By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
PEARCY--Forrest City's Joseph Wilson ran his best time of the season Wednesday in the 400-meter race, but it was a former Mustang sprinter who took top honors.
Wilson, a senior, turned in a time of 49.21 for a third place finish at the Meet of Champions held Wednesday at Lake Hamilton High School.
A pair of Hot Springs sprinters ran 1-2 in the event. James Hamilton, who transferred to Forrest City and ran for the Mustangs a year ago won the 400 with a time of 48.08. Hamilton's teammate Cedric Eason ran with a 48.95.
"I was very pleased with Joe's effort," said Mustang Coach Jeff Hudson. "It was his best time of the year. He's done a great job for us all year."
Wilson won the 400 Monday at the Class AAAAA State Meet to qualify for the Meet of Champs.
The Mustangs' 800-meter relay team -- third at the state meet -- ran fifth Wednesday behind Pine Bluff.
The Forrest City quartet of Evan Haggins, Willie Wade, Floyd Shivers and Daniel Echols finished with a time of 1:32.49, off their mark of 1:31.16 at Monday's state meet.
Pine Bluff blistered the field for the first-place win, finishing the relay in a time of 1:26.45. Marianna ran second, Hamburg was third and Little Rock Central finished fourth.
Wednesday's Meet of Champs brought the curtain down on Forrest City's track season that experienced its share of little nagging problems during the year, which, at times, hampered the team's overall performance.
The Mustangs started the season as the three-time AAAAA-East conference defending champs.
"We started the year strong," said Hudson, "but we may have peaked a little earlier than we needed to. We were blowing people out the first couple of meets. Then we were hit with some injuries and some discipline problems to some of our kids which might have brought us down somewhat, but overall, I think we had a successful season. Third in the conference wasn't the expectations we had and we were a little disappointed in that, but we hung in and tried to finish strong."
Hudson expects great things as he looks ahead to next season.
"We have a solid and talented group of sophomores coming in and with what we have coming back form this year's squad, we should be back to conference championship form," Hudson said. "The two junior high teams finished second and third in their conference championships."
Hudson will welcome back Echols, who missed a lot of time this season battling through injuries, as well as Wade, Ray Dixon and Howard Collins.
"Our big key next year will be keeping Echols injury-free," Hudson said
Hudson, who is completing his first season at Forrest City, said he is looking forward to coming back next season.
"Our goal is to put another banner up at Mustang Arena," Hudson said. "We will be much deeper next year. The potential is there for us to get back to top form."
POLE VAULT 1. Brian Tyler, Crossett, 14-4; 2. Tommy Inebnit, Lake Hamilton, 14-4; 3. Scott Byrd, Heber Springs, 14-0; 4. Lance Smith, Sheridan, 13-4; 5. Matthew Ponder, Nashville, 13-0.
SHOT PUT 1. James Reynolds, McClellan, 54-6; 2. Byron Bryant, Genoa Central, 53-9; 3. Bobby Payne, Morrilton, 53-6; 4. Ray Biddle, Magnolia, 52-0; 5. Stanley Chandler, McClellan, 51-11.
DISCUS 1. James Johnson, Lake Hamilton, 163-9; 2. Byron Bryant, Genoa Central, 159-11; 3. Jason Porter, Mineral Springs, 159-4; 4. Lance Goodin, Ozark, 157-5; 5. John Gray, Conway, 152-11.
LONG JUMP 1. 1. Torron Haney, Nashville, 22-9 1/2; 2. Lavern Henderson, Sylvan Hills, 22-8 3/4; 3. Romone Johnson, Van Buren, 22-3 1/2; 4. Lerinezo Robinson, Mayflower, 21-9 1/4; 5. Craig Gentry, FS Christian, 21-8 3/4.
HIGH JUMP 1. Antwon Hicks, Hot Springs, 6-10; 2. Terrance Davis, LR Hall, 6-9; 3. Luke Treat, Mt View, 6-3; 4. Shawn Root, Lake Hamilton, 6-3; 5. Lerinezo Robinson, Mayflower, 6-2.
100 1. Shermar Bracey, Rison, 10.82; 2. James Hamilton, Hot Springs, 10.85; 3. DeAngelo Williams, Wynne, 10.92; 4. Robert Ibeh, Subiaco Academy, 10.95; 5. Cedric Taggert, Pine Bluff, 10.99.
200 1. Shermar Bracey, Rison, 22.03; 2. Joseph Morton, Hamburg, 22.03; 3. Robert Ibeh, Subiaco Academy, 22.06; 4. Cedric Taggert, Pine Bluff, 22.12; 5. Eric Steen, McClellan, 22.49.
400 1. James Hamilton, Hot Springs, 48.08; 2. Cedric Eason, Hot Springs, 48.95; 3. Joseph Wilson, Forrest City, 49.21; 4. David Dumas, Camden Fairview, 50.05; 5. Kevin Brady, Dardanelle, 50.32.
800 1. Brandon Hodges, Hot Springs, 1:53.85; 2. Mario Urquhart, Pine Bluff, 1:53.98; 3. Robert McQuay, Pine Bluff, 1:54.28; 4. Shawn Walker, Greenwood, 1:56.58; 5. Travis Feltner, Russellville, 1:58.02.
1,600 1. Eric Gross, Mt. Home, 4:16.70 (Meet of Champs record) 2. Peter Marston, Mt Home, 4:27.54; 3. Ryan Garvin, Lake Hamilton, 4:33.55; 4. William Prettyman, West Fork, 4:36.82; 5. Chris Arrison, HS Lakeside, 4:44.23.
3,200 1. Eric Brock, Russellville, 9:49.19; 2. Logan Thomas, Mt Home, 9:50.53; 3. Chris Behrens, Cabot, 9:52.03; 4. Shiloh Palmer, Morrilton, 10:05.11; 5. Tyler Harlan, Fayetteville, 10:07.08.
110 HURDLES 1. Antwon Hicks, Hot Springs, 14.28; 2. Michael Tinsley, Pulaski Robinson, 14.61; 3. Lerinezo Robinson, Mayflower, 14.74; 4. Josh Leftwich, Greenwood, 15.01; 5. Albert Hinton, Van Buren, 15.34.
300 HURDLES 1. Antwon Hicks, Hot Springs, 38.64; 2. Xaviere Sanders, Texarkana, 38.82; 3. Marcus Foley, NLR, 38.96; 4. Albert Hinton, Van Buren, 39.76; 5. Kirk Boone, Rivercrest, 40.59.
400 RELAY 1. Hot Springs, 41.72; 2. Pine Bluff, 41.99; 3. McClellan, 42.09; 4. Wynne, 42.19; 5. Hamburg, 42.66.
800 RELAY 1. Pine Bluff, 1:26.45; 2. Marianna, 1:28.82; 3. Hamburg, 1:28.98; 4. LR Central, 1:29.42; 5. Forrest City, 1:32.49.
1,600 RELAY 1. Hot Springs, 3:16.62; 2. Pine Bluff, 3:19.22; 3. LR Central, 3:22.09; 4. Cabot, 3:22.89; 5. Texarkana, 3:27.53.
3,200 RELAY 1. Pine Bluff, 7:57.66; 2. Russellville, 8:00.43; 3. Mt. Home, 8:08.34; 4. Rogers, 8:09.14; 5. Greenwood, 8:27.53.
POLE VAULT 1. Brandie Plyler, Centerpoint, 11-4 1/4 (Meet of Champs record) 2. Robin Rahat, Fayetteville, 11-0; 3. Stephanie Irwin, Mount Ida, 10-4; 4. Megan Jones, WMemphis, 10-0; 5. Jenny Hardin, Pulaski Academy, 9-8.
SHOT PUT 1. Sarah Pfeifer, Ozark, 42-5; 2. Misty Vance, Sheridan, 39-10; 3. Dyshonda Avery, Stuttgart, 39-7; 4. Bridgett Tate, Dollarway, 39-5; 5. Kristie Boswell, McCrory, 38-11.
DISCUS 1. Rebecca Gosnell, Russellville, 127-10; 2. Dyshonda Avery, Stuttgart, 117-1; 3. Monica Williams, CamFairview, 113-11; 4. Cindy Henry, Jonesboro Westside, 110-8; 5. Emily Baines, Harding Academy, 107-11.
LONG JUMP 1. Amber Bledsoe, Turrell, 18-5 1/2; 2. Kesia Bass, Crossett, 18-1; 3. Brandi Hemphill, Ashdown, 17-8 3./4; 4. Tiffany Taggert, Pine Bluff, 17-5 3/4; 5. Tavonna Ivory, FS Northside, 17-0 3/4.
HIGH JUMP 1. Kesia Bass, Crossett, 5-5; 2. Amanda Hodges, Emmet, 5-5; 3. Talesha Doakes, NLR, 5-3; 4. Tameka Kursh, FS Northside, 5-2; 5. (tie) Mandi Tollett, Nashville; Ashley Hardwick, Foreman, 5-1.
100 1. LaKeisha Martin, Pine Bluff, 12.14; 2. Lisa Daniels, Monticello, 12.17; 3. Marquita Aldridge, W Memphis, 12.30; 4. Antisha Anderson, Pulaski Robinson, 12.34; 5. Amber Bledsoe, Turrell, 12.37.
200 1. Kesia Bass, McClellan, 24.85; 2. Latoya McBride, Watson Chapel, 25.11; 3. LaKeisha Martin, Pine Bluff, 25.15; 4. Amber Bledsoe, Turrell, 25.95; 5. Kristy Dominick, Warren, 26.62.
400 1. Camilia Pittman, Parkview, 57.62; 2. Latoya McBride, Watson Chapel, 58.05; 3. Adrienne Ford, Arkadelphia, 58.52; 4. Amber Bledsoe, Pulaski Robinson, 58.92; 5. Christine Broschek, Cabot, 1:00.25.
800 1. Chelsie Mock, Jessieville, 2:17.44; 2. Tiffany Dodson, Harrison, 2:21.88; 3. Kristina Ong, Watson Chapel, 2:23.28; 4. Rendy Williams, HS Lakeside, 2:24.64; 5. Shannon Vaughn, Oark, 2:24.84.
1,600 1. Jamie Owensby, Bentonville, 5:19.27; 2. Liz Santos, Rogers, 5:25.97; 3. Laura Insell, Batesville, 5:27.87; 4. Candice Cross, Crossett, 5:30.04; 5. Ashlie Plunkett, Mena, 5:32.28.
3,200 1. Dianne Miller, Pea Ridge, 11:52.49; 2. Laura Insell, Batesville, 12:04; 3. Julie Masotto, Mt Home, 12:06.33; 4. Ramona Baier, Watson Chapel, 12:39.07; 5. Anna Roberts, Acorn, 12:39.95.
100 HURDLES 1. Tiffany Gunn, McClellan, 14.30 (Overall and Meet of Champs record); 2. Tavonna Ivory, FS Northside, 14.84; 3. Kesia Bass, Crossett, 14.90; 4. Antisha Anderson, Pulaski Robinson, 15.0; 5. Amber Wooten, Pine Bluff, 15.14.
300 HURDLES 1. Tiffany Gunn, McClellan, 44.30; 2. Ally Robertson, Watson Chapel, 45.34; 3. Amber Wooten, Pine Bluff, 46.54; 4. Sherika Rowland, Strong, 46.94; 5. Molly Moody, Heber Springs, 47.40.
400 RELAY 1. Pine Bluff, 47.92; 2. Monticello, 48.15; 3. WMemphis, 48.65; 4. FS Northside, 49.59; 5. Texarkana, 50.59.
800 RELAY 1. Monticello, 1:42.28; 2. Pine Bluff, 1:42.55; 3. WMemphis, 1:42.91; 4. FS Northside, 1:44.51; 5. Lake Village, 1:48.15.
1,600 RELAY 1. Watson Chapel, 4:00.16; 2. McClellan, 4:00.79; 3. Pine Bluff, 4:00.86; 4. Crossett, 4:01.99; 5. Conway, 4:10.87.
3,200 RELAY 1. Harrison, 9:50.68; 2. Bryant, 9:55.41; 3. Lake Hamilton, 10:09.86; 4. Russellville, 10:13.43; 5. Beebe, 10:21.11.
The 18th annual Mightymite Triathlon will be run on Saturday, July 21.
The three-part race will follow the same route as in past years beginning with the 0.4 mile swim across Lake Dunn at Village Creek State Park.
From there, the racers will bicycle a 13-mile courser and will then run the final three miles to the finish line which will be located inside Sam Smith Stadium.
The race will begin promptly at 8 a.m. and all entrants must be 14 years old to run the course.
Individuals as well as teams are encouraged to enter and compete and the registration process is limited to the first 400.
The three-person teams may be all male, all female or mixed.
Each Mightymite participant can pick up a pre-race information packet on Friday, July 20, from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. or from 5 until 6 a.m. on the morning of the race at the Forrest City Civic Center.
A pre-race meeting will be held Friday, July 20, at the civic center.
Prizes, trophies and plaques will be awarded to the top finishers in each age classification. Each Mightymite entrant will be given a t-shirt.
Swimmers will be grouped into three waves to start the race and finish times will be adjusted according to which wave the competitor is in. There will be a five minute interval between each wave of swimmers who enter the lake.
No flotation devices or wet suits may be used.
Entry fees are $40 for individuals who are USA-T members and $45 for non-members. team fees are $30 and $35.
Entry fees may be mailed to Mightymite Triathlon, 203 North Izard, Forrest City, Ark.
For more information, call (870) 633-1651 or fax (870) 633-9500.
The Mightymite is being sponsored by the Forrest City A&P Commission and the Chamber of Commerce.
Calvary Christian School has announced its senior high cheerleaders for the 2001-2002 school year. They are: Amanda Michaelis, Rachel Gossell, Jessica Mathes, Wendy McCluskey, Kristen Dearing and Sarah Hudson.
Calvary Christian School has named its junior high cheerleading squad for the 2001-2002 school year. They are: Katie Hornbeak, Gabrielle Curl, Courtney Burns, Crysta Roberts, Hannah McMahand, Amber Hart, Melissa Smith and Danielle Busby.