By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Boy, can these Walkers run!
They can jump a little as well.
As brother and sister, freshman siblings Eric and LeJoy Walker like to run track.
Both are extremely close, on and off the track.
Even their birthdays are just one day apart -- even though Eric is a year older than LeJoy.
"Some of the kids in school think we are twins, but we're not," Eric said.
And when asked, Eric will tell you that it was Lejoy, who got Eric running.
Until a year ago, both Eric and LeJoy were living in Atlanta, Ga.
It was there LeJoy started running track at age 10. She quickly began bringing home medals of all sizes and colors from the local, regional, state and national levels including the AAU and USA competitions.
It didn't take long for Eric to decide he wanted some medals as well.
LeJoy calls it jealousy, Eric calls it inspiration.
Whatever descriptive word is used, it has worked -- for both.
Eric admits, in the beginning, he was jealous of seeing his younger sister with "all those medals hanging around her neck. I wanted that too, so I told my dad (former Forrest City athlete, Eric Walker, Sr.), that I wanted to start running track."
It didn't take long for Eric to catch up with LeJoy on the track and on the medal podium. Both have stood side-by-side as gold medalists.
Both have been big boosts for Forrest City Junior High Track Coaches Rich Trail, who coaches the junior boys and Monty Thornton, who coaches the junior girls track team.
Both are so versatile, that both coaches, given the opportunity, would have them entered into every track and field event. Unfortunately, in track, an athlete can only be entered in six events in any one meet.
"LeJoy is a very good athlete," Thornton said. "She has been our points leader in the two meets we've been to this season and she is also a team leader. She brings a lot to the table and I think the rest of the kids on the team feed off her enthusiasm."
Likewise, Trail says Eric has been one of the backbones of his Junior Mustang team.
Both coaches are expecting huge efforts from each today at the AAAAA-East Conference Junior District Meet at Jonesboro. The Junior Lady Mustangs have a second and a third-place finish for the year while the junior boys have won two meets and finished second at two others.
Both Thornton and Trail think their team's biggest challenge at today's conference meet will come from Jonesboro Annie Camp. But both believe in their Mustang teams and think their squads have the chance to bring home both the boys and girls titles.
Eric and LeJoy are more than ready for the challenge.
"We push each other when it comes to track," Eric said. "And that makes us both want to do our best."
LeJoy says she enjoys running track because "while it is a team sport, a lot of the competition is one on one."
She says the 400-meter run is her best event.
Eric likes the 200 and the 400. He considers the two his best events.
Both also run the 100-meter, the 400-meter relay and the 1,600-meter and both compete in the high jump and the long jump.
Either one or both have the capability to win high point honors.
Would anyone really be surprised if that happens?
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Both teams have been here before. Both teams know the score and both teams have a way of making their own brand of fast-pitch softball magic.
The Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriots and the Gillett Lady Wolves met in the finals of the 2AA South district tournament on Tuesday, with Gillett taking a 12-3 win home along with the district championship and the No. 1 seed into Saturday's Class AA Region 4 Tournament at Wanut Ridge.
Gillett's win over the Lady Patriots left P-W holding the No. 2 seed into the regionals -- which is fine -- because both teams were the best of the rest from the 2AA South Conference this season.
The Lady Patriots finished their conference run at 8-3 while the Lady Wolves rolled through the league unbeaten.
Saturday, both teams begin the quest for a state tournament berth.
To make that happen, both teams would have to get to the regional championship game since the only the regional winner and runner-up are afforded the opportunity to go to state.
The possibility of that happening are very real.
The Lady Patriots will face the regional's host team, Walnut Ridge, the No. 3 seed from the 3AA South while Gillett will face No. 4 seeded Marmaduke, in just their first full season of fast-pitch.
Looking past Walnut Ridge, P-W will have to face either Rector or Hazen in the semifinals while Gillett would draw either Bay or Carlisle.
Getting into state play has become a habit for both P-W and Gillett.
Before switching to fast-pitch last year, the Lady Patriots owned three consecutive appearances into the slow-pitch state tournament.
It is, as both coaches agree, anybody's game.
"We've been fortunate to have a solid core group of players," said Gillett Coach Jon Howell. "The girls all know each other and have come up playing ball together. They have good chemistry and that makes my job as coach easier."
P-W Coach Lanny Allen is in his first full season with the team, taking over for former coach Beverly Bass.
In a lot of ways, it has been a learning experience for Allen, as he readily admits.
"But, it's been fun and we just want to ride it out as long as we can," Allen offered.
While Allen has several veteran senior players on the squad, Howell has just one, catcher Stephanie Hackney.
The remainder of the Gillett starting lineup consists of three juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen.
Howell uses two pitchers, his daugher Jona and freshman Kristen Hill.
"We should be strong for a few more years," Howell says.
The Lady Patriots start four seniors, four sophomores and one freshman.
Senior Libby Martin has carried the pitching load for P-W this season. Martin, who throws right and bats left, leads the hard-hitting, top half of the lady patriots' lineup.
Headed into Saturday's first-round regional game, Allen says his Lady Patriot team is still feeling the effects of playing the three games Tuesday -- two of which went the fulls even innings.
"Until Tuesday, we had only gone seven innings three times this season," Allen said. "But when it comes time to play Saturday, we will be ready. Most of the girls, especially Libby, are still a little sore. We just want to get to the finals. It really doesn't matter to us who the opponent will be. I think the girls would like to have another shot at Gillett, but whoever we face is fine. If we can just get to the finals, we are assured of a trip to state."
Forrest City Superintendant Lee Vent likes the idea of creating a larger athletic classification.
West Memphis, on the other hand, isn't quite as taken with the idea which will be voted on by the Arkansas Activities Association's governing body at the upcoming meeting on Aug. 5.
The proposal was authored by Jacksonville football Coach Johnny Watson, with input from Vent and other East Arkansas superintendants and coaches.
Under the proposal, the state's largest 16 schools based on enrollment -- Bentonville, Conway, Fayetteville, FS Northside and Southside, Rogers, Russellville, Springdale, Bryant, Cabot, El Dorado, LR Catholic, LR Central, North Little Rock, Pine Bluff and West Memphis would be placed in Class AAAAAA, divided into two eight-team conferences.
The next 32 schools, which would include Forrest City and Jacksonville, would be in Class AAAAA, and divided into four eight-team conferences. Five of the cuurent eight AAAAA-East schools -- Forrest City, Jacksonville, Jonesboro, Blytheville and Searcy -- would remain in tact and would be joined by Marion, West Helena and Wynne.
The next 32 schools would make up Class AAAA, also divided into four eight-team conferences while the next 64 schools would make up Class AAA and grouped into eight, eight-team conferences.
Undert the proposal, Palestine-Wheatley would be in the Class AAA grouping in a conference with Earle, EPC, Gosnell, Harrisburg, Piggott, Rivercrest and Trumann.
Currently, P-W is in Class AA.
The next 80 schools would make up Class AA and be divided into seven conferences. One conference would have 10 schools, one would have nine, four would be comprised of eight schools and the final league would be a seven-member conferemce. Hughes would be grouped with Cross County, Marked Tree, Parkin, Rector, Salem, Turrell and Walnut Ridge, one of the four, eight-team leagues.
The remaining schools (roughly 100 nonfootball schools, basketball only) would form Class A.
While Vent likes the proposal, he said West Memphis is the only East conference school that is opposed to the plan, since the Blue Devils would be placed in the same conference with Bryant, El Dorado, Cabot, Catholic, central, North Little Rock and Pine Bluff.
"It is a matter of travel with them," Vent said. "Especially the prospect of making the trip to El Dorado."
Last summer, Class AAAAA principals voted down a highly publicized plan to allow all 32 schools in the state's largest classification to make the playoffs in football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and soccer and compete for divisional state championships based on enrollment.
Watson says this proposal is a more fair and equitable way to divide the schools.
Vent echoed Watson's remarks that the bottom line is that the prosposal is "just a numbers game."
Vent said the bottom eight schools are getting smaller and the top eight schools are getting larger.
Currently Rogers is the state's largest school with an enrollment of 2,213. Blytheville ranks No. 32 in Class AAAAA with 725 students. Forrest City ranks 21st.
The proposal will need a two-thirds majority from the governing body to pass. If passed, it would become effective in the 2004-05 cycle
Also on the table is a proposal to allow 10 days of football practice in full pads during the spring, instead of five.