Vote: Who should be SBLive Arkansas' team of the week? (11/6/2023)
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Arkansas High School Team of the Week.
Read through the nominees and cast your vote. Voting will conclude Sunday, Nov. 12, at 11:59 p.m.
Bentonville Tigers boys cross country
The Tigers hardly broke a sweat en route to winning the 6A state championship, scoring 17 points, which was miles ahead of Springdale Har-Ber's second-place finish with 106. Bentonville runners claimed five of the Top 6 spots, led by race winner Matthew Shelly in 15:19.43 on the 5,000-meter course. Teammate Owen Kelly (15:21.61) finished behind Shelly, while James American Horse was third (15:29.20), Peyton Brack was fifth (15:55.23) and Eli Seavy (16:02.02) was sixth.
Episcopal Collegiate girls cross country
The Lady Wildcats came out on top in a very tight finish for the 3A state championship race, but finished with 45 points to Harding Academy's 42. They placed five runners from sixth through 15th, led by Lauren Humiston at the No. 6 spot (21:09.93), followed by Ella Gary in eighth place (21:23.41), Clare Hammers in 12th (21:30.09), Stella Cochran in 14th (22:07.0) and Caroline Brantley in 15th (22:07.35).
Gravette Lions girls cross country
In one of multiple close finishes, the Lady Lions took down Clinton 60-62 for the 4A state championship. Three runners finished in the Top 7, led by Julia Whorton in second (20:07.00), followed by Keira Ralph in fifth (20:53.43) and Litzy Garcia in seventh (21:14.26)
Greenwood Bulldogs girls cross country
The Lady Bulldogs outscored Russellville 65-75 to claim the 5A state championship. Carole Werner led Greenwood individually finishing in third place (19:52.88), followed by Julia Witherington in ninth (20:26.84), Piper Ames in 14th (21:00.74) and Paige Andrews in 19th (21:12.41) who rounded out the Top 20.
Haas Hall-Bentonville boys cross country
The Huskies won the 2A state championship after scoring 40 points, led by top finisher Jacen Heiner who finished in 17:37.07. Heiner was followed by his teammate, Parker Moore, finishing second in 17:53.16. Easton Combs also finished in the Top 10, placing ninth (18:44.94).
Kingston Yellowjackets girls cross country
The Lady 'Jackets claimed the 1A state title, finishing with 37 points in a 30-point separation from second-place Founders Classical. They had five runners who finished third through 16th, headlined by Aslyn Cooper in third (21:49.87), Callie Edgmon in fifth (22:33.10) and LeeLou Kilbourn in eighth (23:03.49).
Mountain Home Bombers boys cross country
The Bombers brought home the 5A state championship, finishing with 39 points in a convincing victory over Russellville. Runners were well-represented in the Top 10, led by William Hill in third place (16:10.27), followed by Hendrix Hughes in fifth (16:27.37), Garrett Barr in sixth (16:28.37) and Connor King in ninth (16:29.98).
Ozark Catholic Griffins boys cross country
The Griffins won the 1A boys state championship by a wide margin, scoring 32 points. Isaac Pohlmeier crossed the finish line first in 16:31.04, while Joey Squillace was fifth (17:59.96), Ben Frederick was seventh (18:29.83), John Paul Schaefer was ninth (18:42.30) and Liam Burney was 10th (18:42.57).
Pea Ridge Blackhawks boys cross country
In a very close race, the Blackhawks slipped past Shiloh Christian 72-77. Tian Grant finished first in 16:20.25, while Troy Ferguson also finished in the Top 5 in fourth (17:07.56). Two more Blackhawks finished in the Top 20, with Camren Smith in 15th (17:44.13) and Cruz Porter in 19th (17:57.01).
Quitman Bulldogs girls cross country
The Lady Bulldogs bested Dierks by 14 points, finishing with 31 to win the 2A state championship. Five runners who finished fifth through 15th earned the hardware, led by Madilyn Varvil in fifth place (21:24.66), Paislee Davis in sixth (21:33.33), Savannah Duncan in eighth (21:36.81), Allison Carter in 11th (22:22.11) and Dakota Rhodes rounding it out in 15th (22:55.48).
Rogers Mounties girls cross country
The Lady Mounties got past nearby foe Bentonville 35-40 to win the 6A state championship. They had three of the top five finishing runners, led by Kayla Eggers in third place (18:38.68), Lilly Beshears in fourth (18:40.19) and Katherine Scudder in fifth (18:57.97).
Vilonia Eagles football
A season with more downs than ups ended with a bang. The Eagles finished the year with an upset victory over Mills, who was ranked No. 17 in the SBLive Top 25 rankings. Vilonia did not qualify for the playoffs, but the win over the Comets was their third victory in the past four contests after an 0-6 start.
West Fork Tigers boys cross country
A 73-point performance was enough to slip past Maumelle Charter for the 3A state championship. Four runners finishing fifth through 20th willed the Tigers to victory, led by Kayden DenHerder in fifth place (17:33.52), Henry DenHerder in 12th (18:30.78), Robbie Preston in 13th (18:32.30) and Cody Slige at No. 20 (19:03.19).
--Kyle Sutherland | @k_sutherlandAR
