WYNNE -- A headwind through the final miles may have slowed him down, but it did not stop Alan Harris from finishing first Saturday at the sixth annual MidSouth Marathon.
Harris, of Haughton, La., finished the 26.2-mile course that wound around and through the city, with a time of 2:44:42.01, stifling those in his wake. He finished nearly 8 minutes ahead of runner-up Brandon Collins of St. Peters, Mo.
Harris said he took an early lead and fought off the wind by alternating shifts in front with half-marathon winner James Bresette of Clinton. But when Bresette made his turn to the finish line, Harris was left alone to deal with the course and the elements without a drafting partner.
"The hills were a little tough, but it was mainly the wind that hit me the last six miles," Harris said. "I hit a small wall around mile 18 and a big one at mile 22. I have never hit a wall quite like that."
The MidSouth Marathon is a United States Association for Track and Field certified qualifier for the Boston Marathon, and men who run the marathon were required to complete it in 3 hours, 10 minutes, and women in 3:40 to be eligible to compete at Boston in 2005.
For Harris, winning and qualifying for his first trip to the Boston Marathon were not his only goals. He wanted his wife, Lisa, who competed in the marathon as well, to accompany him to the world-renown Boston starting line.
"We've never been to Boston, and we are hoping to get to go together," Harris said.
However, Lisa narrowly missed the cutoff time, completing the course in 3:43:06.55.
For 24-year marathon veteran and female champion Melissa Gossman of Brownsburg, Ind., however, the Boston Marathon is an already accomplished feat, so she has set her sights on another goal.
"I'm trying to run a marathon in every state," said Gossman, who finished with a time of 3:22:28.10, nearly 12 minutes faster than runner-up Joyce Florance of Bossier City, La. "This, I think, was my 10th state."
Gossman said her time was a pleasant surprise, because she was aiming for between 3:25 and 3:30.
"When I went out, I was faster than I was hoping to be, but I was able to run the whole race much faster than I expected," Gossman said. "I think my training and my training partners were a big part of that."
Even though her time was faster than her target, Gossman added that the course "was a little more hilly than I expected, and the wind was tough to cut through at the end," Gossman said.
Winners of the half-marathon were Bresette, who finished the 13.1-mile course in 1:20:11.85, and female winner Nancy Knightly of Cincinnati, who finished with a time of 1:41:57.13.
Fellow event co-directors Karen and David Reagler played an integral part in the creation and certification of Wynne's marathon, and in 1999, its inaugural year, there were 125 participants.
Since then, Karen Reagler said the race has grown almost every year, reaching its peak of 562 participants in 2003. For Saturday's race, there were 510 registered participants for the marathon and half-marathon, in running, walking, and hand-crank wheelchair divisions.
Though focused mainly on the races themselves, the MidSouth Marathon could not have happened without its more than 400 community, county and state-wide volunteers and several other sponsors, according to Reagler.
"We could do all the organization in the world, but this event would still not go on if it weren't for our volunteers," Reagler said.
Volunteers did jobs including cooking, making signs, directing vehicles, runners and walkers, and providing food and water to the athletes at mile markers during the race.
To have a little more fun with mile-marker aid stations, Reagler said each one, sponsored by different groups within Cross County, were encouraged to have a theme.
Travis Barnes, 30, of Wynne, finished 69th overall in the marathon, finishing in a time of 4:03.34 while Forrest City's Dana Tittle finished 24th overall in the women's marathon standings in a time of 4:44.34.
Wynne's Jonathan Strasser ran 26th in the half marathon in 1:41.04 while Bill Warren, also of Wynne, finished the half-marathon course in 29th place in a time of 1:41.25.
Former Times-Herald sports writer Don Threm ran the half-marathon in a time of 2;14.41.
Diane Roberts and Mary Warren, both of Wynne, completed the half-marathon course in 41st and 42nd place while Holly Smith of Forrest City ran the course in a time of 3:09.38.
Wynne's Bianca Runnels won the 10-14 age group.
Pam Harbour of Marion ran first in the half marathon 60-64 age group.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Hughes' win over Palestine-Wheatley last Thursday did not change the playoff picture for the four 6AA Conference teams.
The Patriots already had the No. 1 seed into the Class AA state playoffs locked up before they even kicked off to the Blue Devils.
A win over Hughes would have given Palestine-Wheatley an undefeated conference mark and the outright conference title. The Patriots, instead, share the conference with Hughes and Harding Academy.
All three teams finished league play at 7-1 and each beat the other.
P-W defeated Harding in overtime, Harding defeated Hughes and Hughes defeated P-W.
Harding, with a season-ending win over Des Arc Friday, is the No. 2 seed into the playoffs while Hughes is the No. 3 seed. Barton, who lost to all three co-champions, held on to take the fourth seed from the 6AA.
The Patriots will have home-field advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs and will start things Friday when they host Cross County, the No. 4 seed from the 3AA Conference.
Cross County and Hughes finished in a three-way tie with the Patriots a year ago, when both Hughes and P-W were members of the 3AA.
The Thunderbirds were the only conference team to defeat Palestine-Wheatley last season, winning 12-6 in week three of the season.
P-W went to reach the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs, defeating Hazen and Pea Ridge before falling to Barton.
Cross County defeated Augusta in last year's first round before losing to Rison.
A potential matchup at Rison awaits Palestine-Wheatley in the third round. A first-round win over the Thunderbirds Friday will put the Patriots against eight Hector or Lavaca in the second round game.
Hughes also reached the quarterfinals a year ago, defeating Carlisle and Mountainburg before losing to eventual state champion Junction City.
Hughes will have to win their first and second-round games on the road to be able to host a third round game. Arkansas Baptist and Greenland represent the potential second-round matchups for the Blue Devils.
Harding Academy will host Salem in Friday's first round while Barton will make the trip to East Poinsett County.
Neither Palestine-Wheatley or Hughes has ever won a state title in football. harding won the 2002 AA state title while Barton has won eight titles, the last coming in 1997.
*In the AAAAA-East, it will be Jacksonville, the no. 4 seed, playing at Bryant while top-seed Sylvan Hills will host El Dorado on Friday.
Little Rock Catholic will travel to No. 2 seeded West Memphis while the Cabot Panthers, the unlikely No. 3 seed, will have to travel to Texarkana for their first-round game.
HOT SPRINGS -- The Forrest City Lady Mustangs ran 16th overall at the Class AAAAA cross country state championship held at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs.
Melanie Cook repeated her efforts of last season, being the first Lady Mustang to cross the finish line followed in order by Leigh Anna Taylor, Alyssa Alderson, Jessica Flowers and Kerri Shepperd.
"I think for a program that just finished it fourth season, we are just about where we need to be," said Forrest City Coach Lewis Etheridge. "A year ago, at the state meet, we finished 15th and two years ago, the team placed 18th overall."
Two of the lady Mustang runners did not complete the course after getting sick.
Jonesboro High School junior Leigh Ann Moore won the AAAAA state cross country individual championship with a time of 20:05 at the 5K race Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
Moore qualifies for the Arkansas-Oklahoma All-Star meet next Saturday.
Bentonville won the outright girls' Class AAAAA state title.
In the boy's competition, Forrest City's Kyle Houston ran to a 25th overall finish and has an outside chance to make the all star meet next Saturday.
The Mustangs failed to place as a team.
"We only took five for the boys competition and one suffered an injury on the course so we finished with four," Etheridge said.
In cross country, a school has to have five runners finish to qualify as a team.
Rogers won the overall Class AAAAA boys title.
Greene County Tech's boys' cross country team won the AAAA state boys' championship while Batesville took home the AAAA girls state title.
In Class AAA, Heber Springs took home the boys and girls' title while the Harding Academy Lady Wildcats won the Class AA title and Jasper held on to win the boys' state title.
Harding was led by freshman Ashley Bratcher who ran the 5K race in 23:18 and finished eighth out of 130 runners.
Jessica Stevens finished 10th at 23:23 and Melodie Haynie was 14th at 24:08. Haynie ran down two runners, including one from Genoa in the last 30 yards.
Sara Montgomery ran a personal best of 24:48 to finish 25th and Ellen Davis came in right behind her in 26th for Harding.
The Academy boys team finished eighth overall and was led by Joe Overstreet who finished fourth individually by running the 5K in 18:31.
By finishing in the top 10, Overstreet, Bratcher and Stevens were named All-State in cross country.
Tonight's scheduled Palestine-Wheatley basketball season opener against Humphrey has been cancelled.
The game, originally set to be a senior boys and senior girls doubleheader, will not be played since the P-W football team is involved in the Class AA state football playoffs.
The Wheatley Junior High Invitational Tournament is scheduled to be played Thursday (Nov. 11) and Saturday (Nov. 13) at Wheatley.