The Greenwood High School track and field teams were busy last week, competing in two meets held in Mansfield and Fort Smith on back-to-back days. The Tiger Relays were held at Mansfield High School last Thursday, April 19th, after being postponed from earlier this spring. As a result, the Bulldogs also competed the following day in the annual McDonald Relays held at Fort Smith Southside last Friday.
Tiger Relays
At Mansfield, the GHS girls and boys combined for a total of 123.5 points and a sixth place overall finish among 16 area teams. The Bulldogs accounted for 98.5 points, while the Lady Bulldogs earned 25 points. The host team, Mansfield, won the meet with a score of 156 points. Waldron came in second with 153 points. Acorn was third (143), Booneville was fourth (141), and Paris High School was fifth (136).
In the boys’ 100-meter dash, Greenwood’s Austin Nelson placed fifth with a time of 11.85 seconds. He also placed second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.06 seconds. Charles Fortson and Garrett Moore both placed in the 400-meter dash for the Bulldogs. Fortson was second (54.81) and Moore finished third (55.71). Greenwood also scored in the distance events, including Ian Carter’s first place finish in the 800-meter run with a winning time of 2:06.18. Carter also ran second in the 1600-meter event with a time of 4:58.94, and teammate Austin Gosch placed sixth with a time of 5:16.63. Gosch also placed fifth in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:34.97.
In the 110-meter high hurdles, Greenwood’s Charles Fortson ran fifth with a time of 17.71 seconds, and Charles Escalante ran third (43.30) in the 300-meter high hurdles. The 4x100 meter relay team ran second with a time of 44.96 seconds, while the 4x400 meter team placed first (3:35.08). Charles Fortson earned a share of second place points in the boys’ high jump, joining two other athletes who cleared the bar at 5’8”. Greenwood’s Gavin Dundee tied for third in the pole vault with a height of 11 feet even. Charles Fortson earned points by tying for fourth place in the triple jump with a distance of 38’3”. Tyler Fitzgerald was fourth in the shot put with a distance of 41’4”.
The Lady Bulldogs placed in five events. Elka Platt ran sixth for Greenwood in the girls’ 1600-meter run with a time of 6:41.15. Bethany Skaggs also placed sixth in the 300-meter high hurdles with a time of 58.76 seconds. Skaggs also tied for second in the pole vault, soaring over the bar at a height of 8’9”. In the shot put, the GHS girls placed fourth with a toss of 32’7” by Saige Risley, who also placed third in the discus throw with a distance of 84’9”.
McDonald Relays
The annual McDonald Relays at Fort Smith Southside involved more than 20 teams from throughout western and northwest Arkansas, including numerous Class 7A schools, a fact reflected in the final results. Fayetteville took first place with 180 total points, with Fort Smith Southside coming in second with 168.08 points. Bentonville was third (111.5), Rogers was fourth (96.5), and Lake Hamilton was fifth (92).
Greenwood placed 21st overall with 5.5 points, scoring in just one event. Lady Bulldog Krista Balm tied for fourth in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 8’6”. The GHS girls and boys will host the 5A West Conference this Thursday, April 26th, at Smith-Robinson Stadium. The meet will begin at 3:30 p.m. Those athletes who qualify at the league meet, will go on to take part in the state meet to be held May 3rd at Hot Springs.