By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Forrest City sophomore Eric Walker is headed to today's Meet of Champs after all.
Walker will be running the 400-meter race.
He finished fifth in the event Saturday at the Class AAAAA State Meet held at Lake Hamilton High School.
His time was 50.50, a solid time, but unfortunately not as good as some of the times set in the same event in the other classifications.
Qualifiers for the Meet of Champs include the winners of each event (including first-place ties) at the state meet and the next best performance statewide, for a maximum of eight people in each event regardless of classification.
"Apparently, several of the athletes who qualified ahead of Eric dropped out," said Forrest City Mustang Track Coach Clark McBride. "For whatever reason they dropped out, it left just enough of an opening to get Eric in and that could be a very good thing."
Walker will run at 7:25 p.m., tonight at Lake Hamilton and he will be facing Lafayette County's Sean Beaver; Bentonville's Brian Miller and Sam James; Camden-Fairview's Rod Coleman; NLR's Michael Jones; Lakeside's Dedric Johnson and Emerson's Fred Willis.
Palestine-Wheatley's Rashun Barnes will compete in the triple jump event at the Meet of Champs after winning the event at last week's Class AA State Championships.
Barnes will be tested by Emerson's Avery Howell, Nashville's Dywan Sanders, Kelby Moore from Crossett, Fair's Charlie Hayes, LR Parkview's Donavan Loring and Fayetteville's Cedric Logan.
Nineteen area athletes from six different schools including Jonesboro's Leigh Ann Moore, Glenn Ritter, Drew Bell, Avery Taylor and Yuriy Morozov.
West Memphis' Sonny Weems will compete in the high jump and the long jump while Cabot's Jesse Williams will throw the discus.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
So far, Forrest City American Legion Coach Brett Bullard has battled too many days of rain, graduation ceremonies and senior trips, spring football drills and last, but not least, semester tests.
And Bullard's team has not even opened the American Legion season yet. That test is just six days away.
Forrest City will host Valley View for a conference doubleheader on Tuesday, May 25, at the Sports Complex. The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Bullard had his team -- most of it anyway -- on the field going through what he called "one of the best practices we had and we still don't have everyone here."
Bullard is returning for his second full season with Forrest City and thinks the 2004 campaign will be better than 2003.
"We have about seven back from last year's team and we have more pitching than we had a year ago," Bullard said. "We should be a lot stronger. Just about everyone out here can throw."
Bullard is banking on the maturity level of the players as well.
"I'm satisfied with the new kids who have come out," Bullard said. "I thought i would cut three or four after last Saturday's tryouts, but I kept everyone."
Forrest City will play a AA schedule this season and district teams include Wynne, Jonesboro, Valley View, Newport and Mountain Home.
"The first three games will tell us a lot about the team," Bullard said. "We open against Valley View, Wynne and Newport. Not the way we wanted to open, but we will know where we stand early."
Bullard would like to have a couple of more days of practice, but at this juncture, he will take what he can get.
"The chemistry seems to be good with the kids and I like that," Bullard said.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Leslie Construction remained unbeaten and on top of the Bambino 9-10 League Tuesday night with a 14-7 win over Giffin's Grins.
Using run production from seven of the nine starters, Leslie led 4-1 after one inning and then plated six runs in the second inning to break open the game.
Corey Leslie led the way with three runs while James Pendergrass and T. Giles White scored two times as each hit home runs in the game.
Hunter McLean, John Gilbreath and Blake Lester added two runs each.
Quinton Jones scored twice for Giffin's.
Leslie improves to 4-0 for the season.
Sanyo stayed in second place in the league standings by defeating Taco Bell 16-4 Tuesday.
Taco Bell opened a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Xavier Clardy, Maurice Bradley and Damone Franklin each scored but fell behind when Sanyo put up six runs in the first and added five each in the second and third innings.
Jarrod Wright and Matt Jumper combined to account for six of Sanyo's 16 runs, scoring three runs each. Kendall Lee homered and scored twice. A.J. Kennedy, Matt Lansford and Barlow Herbert each scored two runs for the winners.
Food Giant handed First National Bank its first loss of the season, taking a 7-6 win Tuesday night.
Food Giant improves to 2-2 while First National is 2-1.
A first-inning run by Brian Morgan gave Food Giant a 1-0 lead before First National used a run by Jordan Chatters to tie the game in the top of the second.
First National added four runs in the top of the third, including a home run by Chatters, to take a 5-1 lead.
Food Giant made it 5-2 when Malik Avant scored in the bottom of the third and got within 5-4 in the bottom of the fourth using single runs from Cameron Weeks and A.J. Martin.
A run by Adrian McKnight in the fifth tied the game at 5-5 and a pair of runs in the sixth inning by Andrew Harvey and Cameron Smith helped give Food Giant the 7-6 win.
Kye Tillman, Dalton Quinn and Mercedes Smith scored runs for First National.
Pearson Insurance pounded Joey's 19-11 Tuesday to improve to 2-1 for the year.
Dakovan Fleming led Pearson by scoring four times and Tray Hancock, Jon Vowans, Scott Gracey and Antonio Sanders added three runs each.
Antonio Peters scored three times to lead Joeys while Jowan Mitchell, Corey Robichaud and Richard Tempell added runs.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Forrest City Bank, Walker Insurance and Food Giant all remained unbeaten Tuesday in 10-under girls' softball action.
FCBank shut out B&E Tire 15-0, Walker handed Children's Clinic a 15-4 loss and Food Giant downed True Value 6-3.
In other games, Southern Furniture improved to 2-2 for the year with a 7-5 win over Sanyo and Stevens evened their season mark at 2-2 with a 10-5 win over Dr. Schwartz.
FCBank leads the leagues American Division at 4-0 while Food Giant is close behind at 3-0.
Ten of FCBank's 11 players scored runs in Tuesday's win, led by Jesse Stultz, Christine Clark, Julia Glasper and Kaylin Roberts, who all scored two runs each.
Logan Duch, Kayla Qualls, Kriston Qualls and K.K. Heard added single runs.
Food Giant got single runs from sisters Alexandria and Antonia Clinton, Diamondnique Lacy, Iyana Butler and Tearra Howard in their win over True Value.
Ashley McArthur, Sha-Kerria Barber and Danielle Harris accounted for True Value's three runs.
Walker made it look easy, scoring the five-run limit in each inning to take the win over Children's Clinic.
Mary Burks scored three times for Walker while Kelsey Morris, Maurielle Hunt, Bailey Hunt and Micahla Burns each scored twice.
Children's Clinic got single runs from Ameshia Chism, Whitney Baskins, Stephanie Baskins and Melanie Haynie.
Lori Ratton scored twice to help lead Southern Furniture past Sanyo.
Jade Haymer, Whiney Morgan, Brandi Morgan, Jada Haymer and Linetta Ivey added single runs.
Courtney Hodges scored twice for Sanyo.
Stevens got two runs each from Mollie Laws and Kaitlyn Peterson in the team's win over Dr. Schwartz.Sara Beth Blaylock, Caroline Nimocks, Charnell Mayo, Breyunna Williams added single runs.
Katie Barnes, Katie Davis, Morgan Hunt, Casohnny Lumpkin and Precious Calloway each scored to lead Dr. Schwartz.
The 10-under league will return to play Friday night.
The 12-under and 16-under girls' fast pitch leagues will play Thursday night as will the adult women's slow pitch softball league.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The battle for the top spot in the Minor (pitching machine) League continued Tuesday night.
Playing for the first time in a week, Hartman Diesel and Easley Law Firm posted victories leaving both teams at 4-0.
Hartman downed Twillies Tigers 6-2 while Easley shut out Lions Club 10-0.
Thursday's schedule has Hartman back on the field to face Vaccaro while Ridout will battle Twillies.
Seth Parker and Tanner Hess led Easley by scoring three runs each. Four other Easley players scored single runs in the win.
Easley led 3-0 after one inning and pushed that lead to 8-0 headed into the final inning.
Lions Club managed just four base runners during the game.
Hartman used two runs from Chandler Walton and single runs from Colby Hight, Zach Morris and Tyler Hill in the win over the Tigers.
Hartman led 6-0 before Twillies scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Dwain Whitfield and Teven Brown each scored.
Forrest City has scheduled athletic physicals for male and female athletes who are planning to participate in all high school sports during the 2004-05 school year.
The physicals will be given Thursday, May 20, at the Forrest City Field House, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
The cost is $10 per student.