Three Day Rain Delay Can't Stop Champions

Posted Date: 05/02/2023

Rain and cold finally broke into a glorious morning for track and field. Mansfield was scheduled to host the 2A-4 Senior Conference meet on Tuesday, April 25. Predictions of rain were fulfilled as Tuesday tears, Wednesday wet and Thursday thunderstorms saturated the area.

Working with mother nature for one good day, the Tigers were able to host a rare early morning track meet on the sunniest day of the week. 

Teams from the 2A-4 conference showed up for the eventual coronation of host Mansfield. It was the MHS Lady Tigers that made the most of the moderate Friday morning to take the overwhelming.

The senior high district, which was the last avenue for track athletes to qualify to state, went off with a definitive Mansfield flavor. Not only were the event helpers heavily manned with current and former Mansfield people, the events themselves were dominated by Tiger athletes.

Mansfield girls, as they have done so many times before, won another conference championship. It was the program's 17th such title in the last 20 years.

The Lady Tigers won every field event, and seven of eleven races en route to a 328 point vacation. Mountainburg had moments as they crawled into second with 142 points. Magazine, with a depleted roster due to softball conflicts, shined their stars but claimed only 69 points in a battle for third with Western Yell County, JC Westside, and Lavaca.

The Mansfield men were in a real dog fight with Mountainburg all day long. Round after round the pair of contenders frequently showed up tied in the running points game. Each threw appropriate jabs and landed the occasional body blow.

Searching for any point possible, both teams resorted to tossing throwers into the ring late in the afternoon. It turned out to be the funnest race of the night as linemen type behemoths slothed through a two mile race.

The final two races actually pulled the plug on the Tigers. Mountainburg squeezed by with a nine point wedge to break the pattern of ties. It was the Dragons from up north that took home the conference team championship 219 to 209 over the Tigers.

It was Mansfield that dominated the trophy spoils for the 9 AM to 2:30 PM track meet. Collectively the track program kept a team championship, team runner-up, two high point winners, and a coach of the year plaque in house.

The MHS senior girls hoisted the top team prize. Freshman Daisy Nelson claimed another high point plaque. Sophomore Trey Powell did likewise. And, Mansfield mentor John Mackey received another coach of the year honor.

Nelson had won the junior high individual honor ten days earlier. This time she moved up to the high school division and handled matters equally as well.

Nelson scored 50.5 points off of four individual wins, a second place, and a relay victory. Her best mark came in the 100m hurdles with a new personal record 16.94 seconds. That time established her as the second best measurement in class 2A state wide.

Senior teammate Jadelynn Wood backed that with her new personal record as well. Wood advanced to the state finals in the 100m hurdles with a 17.28 clocking. Her new superlative elevated her class 2A state ranking to third.

Powell totaled 45.5 points on his way to the top individual prize in the men's league. A late switch to the high jump rather than a relay event gave him the extra points needed to claim the honor.

Powell dominated the conference in the long jump, triple jump, 100m dash, and 200m dash. He won each along with anchoring the winning 4x100m relay.

Mansfield had 11 ladies earn admission to the state competition to be run in Quitman on May 2. Their Mansfield counterparts had 9 players make the men’s advancer file.

Nelson led all entries with six qualifying events for All-District honors. Wood and Powell came in next with five events each. They two were anointed All-District recipients along with the other Tiger teammates making the advancer file from a top 2 district placement.

By conference bylaws, a player that state qualifies by place is considered All-District. 

Indoor All-State thrower Seven Sanderson made the conference honor roll in her favorite two events, short and discus. 

Sanderson is the defending state champion in the discus. This morning, she set a new personal record with a winning whirl of 103’ 8”. She also topped the 33 foot mark inthe shot put for another win.

Throwing partner Kaylee Ward will join Sanderson in the shot at state. She was second in the event with a 32’ 1” toss.

Ward will also see action in the women’s high jump as the district’s second place qualifier.

Sophomore Carter Whiley won the high jump event. Whiley advanced in two additional events as well. The sprinter made it to the final round in the 200m dash, and the 4x100m relay.

Kayla Bieker will join the office of Nelson, Wood, and Whiley in the 4x100m relay.

The four players ran together for the first time this season. Bieker and Nelson had stayed down on the junior high squad as freshmen until their promotion to the high school squad after the April 18th junior high districts.

Mansfield’s newly formed sprint team set a new 2A-4 conference record in the race. The blind exchange members passed the baton to the finish line in 53.27 seconds.

Domonic Shores, Dawson Robinson, Braxton Bartlett, and Powell checked in at 47.08 in their 4x100m formation for the Tiger men. They advanced to the state finals with the gold medal victory.

Zander Walters joined Shores, Robinson and Bartlett for the second place 4x200m relay team. A 1:42.02 stopwatch reading gave them the silver medal.

Mansfield girls also took home silver medals in their 4x200m relay. Raine Hecox, Addie Stover, Laney Wood, and Azlynn Stover led that effort in a solid 2:01.15 measurement.

Hecox, Laney Wood, Azlynn Stover, and Trinity Triska won the 4x800m relay. Jadelynn Wood anchored the winning 4x400m relay team joining the last three names on the previous relay list.

Ashton Hinkle, Joseph Carter, Austin Ruiz, and Joey Williams won the men’s 4x800m relay by 52 seconds. Hinkle and Ruiz went one-two in the pole vault to claim those advancer file points. 

Freshman Madison Hearoon may have been the surprise of the night. An increase of 2” 9’ in the triple jump from her first meet to the last sent the horizontal hopper to the state finals as the senior high district champion.

“Madison really works at her craft,” stated her head coach John Mackey. “She was so excited she came running down to the far end of the stadium to break the news. She beat the eighth and ninth best players in last year’s state meet to get today’s district win. So proud of her accomplishment.”

All totaled, Mansfield qualified nine freshmen to the Quitman hosted class 2A finals. Nelson, Hearron, and Ward  go for the girls. Bartlett, Carter, Robinson, Shores, Walters, and Willimas go for the boys.

Hecox is the lone junior. Sophomores Addie Stover, Azlynn Stover, Triska, Whiley, and Laney Wood all made the curtain call. Laney Wood and Whiley were the only other girls to win an individual event out of that class. Laney Wood in the pole vault and Wjiley over the high jump being those two.

Jadelynn Wood won the 300m hurdles in her fastest time this season. The senior and last year’s player of the year, negotiated the 8 barrier race in 50.97 seconds.

Brooklyn Adams, Natalie Allison, Skylynn Harris, Jaelynn Garcia, Summer Frazier, Ashley Martin, Carissa Vaughan, and Saylor Steward all scored or participated in the district track meet for the Mansfield champs.