DECATUR — The Decatur girls' track team won its first 1A state championship in nearly 18 years on May 2. And the boys' team brought home the runner-up trophy at the event, held in Conway at Hendrix University.
Practice for the boys' and girls' teams began in February, 2017, just after the end of basketball season. But for the senior athletes in the Bulldog program, the road to this year's state championship began in seventh grade.
Shane Holland, Decatur football and track coach, remembered his first year in Decatur in 2010 when Cameron and Ryan Shaffer, Leng Lee, Bracy Owens and Brandon Coker were mere seventh graders.
"I hauled those guys all over the country when they were seventh graders," Holland said. "The one thing they did was listen, which made them coachable. They wanted to do what it takes to be given the chance to win. They made the decision and they did it."
The night before the meet, Holland and his teams sat down to supper and, as they ate, he explained exactly what he expected from each of them.
"In order for them to win, there were a few things that needed to be done," said Holland, " I told them, going into this meet, that they all had a job to do and they did it. Many of them even set personal bests."
One of the key ingredients in the girls' program this season was the exceptional performance of sophomore Desi Meek. She has set the bar high this season, coming off several high-point individual titles in every meet in which she participated. She and her teammates are driven to place high in each event in order to make every point count toward the overall team total.
"Desi performed like Desi," Holland said. "She won three events, second in two others and third in one event. And in the 300-meter hurdles, her best event, she actually tied the state meet record. She did what she was supposed to do."
Destiny Meija qualified in several events during the junior-high district meet in late April which allowed her to compete in the state meet. Like Meek, Meija turned in another magnificent performance, bringing home the gold medal in the high jump, her best event. Holland knew she would perform well against some of the more experienced athletes in the 1A conference.
"Destiny did what Destiny was supposed to do, which to me was amazing since she was only a freshman," Holland said. "Besides winning the high jump, she placed higher (fifth) in the pole vault and even set a personal best in that event."
Points were awarded to the top eight finishers in each event. A first-place finish earned 10 points, while an eighth-place finish earned a single point. No Decatur girl finished lower than eighth place. They all earned points which contributed to the win.
"Meagan Smith did what she had to do by earning points in the pole vault," said Holland. "Cameron Shaffer went into this meet number one in the shot put and number two in discus and won both events, setting personal bests in each. When you don't have very many girls, they better score. Everyone did their job and did it very well."
This was the second state title for the Decatur girls, according to Holland. The first was in 1999 when the Decatur Cross Country team won the Class AA state championship.
The boys also turned in exceptional performances, bringing home the state runner-up trophy.
Like his sister, Ryan Shaffer turned in one of the best performances in his high school career, winning in both the 4x400- and 4x800-meter relay races for the second straight year. He placed second in the 110-meter hurdles and first in his best event, the 300-meter hurdles, shaving two seconds off his previous time for a personal best.
A missed hand-off in the 4x100-meter relay prevented Decatur from a clean sweep of all three relays.
Turning in another outstanding performance for the boys' team was Taylor Haisman. He won the 800-meter run and ran the anchor leg for both relays, earning him two gold medals for the second year in a row.
For Holland, his boys' team has been a powerhouse in the state for the past five years.
"I figured out the number of wins the boys accumulated over the past several years," Holland said. "Ryan is a six-time state champion now. Taylor is a seven-time state champion as a junior. That is quite an accomplishment for these kids."
Bracy Owens, who took the gold in pole vault during the 2A state championship last year, was trying for his second title in a row. Although Owens set a personal best, with a jump of 13 feet, 8 inches, he would have to settle for second place this time around.
"There was a guy from Trinity Christian that we knew would beat us, and he did by breaking the state meet record of 15 feet, 4 inches," Holland said.
Holland was amazed at the dedication his boys displayed over the past two years.
"There haven't been any boys' track teams in Decatur that won back-to-back championships like these boys did," said Holland. "There were a lot of girls' back in the late '90s and early 2000s that did this but not boys. This batch of seniors has never lost a district track meet in junior high or high school and that is simply amazing."
Holland hopes some day to have a track for his teams to practice on, hold its own meets and have a place the track team can call home. But he is grateful to the Gentry and Gravette coaches for allowing his team to practice on their tracks.
"I hope that we can get a few donors with deep pockets to come along to build us a new track," said Holland. "This would help our program, our school and our community. Someday we will have a home."
Girls' Results
1-Decatur with 91 points, 2-Mineral Springs High School with 64.5 points, 3-Acorn High School with 59.5 points.
100 Meter Dash: 2-Meek 13.43
200 Meter Dash: 1-Meek 27.43
400 Meter Run: 8-Meija 1:09.84
100 Meter Hurdles: 1-Meek 17.30
300 Meter Hurdles:1-Meek 47.84
High Jump: 1-Meija 4' 11"
Pole Vault: 3-Meek 8', 5-Mejia 7' 6", 6-Smith 7'
Triple Jump: 2-Meek 31' 6", 8-Meija 30' 5"
Shot Put: 1-Shaffer 34' 5.75"
Discus: 1-Shaffer 102' 3.5"
Boys' Results
1-Trinity Christian with 92 points, 2-Decatur with 76 points, 3-Mineral Springs with 64.5 points.
400 Meters: 6-Johnny Brandon 55.54
800 Meters: 1-Taylor Haiman 2:04.25
1600 Meters: 5-Lee 5:14.68
110 Meter Hurdles: 2-Shaffer 17.31, 5-James 18.38
300 Meter Hurdles: 1-Shaffer 41.96, 6-James 46.71
4x400 Meter Relay: 1-Decatur 3:40.16
4x800 Meter Relay: 1-Decatur 9:09.88
High Jump: 8-Mendoza 5' 8"
Pole Vault: 2-Owens 13' 6", 5-Lee 10' 6"
Triple Jump: 8-Mendoza 37' 8.25"
Shot Put: 12-Coker 38' 8.75"
Sports on 05/10/2017