FAYETTEVILLE — "Take your mark, ready, BANG" as the sharp sound of a starter's pistol pierces the air and six high school track athletes begin heat number 15 of the girls 400-meter run Jan. 13. In that heat was 1A state champion Desi Meek, representing Decatur in the Arkansas High School Invitational Track meet at the Randal Tyson Track Center near the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
High school male and female athletes from across the Midwest converged on the indoor track facility to participate in the 16-event track meet.
The indoor track at the Tyson Track facility is a 200-meter oval track with 15-degree banked curves, something most outdoor track athletes are not accustomed to. But, as most athletes do, they adapted quickly.
Meek was one of 119 girls participating in 25 preliminary heats in the 400-meter run. In heat 15, Meek was up against runners from Sheridan, Ark., Edmond, Okla., and Aurora, Mo., and two track clubs. Meek was in lane number 3. When the starter pistol fired Meek was in the third position as she rounded the first turn. As she hit the backstretch, she fell into her stride near the back of the pack. She kept the same pace throughout the remainder of the first lap and into much of the second.
As she rounded the final curve, she made her move on the lead, passing five competitors as she neared the finish line. Just as Meek was about to cross the finish line, Nicole Ezeokie from Team Quest pulled ahead, taking second with a time of 1:01.70, 10 one-hundredths of a second ahead of Meek's time of 1:01.80 for third place in the heat. Meek finished in 43rd place overall.
Arius Williams from the NTC Elite track team took first place in the 400-meter run with a time of 56.20.
While Meek was competing in the 400-meter, two Gentry athletes were in the infield to compete in the boys' and girls' shot put. Gentry's Chastery Fuamatu, the 4A state silver medalist in the girls' event, was competing against 17 other talented athletes from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. By the end of the event, Fuamatu took first place with a throw of 11.64 meters, .16 meters ahead of her nearest competitor.
On the boys' side of this event was Gentry's Mason Clark, the 2017 4A state champion. His best throw of the day was 13.16 meters, just 3.28 meters off of the first place throw of 16.44 meters set by Nathan Swadley. Clark's efforts earned him a 10th place finish out of 17 participants.
The 2018 Arkansas High School Track Meet was the precursor to the start of the 2018 high school track season, which for many of these top track athletes begins in early March.
Sports on 01/17/2018