, and finished 3rd in the triple jump. It's also possible that Bralyn was part of the winning 4 x 100 meter relay team, but he is not listed on the team that ran the prelims. They may have put him on the team for the finals, but I do not know, maybe a Prescott fan can enlighten us on that. Either way, Bralyn's jumping and sprinting efforts put Prescott back atop the 3A Track and Field mountain, which they had been missing for a few years.

2A GIRLS MVP: The Des Arc Lady Eagles held off Magnet Cove for a 2A State title and they needed every point possible from their workhorse Kirby Smith. Kirby isn't your typical track and field athlete. Most sprinters who do field events do the horizontal or vertical jumps. Kirby, though, does the sprints and then displays her athleticism with her throwing skills. Kirby Smith finished 2nd in the 100 meter dash, 2nd in the 200 meter dash, she won the 400 meter dash, finished 2nd in the 100 meter hurdles, won the shot put, and won the discus throw. That means that if Arkansas recognized athletes in this way, Kirby would be all-state in 6 individual events! Incredible performance! And she didn't do it in a run away for Des Arc either. They needed each of her high finishes to beat Magnet Cove, who they only beat by 5 points.

2A BOYS MVP: I think this was the toughest decision yet. I think this will be the first time that I will award my MVP to an athlete who didn't finish high point for the winning team. David Sims of Gurdon probably finished with a few less points than his teammate Jackie Harvell, but in their individual events, they both finished with 20 points. Jackie's relay team, the 4 x 100, was first, while David's relay team, the 4 x 800, was 3rd. In the end, I think David is the MVP, because while Gurdon was fighting Junction City for points in the throws and the sprints, David was running the 800, 1600, and 3200 (an absolute grueling triple) to put his team ahead. He won the 800, finished 3rd in the 1600, and finished 5th in the 3200. As stated earlier, he was also part of the 3rd place 4 x 800 meter relay team. I believe David's efforts were just a tiny bit more valuable to his team in a 4 point win over Junction City than Jackie's. Both had outstanding meets.

1A GIRLS MVP: It's rare that you see a distance runner do any field event and perform well in it. Distance running takes a lot of energy and to spend any more on a field event takes a lot of guts. Elizabeth Gillette took that extreme measure to help her team win a state title. Elizabeth finished 3rd in the 800,  1st in the 1600, 1st in the 3200, she was part of the winning 4 x 400 meter relay team, part of the winning 4 x 800 meter relay team, and finished 2nd in the high jump. Elizabeth won four running events, finished 3rd in another, and place in the all-state cateogry in a field event. Amazing effort.

1A BOYS MVP: This was a bit tough, but I think the MVP for Caddo Hills has to be Seth Powell. Seth's team won pretty handily and it was probably known by most that was going to be the case but he went out there and put it all on the line. Seth finished 3rd in the 100 meter dash, 5th in the 200 meter dash, was part of the winning 4 x 100 relay team, finished 2nd in the long jump, and finished 2nd in the triple jump Seth's sprinting and jumping efforts led a well-rounded Trinity Christian team to a state title.

[snoopy22]

Awesome....Ready for the other classifications now, especially 3a!

[AT]

Bump for 6A

[Pick_DA_EAGLES]

Alma, will you be doing all classes.

[AT]

Alma, will you be doing all classes.

Yes.

[AT]

5A is now added.

[sevenof400]

5A is now added.

I'm just happy you didn't pick someone who scored one point..... 

On a more serious note, as I was watching MHS and your comments in the 5A state meet thread, one thing that struck me was watching the projected score for Forrest City start at some really big numbers but, as the night wore along, that number shrank. 

There was a set of numbers you generated AT that really came back to mind as I watched the projected totals shrink throughout the evening - and those were:

Number of scoring opportunities qualified for the state meet
Vilonia – 36
Beebe – 34
Magnolia – 23
Forrest City – 19

A quick look at the athletes for Forrest City revealed a good number of these opportunities resided in a few athletes.  For example, Leon Smith, Bryan Allen and Kendrell Johnson (sprints) and William Tinzie (distance).

In any meet, there is always a fatigue factor to consider and in a state meet (with better competition) even more so.  That leads me to my question:

When you figure scoring projections, do you consider the number of athletes comprising the number of scoring opportunities?  In other words, Forrest City had 19 scoring opportunities but they appeared to be grouped in a few athletes.  Here is a look at each of the three teams from that perspective:

Forrest City
Leon Smith   100   200   400               LJ   TJ
Bryan Allen   100   200                     
Kendrell Johnson   100   200                  LJ   TJ
Garrett Slaughter         400   800               
William Tinzie            800   1600   3200         
Don'tay Summers                     300H      


Magnolia
Antwan Jones   100   200   400                           
Patrick Johnson      200   400                           
Nathan Vaughn            800                        
Dionysis Roberts                1600                     
Jack Long               1600   3200                  
Patrick Daniel                1600   3200                  
Nile Cooper                     110H               
Jaylen Lambert                      110H   300H            
BJ Manning                           PV         
Sinclair Pitts                              D      
Jakalon McBride                               D      
Kenny Leaks                               D   SP   
Demetrion Jones                                    TJ

Vilonia
Jackson Berry   200   400   800                           LJ
Luke Matyja      400   800                           
Jacob Berry      400                              
Zachary Rail         800   1600   3200                     
Kyle Luck         800                           
Hunter Otts            1600   3200                     
Jason Rail            1600   3200                     
Jared Willis                  110H   300H               
Tyler Gray                  110H   300H               
Huner Kelly                     300H               
Matthew Stanley                        HJ            
Tripp Reed                        HJ   PV         
Landon Castle                         HJ            
Tucker Richmond                            PV         
Thomas Hutchison                            PV         
Shane Steward                               D      
Parker Eldridge                              D      
Justin Wilson                               D      
Matthew Foster                              D      
Parker Eldridge                                  SP   
Daron McCluskey                                  SP   
Nick Gentry                                  SP   

[sevenof400]

The more I look at that distribution, the more impressed I become with the fact that Forrest City was able to hang around as they did AND finish so high.  Forrest City asks a lot from a few athletes and they performed exceptionally well given how little depth they have. 

And one last point here - with 34 scoring opportunities translating to only 32 points for Beebe (the 5A Central Conference champion), it seems a testimony to the lack of emphasis on track in the 5A Central (especially in the Little Rock area).  That's really sad because there are a good number of track athletes in the Little Rock area and some of them likely attend 5A Central schools where the sport is underserved.

[Coach Alley]

The more I look at that distribution, the more impressed I become with the fact that Forrest City was able to hang around as they did AND finish so high.  Forrest City asks a lot from a few athletes and they performed exceptionally well given how little depth they have. 

And one last point here - with 34 scoring opportunities translating to only 32 points for Beebe (the 5A Central Conference champion), it seems a testimony to the lack of emphasis on track in the 5A Central (especially in the Little Rock area).  That's really sad because there are a good number of track athletes in the Little Rock area and some of them likely attend 5A Central schools where the sport is underserved.

Do the same with Cabot girls.

[AT]

4A is complete.

seven, I haven't done an analytic projection of a state meet in a couple of years. I just haven't found the time to do it the past two years. Now when I did do it analytically instead of just using the performance lists to project points, I did take into account how many events an athlete had to perform, but also looked at how many times they had done that many events in a meet throughout the year. Most of the time, an athlete will show they are capable of handling a big workload during the "regular season". Forrest City's sprinters had not shown they could pull that workload, but rather just showed up late in the year with really fast times where they ran without prelims and without many other events.

Beebe had a ton of athletes qualify because of a weak conference, but they were never contenders for a state title. The ideal situation is to have quality athletes spread out among a quantity of athletes, but that's hard to do. Right now Bentonville and Texarkana are the best at doing it and you can see their results.

[AT]

And 3A is now complete.

...not "not"

[AT]

2A is done. Just 1A left.

[AT]

And done.

[BigWolfC/O2017]

Bralyn Wilson did run on the 4x100 relay during the Prelims.He was 4th leg

[snoopy22]

That is correct on Bralyn Wilson.  He anchored the 4x100 relay.  Prescott had only not been champions for two years!  Haven't had longer than a two year drought since the reclassification in 2007.  Also three of the four years they didn't win it they were runner up and had one third place finish in the other year. Go Wolves!

[Cabotred]

Great work, but I have to differ with you.   Where does it say MVP has to be on winning team? 

I don't see how the MVP for the 7A girls goes to anyone except Lexi Weeks of Cabot.  She scored 43 points in individual events alone and I believe was on atleast of a couple of Cabots relays.  If I am correct about Lexi she was in 7 events and scored in everyone of them.  Just looking at her point total she would have finished 5th in the state all by herself.  Her sister Tori scored 42 individuals points and was in a couple of relays also. She scored  5 indivaul events and a relay and would have finished 6th in state with her point total.  I am sure T Mahoney is a great student athlete but she only scored 16 individual points and was on 1 relay for three events. 

If you were starting a team of girls from 7A, would you pick T Mahoney over both of the Weeks sisters? Has there every been a better indivaul preformance at the 7A state meet?

[SouthpawSensation]

Great work, but I have to differ with you.   Where does it say MVP has to be on winning team? 

I don't see how the MVP for the 7A girls goes to anyone except Lexi Weeks of Cabot.  She scored 43 points in individual events alone and I believe was on atleast of a couple of Cabots relays.  If I am correct about Lexi she was in 7 events and scored in everyone of them.  Just looking at her point total she would have finished 5th in the state all by herself.  Her sister Tori scored 36 individuals points and was in a couple of relays also. She scored  4 indivauls events and couple relays and would have finished 6th in state with her point total.  I am sure T Mahoney is a great student athlete but she only scored 16 individual points and was on 1 relay for three events. 

If you were starting a team of girls from 7A, would you pick T Mahoney over both of the Weeks sisters?

If she was in seven events, then get ready to forfeit a state runnerup trophy because six is the limit one person can do.

[Cabotred]

Great work, but I have to differ with you.   Where does it say MVP has to be on winning team? 

I don't see how the MVP for the 7A girls goes to anyone except Lexi Weeks of Cabot.  She scored 43 points in individual events alone and I believe was on atleast of a couple of Cabots relays.  If I am correct about Lexi she was in 7 events and scored in everyone of them.  Just looking at her point total she would have finished 5th in the state all by herself.  Her sister Tori scored 36 individuals points and was in a couple of relays also. She scored  4 indivauls events and couple relays and would have finished 6th in state with her point total.  I am sure T Mahoney is a great student athlete but she only scored 16 individual points and was on 1 relay for three events. 

If you were starting a team of girls from 7A, would you pick T Mahoney over both of the Weeks sisters?

If she was in seven events, then get ready to forfeit a state runnerup trophy because six is the limit one person can do.

.

I said I believe she was on two relays. Wasn't sure Cabot didn't list their runners.  If she was in 7 events we do need to forfeit.

[Cabotred]

Lexi competed in:

Long jump 1st
Pole Vault 1st
100 hurdles 1st
200 meter 4th
400 meter 2nd

I know she has competed in a couple of differnt relays during season.  Of course it does get confusing telling her and sister apart.

Tori competed in:

Long jump 2nd
Triple jump 1st
Pole Vault 2nd
100 meter hurdles 3rd
330 hurdles 1st

Not sure of any relays that she ran on.  I know during season she has completed on atleast one relay team.

[Cabotred]

double post

[sevenof400]

Almatrackster,

Before you totally close the books on this year, a big thanks to you for all the work you do on the Track and Field board! 

[AT]

Great work, but I have to differ with you.   Where does it say MVP has to be on winning team? 

Well this is my list, so I use the standard they have to win. No one has to say that.

[Coach Alley]

Lexi competed in:

Long jump 1st
Pole Vault 1st
100 hurdles 1st
200 meter 4th
400 meter 2nd

I know she has competed in a couple of differnt relays during season.  Of course it does get confusing telling her and sister apart.

Tori competed in:

Long jump 2nd
Triple jump 1st
Pole Vault 2nd
100 meter hurdles 3rd
330 hurdles 1st

Not sure of any relays that she ran on.  I know during season she has completed on atleast one relay team.

Lexi ran on the 4x100 and Tori ran on the 4x400. I know which events they were in, I was just too lazy to tally the scores.

[Coach Alley]

Great work, but I have to differ with you.   Where does it say MVP has to be on winning team? 

I don't see how the MVP for the 7A girls goes to anyone except Lexi Weeks of Cabot.  She scored 43 points in individual events alone and I believe was on atleast of a couple of Cabots relays.  If I am correct about Lexi she was in 7 events and scored in everyone of them.  Just looking at her point total she would have finished 5th in the state all by herself.  Her sister Tori scored 42 individuals points and was in a couple of relays also. She scored  5 indivaul events and a relay and would have finished 6th in state with her point total.  I am sure T Mahoney is a great student athlete but she only scored 16 individual points and was on 1 relay for three events. 

If you were starting a team of girls from 7A, would you pick T Mahoney over both of the Weeks sisters? Has there every been a better indivaul preformance at the 7A state meet?

You can't be in more than 6 events.

[Coach Alley]

Almatrackster,

Before you totally close the books on this year, a big thanks to you for all the work you do on the Track and Field board!

Seconded.

[Cabotred]

Great work, but I have to differ with you.   Where does it say MVP has to be on winning team? 

Well this is my list, so I use the standard they have to win. No one has to say that.

I understand, your list your rules.  I also appreciate the work you do on this board.  With out you and a few others there wouldn't be near as much material here.

[Cabotred]

Great work, but I have to differ with you.   Where does it say MVP has to be on winning team? 

I don't see how the MVP for the 7A girls goes to anyone except Lexi Weeks of Cabot.  She scored 43 points in individual events alone and I believe was on atleast of a couple of Cabots relays.  If I am correct about Lexi she was in 7 events and scored in everyone of them.  Just looking at her point total she would have finished 5th in the state all by herself.  Her sister Tori scored 42 individuals points and was in a couple of relays also. She scored  5 indivaul events and a relay and would have finished 6th in state with her point total.  I am sure T Mahoney is a great student athlete but she only scored 16 individual points and was on 1 relay for three events. 

If you were starting a team of girls from 7A, would you pick T Mahoney over both of the Weeks sisters? Has there every been a better indivaul preformance at the 7A state meet?

You can't be in more than 6 events.

This was addressed above, but I said "I believe" and "if I am correct". Well this is one of many times I was wrong. 

[RATTLER43]

The twins were awesome. Don't have to be MVP. They can be athletes of the year. Stumbaugh wasn't MVP last year but was Athlete of the Year. 

[MHSGrad]

Those two young ladies can help the Arkansas women become a legitimate dynasty. I can't wait to see what they can do the next 4 years.

[RATTLER43]

Agreed.  WPS!

[snoopy22]

I agree.  Great job on the boards.  The info you guys provide is awesome!!  BTW, the Cabot twins are awesome and actually have Prescott ties.  Their grandpa is a Prescott graduate.  One of their coaches is also a Prescott graduate, Chris Beavert.  He is an outstanding coach.

[MHSGrad]

Coach Beavert was my coach my junior and senior years at Magnolia. He is definitely one of my favorites!