By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Palestine-Wheatley High School senior Erica Smith has been named the Gatorade State High School Girls' Basketball Player of the Year.
Smith, a 5-10 forward, averaged more than 30 points per game this season to help lead the Lady Patriots to the school's first-ever state basketball championship.
For 15 years, the Gatorade Player of the Year Award has honored the nation's best high school athletes.
Gatorade makes the annual award working in partnership with Scholastic Coach and Athletic Magazine.
Antwon Blanchard, of Little Rock Parkview was named the Boys' Player of the Year.
Blanchard averaged close to 20 points per game this season for Parkview.
One boy and one girl, representing each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, are chosen each year.
The Lady Patriots won the Class AA state title earlier this month by defeating the Riverside Lady Rebels in the championship game played at Pine Bluff.
It was their third straight trip to the state championship finals.
Palestine-Wheatley won the title after being the state runners-up in 1999 and 2000.
Besides her scoring average, Smith grabbed 12 rebounds per game, handed out five assists and had six steals per game this season.
She was named to the All-State team this season (her third straight appearance on the team) as well as to the All-Conference, All-Region and the AA All-Tournament team.
She was named the Most Valuable Player in the AA state championship game and has been chosen to play in the high school All-Star game later this year.
She has been a member of the McDonald's Classic All-Tournament team twice.
In November, Smith signed a national letter-of-intent to play college basketball at Louisiana Tech.
"Erica has always been our 'go-to' player," said Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriot coach Beverly Bass. "She is an unselfish player on the floor and she knows how to make things happen. She exhibits class at all times and has good work habits. It won't be the same around here without her."
Smith is equally talented off the floor. She carries a 4.0 grade point average and a cumulative 3.77 grade point average.
The 102 state winners from across the nation, selected by a panel of sport-specific experts as well as a National Media Advisory Board, were chosen based on outstanding achievements on and off the athletic field.
Smith and Blanchard become finalists for the prestigeous Gatorade National High School Boys' and Girls' Player of the Year award.
The national award will be announced on Tuesday, April 10th.
Former Arkansas Razorback basketball player Corliss Williamson won the national Gatorade honor in 1992.
No female athlete from Arkansas has ever won the national award.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
CARLISLE -- The Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriot softball team opened the year with a bang Monday by blasting Carlisle 20-4.
Nikki Bass and Amanda Riffle each scored four times while Libby Martin added three runs in the season-opening conference game for the Lady Patriots.
"We practiced Sunday and then for a while Monday morning," said Coach Beverly Bass. "We hit the ball well and we hit the gaps."
Bass, Martin and Riffle each slammed solo home runs in the top of the first inning to put the Lady Patriots on top.
Carlisle scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Leslie Hoots, Jennie Loewer, Marla Gardner and Amanda Roberts each scored single runs for the Lady Patriots.
Palestine-Wheatley will travel to Hazen today for another conference outing beginning at 4 p.m.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
WEST MEMPHIS--The Forrest City Mustang track team rolled up 148 points on a rather bone-chilling Monday afternoon to win the Blue Devil Relay track meet held at West Memphis.
West memphis finished second in the five-team field with 60 points.
Rivercrest, Blytheville and Jonesboro competed in the combined junior-senior high boys' meet.
The girls' portion of the meet will be held today and will feature the Forrest City Lady Mustangs as well as the Blue and White Junior Lady Mustang teams.
Forrest City won 11 events to record their first ribbon meet victory of the season.
Ray Dixon won the shot put and Howard Collins finished fourth while Nick Anderson finished fourth in the discus and Dixon was fifth.
Evan Haggins won the long jump while Stephon Latham was fifth. Latham later won the triple jump while Montrell Ashcraft finished third.
Steven Marrs won the high jump event.
On the track, each of the four Forrest City relay teams ran to victories, led by the 3,200-meter relay team of Willie Wade, Joseph Wilson, Jesse Ballard and Mark Hines.
Floyd Shivers, Daniel Echols, Travis Hurst and Haggins made up the 400-meter and 800-meter relay teams.
Wade, Ballard, Wilson and Hurst formed the 1,600-meter relay team.
Echols won the 100-meter and 200-meter runs with Haggins finishing third in the 100.
Hines ran first in the 1,600-meter with Brandon Barrett taking fourth and Orlando Russell holding on for fifth. Hines also won the 3,200-meter run.
Wilson ran third in the 400-meter run while Wade captured a first place finish in the 800-meter.
Ashcraft placed fourth in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles and Damon Thomas ran fifth.
The Forrest City Blue Mustangs took part in their second meet of the season Monday.
Individual results showed Chavelle Wilson finishing third in the 100-meter run, fifth in the high jump and sixth in the long jump.
Jermaine Collins was fifth in the 400-metyer run and finished fifth in the shot put.
Terrance Cook was second in the discus.
Forrest City's two-mile relay team finished second as did the 400-meter relay team. The 800-meter relay team ran fifth.
The Blue Junior Mustangs will travel to Marion today for a scheduled junior high meet.
The Wynne Yellowjackets held off Forrest City's Mustangs and Nettleton in a three-way golf match played Monday at Wynne
Todd Sparks fired a 39 to earn medalist honors and help Wynne to a 177 team total win over the Mustangs, who finished second with 191. Nettleton was third with a team score of 196.
Jake Wade led Forrest City with a 45 for the day while Brian Hacker finished with a 46 and Chad Halbert fired a 48.
In girls play, Sarah Eldridge shot a 49 to tie Wynne's Courtney Ramsey for medalist honors.
Krista Coleman finished with a 52 while Melissa Fogg had a 56 and Hannah Cohn had a 59.
Forrest City will host Searcy today in matches at Forrest City Country Club.