Gentry boys take first, Gravette girls second in conference meet

Gentry junior Jerod Cousins leads his heat in the 110 meter hurdles at the district track meet held in Gravette on Thursday.

Gentry junior Jerod Cousins leads his heat in the 110 meter hurdles at the district track meet held in Gravette on Thursday.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

GRAVETTE - Jerod Cousins and Kevin Parish provided the Gentry boys’ track team with a potent one-two punch during the 4A-1 Conference track meet Thursday in Gravette.

The two athletes combined to win eight events and compiled 110 points to help the Pioneers take the team title. Gentry finished with 192 points, followed by Farmington with 154 and Gravette with 90.

Cousins edged Parish for high-point honors by a 56-54 margin. The junior picked up first-place finishes in the 110-meter hurdles (16.48 seconds), the long jump (20 feet, 4.5 inches), the discus (129-9) and the pole vault (12-6), then capped his day with second place in the shot put and triple jump.

Parish, a senior, shined in the sprints, winning the 100 (11.29), the 200 (23.47) and the 400 (52.39). He also won the triple jump (40-5.5), then finished second in the long jump and third in the pole vault.

Parish was also listed as a top-performance winner for the 2013 season in northwest Arkansas with his best time of 11.11 in the 100.

The only other boys’ double winner was Gravette distance runner Roberto Garcia, who took the 1,600 (4:45.51) and the 3,200 (10:16.00).

Berryville won the girls’ division with 137 points, while Gravette was second with 112. Pea Ridge (78), Ozark (75) and Gentry (74) rounded out the top five.

Lincoln’s Niki Thordsen won three events, taking the high jump (5-0), long jump (16-5.75) and the triple jump (35-0.75). Gravette’s Jordan White won both hurdles, while Gentry’s Mallory Morris earned victories in the 800 (2:26.31) and the 1,600 (6:02.50).

Sports, Pages 9 on 05/01/2013