After hosting their own meet on March 26th with the Bulldog Relays, the Greenwood High School girls and boys track and field teams returned to action and competed last week in two area meets at Alma and Waldron. A scheduled meet at Mansfield, the Tiger Relays, was reset for this coming Thursday, April 19th. Greenwood finished 7th overall at Alma among 16 area schools, and 6th overall at Waldron.
Airedale Relays
Last Tuesday both GHS squads competed in the annual Airedale Relays held at Alma High School. The overall meet was won by Russellville with 274 points (176-boys, 98-girls). Fort Smith Southside finished second with 241 total points (102.5-boys, 139-girls), while Alma earned third place team honors with 210 points (164-boys, 46-girls). The Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs combined for 48 points (30-boys, 18-girls) to take seventh place.
Greenwood's Austin Nelson placed fifth in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.44 seconds. He also finished second in the 400 meter dash with a time of 51.27 seconds. The Bulldogs placed in just one of the distance events, with Ian Carter coming in 5th in the 1600 meter run with a time of 4:57.22. Charles Fortson finished 6th in the 110 meter high hurdles, earning a single point with a time of 16.94 seconds. Chase Escalante also placed in the 300 meter high hurdles for Greenwood with a time of 43.87 seconds. The Bulldogs also scored points in two of the three team relays. The 4x100 meter squad ran 5th with a time of 45.70 seconds, while the 4x400 team also ran fifth at 3:41.67. The GHS boys did not score in any of the six field events.
As for the Lady Bulldogs, they earned points in three events. Bethany Skaggs came in sixth in the 300 meter high hurdles with a time of 55.94 seconds. Krista Balm finished In a third place tie in the pole vault, clearing the bar at nine feet even. Skaggs also placed sixth in the pole vault at eight feet even. In the shot put, Greenwood's Saige Risley heaved the ball 31' 8.25" to earn fifth place points.
Bulldog Relays
At Waldron High School last Thursday, the GHS track teams finished sixth overall with a total of 106.5 points. The girls earned 36 points to 70.5 for the boys. Overall, the meet was won by J. D. Leftwich with 194.5 total points. Paris High School led all boys teams with 126 points, while Acorn led all girls teams with 155 points
For the GHS boys, Kurt Sikes ran second (24.11) in the 200 meter run. Charles Fortson placed second (55.08) in the 400 meter run, and teammate Garrett Moore finished fifth (55.97) in the same event. Ian Carter led the pack with a first place finish (4:56.90) in the 1600 meter run, and Austin Gosch came in fourth (5:17.19). Carter and Gosch also placed in the 3200 meter run with times of 11:17.29 (second) and 11:40.67 (fifth), respectively. The GHS 4x400 relay team ran second with a time of 3:44.35, and Greenwood's Tyler Fitzgerald placed first in the shot put with a distance of 40'9".
The Lady Bulldogs had four girls to place in six events. Elka Platt finished 6th in the 1600 meter run (6:16.92), and third in the 3200 meter run (14:31.97). Bethany Skaggs was sixth in the 300 meter high hurdles with a time of 56.40 seconds. In the pole vault, Greenwood placed twice with Skaggs topping the bar in second place (8' 6.25") and Krista Balm coming in third (8'6"). Saige Risley earned third place points in the shot at 28'7", and fifth place points in the discus throw at 75'4".