Four area track stars compete in Meet of Champions

Westside Eagle Observer/SUBMITTED Destiny Mejia, a member of the Lady Bulldogs 1A champion track team, clears the bar in the high jump during the Arkansas Activities Association's Meet of Champions May 12 at Lake Hamilton High School track and field facility.
Westside Eagle Observer/SUBMITTED Destiny Mejia, a member of the Lady Bulldogs 1A champion track team, clears the bar in the high jump during the Arkansas Activities Association's Meet of Champions May 12 at Lake Hamilton High School track and field facility.

DECATUR -- Every year, the top track athletes gather in one place vying for the title of the best of the best in Arkansas.

The Meet of Champions (MOC), sponsored by the Arkansas Activities Association, is open only to athletes who earned a state championship title in one of 17 events in the boys' and girls' divisions. Athletes from the 1A through 7A compete together to see who is the best in their respective events.

Participating in this meet were two members of the Decatur Lady Bulldogs 1A championship team, Desi Meek, who brought home gold in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, and Destiny Mejia, who earned gold in the high jump. Joining the Decatur athletes were Gentry Lady Pioneer shot put and discus 4A champ Chastery Fuamatu and Pioneer Mason Clark, who like Fuamatu, was the state champ in the shot and discus.

Fuamatu has been unstoppable all season in both the shot and discus, out distancing her nearest competitor by as much as 10 feet or more. Gentry fans would not be disappointed in her performance in the MOC as Fuamatu brought home the gold in both events, earning her the title of the No. 1 shot put and discus athlete in Arkansas.

Fuamatu's championship throw in the shot was 40-07 feet. In the discus, she reached a distance of 136-06, 17 feet farther than her nearest competitor, the throw of 119-00 feet by Demya Gunn from Beebe High School.

Mason Clark of Gentry also competed in the MOC in both the shot put and discus. He finished in fourth place in the discus with a throw of 141-04 feet and seventh in the shot with a toss of 39-05.50 feet.

For Decatur's Meek, this was her second MOC in which she participated. This year, she competed in the 300-meter hurdles, finishing in eighth place in 47.33.

Competing in her first MOC was sophomore Destiny Mejia, the 1A high jump gold medalist. She finished the meet tied for seventh place with Jaylynn Hampton of Crossett with a jump of 5-02 feet.

All four outstanding track athletes will have the chance to compete in the 2018 boys' Decathlon and girls' Heptathlon meet at Cabot High School May 16-17.

Sports on 05/16/2018