It has been one of her targets since the Mansfield home meet on March 28. Sophomore Laney Wood has been oh so close but no cigar. That 8’ 6” state standard in the women’s pole vault has eluded the excitable teen until now.
Possibly the whole stadium knew when Wood cleared the pole vault bar set at 8’ 6” at the Van Buren Pointer Relays on Friday night. A sprint around the apron, a mighty yell, and a victory dance among teammates at the nearby discus ring gave a good indication. Wood sent herself to the class 2A state track meet in one indelible moment.
“I was about sixty meters away checking steps with our long jumper,” said Mansfield head coach John Mackey. “I was keeping an eye across the infield, thinking to myself that the bar's getting pretty high. Where’s Laney?”
“Just then, it was her turn,” continued the coach. “Down the runway and up and over she went. When that bar stayed, she leaped off the mat and started running and screaming. I knew immediately what had just happened. Players showing that type of excitement, that type of passion make it all worthwhile.”
Wood joins Seven Sanderson, Kaylee Ward, Carter Whiley, and Ashton Hinkle on Mansfield’s growing list of state qualifiers.
The Tigers have two more tries to get players to state through standards before conference competition begins at home on April 25. A rescheduled trip to Mena on Monday, April 17 and a last chance opportunity in Clarksville on April 20 closes out Mansfield’s regular season.
On Friday, Mansfield took a reduced roster to Van Buren to close last week’s busy activity schedule. An out of town band competition and a home softball game limited the Tiger entries. Consequently, only a handful of the MHS track athletes ran a normal event schedule as most filled in other places or took events off.
Wood’s senior sister Jadelynn saw her normal six event night. Unfortunately, the order of events in Van Buren did not fall in her favor. The fast moving, skilled events in which Jadelynn typically excels were stacked in close proximity.
“We had to keep Jadelynn in those other events to get reps in the relays,” noted Mackey. “Ideally, this would have been an opportunity to reduce her load but she’s a warrior and manages the load. The speed of the meet gave her little rest. That hampered her target in the 300m hurdles.”
The older Wood still ran a solid intermediate hurdles race at 52.59 for sixth place among the mostly large school athletes in attendance. It was not the time she was looking for as the qualifying standard required nearly a one second reduction
Sophomore Trey Powell also missed his target time in the 100m dash. The multi-talented track star crossed the finish line in 11.51 seconds. He was hoping for that elusive 11.46 AAA benchmark.
Powell did hit a big number in the men’s triple jump. Going from the 40 foot board for the first time in competition, Powell elevated above the sand for a 41’ 7” landing. That was his best mark since the indoor state finals at 42’ 2”.
Senior Ashton Hinkle cleared 11’ 6” in the men’s pole vault for the second time this season. That height surpassed the state standard by four inches. He also buzzed the 800m run in 2:27.53.
Teammate Austin Ruiz went over 10’ 6” in the pole vault. He ran the 400m dash in 58.31 seconds on the hottest temperature day this outdoor season.
Summer Frazier had her best night around the track for the Mansfield women’s team. The sophomore went 1:19.60 in the 400m dash. It was her best attempt by three seconds. She also bettered her personal 800m time with a 3:23.17 measurement.
Azlynn Stover had her best mark in the women’s high jump. After missing some time for a medical procedure, the sophomore cleared 4’4” on her first attempt to PR.
Stover joined her sister Addie, Raine Hecox, and Laney Wood for an eighth place 4x200m relay. She also combined with Addie and both Wood sisters for the seventh place 4x100m relay.
In the throwing events, Mansfield was covered by Sanderson and Kaylie Lowery in the women’s shot and discus. Cisco Fildes took his turn in the men’s discus ring.
Sanderson scored in both throws with a 92’ 11” discus toss before offering up a 31’ 5.5” shot put. Lowery pushed through some shoulder issues reaching 79’ 4” in the discus and 28’ 4.5" in the shot. Fildes nearly reached 100 feet with a 98’ 7” discus toss.
Ashley Martin ran only the 1600m run. Normally she would have covered in the 4x800m relay and the 3200m distance race.
Saylor Steward ran the 100m dash. Newcomer Jaelynn Garcia navigated the 400m dash.
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