In the battle to host this year's Class AAAAA state tournament, the clear winner was Fort Smith, even though the sentimental favorite going into Wednesday night's Arkansas Activities Association meeting was last year's host site, Forrest City.
"I think the overall feeling by the AAA was to spread the wealth around," said Forrest City Athletic Director Bill Baxter. "It's as simple as that, and I don't believe there were any underlying agendas. We hosted the tournament last year and everyone I talked to at the meeting Wednesday had nothing but good things to say about the job we did hosting the event."
The Class AAAAA state tournament will be played at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, formerly Westark Community College.
UA-Fort Smith's new basketball facility can seat up to 3,100 fans with standing room for 300 more.
UA-Fort Smith was a near unanimous selection by the board over Forrest City, who hosted the 2001 Class AAAAA state tournament played their new facility, Mustang Arena.
The AAA Board of Directors did indeed spread the wealth around the state in selecting this year's regional and state tournament basketball sites.
All of the locations for this year's tournaments are different with the exception of the Class AA Region 8 tournament site, which will return to Parkers' Chapel.
Beebe, which hosted the Class AAA Region 3 tournament a year ago, is back in the mix this season, but moved up the ladder and will host the Class AAA state tournament.
The 19-member AAA board awarded the Class AAAAA state high school tournament to Fort Smith and made Sebastian County a double winner by awarding the Class AAAA state tournament, to Greenwood, which last hosted the tournament in 1998.
Greenwood's gymnasium seats 2,206.
That means the state's two largest classifications will be playing their tournaments in Northwest Arkansas.
"I think Fort Smith is large enough where we can absorb all the teams," said Jim Rowland, Fort Smith athletic director. "This is an exciting day for Fort Smith."
All four state tournaments will be played Feb. 26-March 2 and the regional tournaments are scheduled to be played Feb. 18-23.
All 10 state championship games will, once again, be played at the Pine Bluff Convention Center on March 8-9. Pine Bluff was also awarded the Class A state tournament.
"It is certainly a special feeling and an honor to be selected to host a state tournament and we're glad we were able to have the AAAAA last year," Baxter said.
Baxter indicated he may check into placing a bid on the Class AA Region 6 tournament -- the only regional which did not draw a bid at Wednesday's meeting and remains an open site.
The Region 6 tournament is comprised of teams from the 2AA South and the 6AA conferences, which includes Palestine-Wheatley, Altheimer, Barton, Elaine, Gillett, Marvell, Clarendon, Augusta, Carlisle, Des Arc, Devalls Bluff, Harding Academy, Hazen and McCrory.
The top four boys and girls' teams from each conference district tournament advance to the regional.
Wadie Moore, AAA assistant executive director, said this morning that there is no actual bid on the table for the Class AA Region 6 tournament, although Harding Academy, which hosted the tournament a year ago, has expressed vocal interest.
"We hope to make that decision as soon as we possibly can," Moore said.
Two facilities less than four years old will host the Class AAA and Class AA tournaments.
Beebe's Badger Arena, which was built after a tornado in 1999 destroyed the school's previous gymnasium, will host the Class AAA tournament. Badger Arena seats 1,550.
Jessieville, which seats 1,500, was awarded the Class AA state tournament.
2002 Last Year
Class AAAAA Fort Smith (UA-Fort Smith) Forrest City
Class AAAA Greenwood Greenbrier
Class AAA Beebe Riverview (Searcy)
Class AA Jessieville Danville
Class A Pine Bluff Convention Center NorthArk Community College
2002 Class AAA Last Year
Region 1 Prairie Grove Paris
Region 2 Pocahontas Valley View (Jonesboro)
Region 3 Pulaski Academy (LR) Beebe
Region 4 Prescott Star City
2002 Class AA
Region 1 Greenland Pea Ridge
Region 2 Flippin Alpena
Region 3 Mammoth Spring Midland (Pleasant Plains)
Region 4 Turrell Marmaduke
Region 5 Cutter Morning Star (Hot Springs) Mayflower
Region 6 To Be Announced Harding Academy (Searcy)
Region 7 Caddo Hills (Norman) Centerpoint (Amity)
Region 8 Parkers' Chapel (El Dorado) Parkers' Chapel
Class A
Region 1 Lead Hill St. Paul
Region 2 Sulphur Rock Calico Rock
Region 3 Lynn Armorel
Region 4 Scranton Plainview
Region 5 Nemo Vista (Center Ridge) St. Joseph (Conway)
Region 6 Grady (UAPB) Fountain Hill
Region 7 Delight Wickes
Region 8 Spring Hill (Hope) Emerson
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Though the conference season is only two games old, Jonesboro's Lady Hurricane put themselves in the early driver's seat in the AAAAA-East Conference Tuesday with a huge 64-62 win over West Memphis.
Several miles to the south, meanwhile, Forrest City's Lady Mustangs, were putting the lid on a 53-48 win over Blytheville -- which moved them to 2-0 in the league -- a place the Forrest City girls haven't been to since 1994 -- to share the league driver's seat with Jonesboro and Jacksonville, the only other 2-0 team.
Friday night, Forrest City and Jonesboro meet in a very important and pivotal game for both teams.
"We are playing well right now," said Forrest City Coach Sue Jayroe. "Especially Caronica Randle, who has taken her game to another level recently."
Randle, a 5-10 junior, had 23 points and 16 boards in the win over Blytheville.
For the first time in a long time, the Lady Mustangs have a chance at knocking off Jonesboro, a team they last defeated on Feb. 9, 1996, when Jonesboro was ranked seventh in the state.
Former Forrest City player, April Norment had 24 points in a 63-58 win.
Since that victory, the Lady Hurricane own 10 straight victories over the Lady Mustangs.
In the absence of Jennifer Sullivan and Leann Upshaw, the only two seniors on last year's squad, Jonesboro is leaning heavily on 5-6 senior guard Lydia Nelson, who hit three big fourth-quarter 3-pointers Tuesday against West Memphis and 5-9 junior forward Sara Lehman, who was 8-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final period
Latoya Wortham, a 5-9 senior forward, has also been playing well for the Lady Hurricane, 13-2 overall, as is Sara's twin sister, Tara. Both had 15 points against West Memphis.
Worthan finished with 10 and Nelson tallied 13.
Forrest City, 6-6 overall, is certainly not a one-dimensional team in Randle, with 5-8 senior forward Deosha Agnew, 5-10 junior forward Erika Haggans, 5-10 junior Katrina Floyd and 5-6 sophomore Trina Wynne, all adding to the Lady Mustang mix as well.
Randle is averaging 27-plus points per game in the two conference victories while Agnew is averaging just under 20 for the past two games.
Randle's season and career high was 32 against Sylvan Hills while Agnew has scored a season-high 20 points three times.
Randle and Agnew have each been in double figures in 10 of the Lady Mustangs' 13 games. Wynne has a season-high of 13 points and has hit double figure scoring in four of the 13 games.
Against Blytheville, Agnew, randle and Wynne were the only three Lady Mustangs to put up points.
"That will have to change against Jonesboro," Jayroe said. "We will have to get more scoring and we will have to do our job on the offesnive boards. We have to play hard and play smart."
Against West Memphis, Jonersboro trailed by seven points with less than a minute left in the third quarter. Nelson's trey 32 seconds into the fourth tied the score at 46-46, before West Memphis pulled back ahead by four.
Her second three got Jonesboro within one with 4:07 to go, and her third put the Lady Hurricane ahead to stay, 58-56 with 3:11 to play.
"She (Nelson) stepped up big in the fourth quarter, and they were tough '3's, they weren't wide open," Jonesboro Coach Michelle Birdsong said. "She had hands in her face."
Birdsong said her team also took care of the ball better in the second half after committing 14 first-half turnovers and trailing 29-24 at intermission.
Forrest City trailed Blytheville until the fourth period when they rallied for the win.
The Forrest City Blue junior high basketball teams will host West Memphis East tonight at Mustang Arena.
The three-game set begins at 5 p.m. with an eighth-grade game.
The Blue Mustangs are coming off a win over Jonesboro Annie Camp and are 3-6 for the year while the Blue girls are winless at 0-8.
In other games tonight, the Forrest City White junior high teams will make the trip to West Memphis to play West.
That game begins at 5 p.m., as well.
The White Mustangs are 0-9 for the year while the junior girls are 7-5.
* PREP BASKETBALL
Junior High School
Thursday, January 10
Forrest City White at WMemphis West, 5 p.m.
WMemphis East at Forrest City Blue, 5 p.m.