The final few events saw the lead batted back and forth like a ping pong ball. Between Mansfield and Mena the lead exchanged hands three times within the last four events. Ultimately, neither could shake the other as the 16th Annual Junior Tiger Relays ended in a tie.
Mansfield’s junior girls built a 10 point lead when Addie Bowman-Stover won the 300m hurdles. Mena countered with an 11 point swing in the 800m run to take over first place by one going into the final two events.
Lady Tigers Carter Whiley and Daisy Nelson combined for a three point differential in the 200m dash to flip Mansfield back on top by two.
Finally, the deciding 4x400m relay would determine the outcome of the hard fought March 31 Mansfield hosted event. Not until Laney Wood of Mansfield passed a DeQueen anchor in the final 10 meters did the numbers reach the tying total.
Mena won the closing race for 10 points. Mansfield passed DeQueen in the final steps for second place’s 8 point haul. Suddenly, the 17 event, cold and windy night ended in a 134.5 exact tie.
“We definitely left some points on the table,” said Mansfield head coach and meet director John Mackey. “Give Mena credit for fighting back. Give Laney (Wood) even more credit for fighting back. A shared title is still a victory. We just really wanted the outright victory. Our home meet has always been one of the biggest and most sought after titles in the area.”
The combination of Wood, Bowman-Stover, Azlynn Stover, and Trinity Triska populated the second place 4x400m relay team. According to their coach, the freshmen core had winning DNA.
“Those four have been in the big moments,” noted Mackey. “It’s always good to have a relay team built around a winning attitude to close the night. In fact our best events; the 300m hurdles, 200m dash, and 4x400m relay always give us a chance to end well.”
Mansfield’s boys had a solid night as well finishing fourth in the overall team standings. Trey Powell led the junior boys squad by winning his second high point trophy of the year.
Powell scored 42 points over his six event schedule. The freshman tied for first in the 100m dash, placed second in four other events, and anchored a second place 4x100m relay.
“Trey Powell was excellent,” said Mansfield boys coach Joshua Brown. “He represented our school and community well. We had a lot of guys get ribbons. That’s what we have to do to be successful.”
Booneville, coached by Mansfield 2005 graduate Whit Overton, won the boys title with 150 points. DeQueen came in second with 123 points. Waldron took third with 102 points. Mansfield closed in fourth with 89.5 points among 14 scoring schools.
Among class 2A-4 schools in attendance, Mansfield was rarely challenged. Acorn, Mountainburg, Lavaca, and Magazine were distantly scattered among the remaining team standings.
Ethan Martin was second in the shot put as Mansfield’s other best placing athlete. The eighth grader took silver with a toss of 39’ 9.5 “.
For the Lady Tigers, Kaylee Ward and Triska were the only other individual winners. Ward won the shot put with a 36’ 0.5” toss. Triska took the triple jump with a leap of 29’ 8”.
Mansfield’s 4x100m relay team took a combined victory in the women’s division. The lineup of Ward, Whiley, Bowman-Stover, and Nelson took that victory with a time of 58.10.
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