By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
HEBER SPRINGS -- For Lafayette County, consolation paid off.
Running in probably the worst weather conditions in several years, the Lafayette County Yellowjacket boys' and girls' track teams ran away with the Class AA state track and field championships.
The Lafayette County boys put up 119 points to win the title. Junction City was a distant second with 43 points. Palestine-Wheatley, runners-up from the 3AA South district, finished seventh. Barton, the 3AA South district champs finished sixth.
In the girls division, Lafayette County finished with 82 points to finish first while second-place Bigelow put up 70 points. P-W did not qualify any girls for the state meet.
A year ago, Stamps won the boys championship. Stamps consolidated with Lewisville to form Lafayette County.
Now, about the weather. All day long, the athletes faced a cold, driving rain, which twice during the course of the meet, brought lengthy delays and even disrupted the starting sensors. The rain fell at a steady pace, often-times sideways aided by gusty winds, from the 11 a.m. start until the 9 p.m. finish.
For the second consecutive season, Lafayette County's Marcus Madison swept the 100 and 200-meter races and the long jump. Madison won the 100 in 11.72 seconds, beating teammate Mario Valentine (11.90).
Madison and Valentine also finished 1-2 in the 200, with Madison winning in 22.90 to Valentine's 23.22.
Palestine-Wheatley's Rashun Barnes won the triple jump with a leap of 41 feet, 6-1/2 inches, well off his 43 feet, nine inch school-record jump earlier this year. Jason Pagan of Glen Rose was second at 40 feet, 10 inches.
The P-W 400-meter relay team, Brad Barton, Elisha Duncan, Antonio Leak and Barnes, ran second Thursday behind Lafayette County's winning time of 44.79. The Patriots finished with a time of 45.27, again, well off the 43.6 time set by the team at the district meet.
The Patriots took 15 athletes to the state meet, including four freshman from the junior high track team which won their district meet.
The Class AAA, AAAA and AAAAA state championships will be run Saturday.
The Forrest City Mustangs, sixth-place finishers at last Saturday's AAAAA-East Conference championships, qualified sophomore sprinter Eric Walker in the 400-meter run and will send both the 400 and 1,600-meter relay teams to the state meet.
The Mustangs will have just one senior on the field Saturday at Lake Hamilton High School, Brian Smith, who is scheduled to run in both relays joining Chris Barrett, Kenneth Jordan and Walker.
At last Saturday's conference meet, the Lady Mustangs established a first for the team scoring points in each event the team entered and qualified all six athletes for Saturday's Class AAAAA State Meet.
Of those six, only two are seniors -- Jessica Perkins and Shanicka Blunt.
Perkins opted Thursday not to make the trip.
"She decided she didn't want to go," said Lady Mustang Coach Lewis Etheridge. "And that is her decision. I hate that she made it now, at this point, but basically she doesn't have to go."
Perkins had qualified in the 100 and 200-meter races and was scheduled to run one of the legs in the 400-meter relay.
Sophomore LeJoy Walker, who will run the 400 will take Perkins' place on the 400 meter relay team with Risondra Deans, Whitney Lowe and Blunt and will help the mile-relay team as well.
The field events begin at 11 a.m. and the running prelims start at 1 p.m., with the finals set for 6:30 p.m.
Due to graduation ceremonies at all three St. Francis County High Schools, there will be no youth baseball or softball games played at the Sports Complex tonight.
Thursday's schedule of games was rained out.
The 2004 youth schedule will resume Monday, weather permitting.
The Forrest City American Legion baseball program will hold team tryouts Saturday, May 15,, at 3 p.m., rain or shine, at the Sports Complex.
The tryouts are open to players ages 14-19 who live in Forrest City, Marianna and Palestine-Wheatley.
Brett Bullard will coach the American Legion team, which is scheduled to open the 2004 season on Tuesday, May 25.