SUBMITTED BY KEITH WILSEY –
The Acorn Sr. Girls were State Runner-Up in 2014, and look to upset defending champion, Trinity Christian, in the 2015 season. Acorn Senior Girls will be lead by All State Runners, Morgan Fagan, a junior, and sophomore, Faith Hill. They will be leading a group of young and talented runners on the Tiger team. In Senior Boys, Nathan Chaney is top-returning runner, with a large group of freshmen that may help put the Tigers in the top three at state.
Both Jr. teams will have good numbers and Coach Willsey is looking for a good season. Looking for the next boy or girl, to help carry on the tradition of winning at Acorn in Cross Country.
Acorn will host three Cross Country meets this year, with October 29th being the Regional Championships. All Cross Country State Meets will be held and hosted by Lake Hamilton at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs.
Mena will have new Coach and former Bearcat, Randy Peters. He will also be coaching basketball. This is Coach Peters first head coaching job and looks to build on his two top runners. Outstanding Junior, Abbie Smith will be leading the Ladycats and Coach Peters is looking to recruit some more girls to round out the team. In Senior Boys, Clint Buck is the returning top runner, who has had some international running experience leading the team of athletes new to the sport. Coach Peters said, “ I played college ball and our coach emphasized conditioning. I was introduced to long distance that was meant to build a base for the long basketball season.” Coach Peters also indicated he wanted to provide a structured program for the student’s who may not be involved in other sports.
Coach Willsey has worked closely with Peters, helping him with the schedule and in building his program. On September 12th at Mena High School Coach Peters will host a Fun Run, to help kick start his program. Look for details on that event coming soon.
The schedule for the 2015 Cross Country season for both the Acorn Tigers and the Mena Bearcats will be as follows:
Tuesday, September 8th, at Magazine
Tuesday, September 15th, at Acorn
Saturday, September 26th, at Mansfield
Tuesday, October 6th, at Acorn
Saturday October 17th, Pre-State hosted by Lake Hamilton at Oaklawn Park
Thursday, October 29th, Regional Meet at Acorn
Saturday, November 7th, State Championship hosted by Lake Hamilton at Oaklawn Park
About Author
Jeri Pearson
Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.
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