24 Jun 2020 Arkansas Track Coaches Association announces 2019-20 award recipients
The Arkansas Track Coaches Association (ATCA) recently recognized high school cross country and track and field student athletes for their outstanding achievements during the 2019-20 school year.
These awards are typically celebrated and awarded to deserving highs school athletes at the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame Banquet in Little Rock during the month of June. However, due to the pandemic, organizers have made many adjustments. “During this time of hardship, we wanted to give our high school athletes something positive about their track and field season, even though many schools didn’t have an opportunity to run any outdoor meets,” said ATCA President Chris Beavert.
“Our ATCA board discussed and came up with criteria, procedures and a system to award our state’s best academic and athletic based performances. This process included many current and a few former Arkansas high school coaches.”
The awards:
All Arkansas Academic Team – Students had to have a minimum of a 3.5 cumulative GPA and a 25 ACT score.
All Arkansas Team – Based on the athlete’s performance during the 2019-2020 Indoor Track and Field season (results from outdoor season were not available due to COVID-19).
All State Team – Competitors had to finish either as a state champion or a state runner-up in the ATCA State Indoor Championships in any of the events in their divisions.
The indoor state meet was held at the University of Arkansas on Feb. 28-29. There were 108 schools and almost 1,900 student athletes that competed.
“We would like to recognize outstanding track athletes with All State, All Academic and All Arkansas Awards. These student athletes are the elite in their events. They represent themselves and their schools as well. We are proud to highlight each one of these fine young men and women,” said Drew Yoakum, director of the indoor state meet and head coach and assistant athletic director for Fayetteville High School Track.
The goal of the ATCA is to provide interscholastic student athletes, the sport, the schools and coaches with a way to promote success in the sports of cross country and track and field in the state. The association works closely with the Arkansas Activities Association and all of the school administrators and coaches.
Athletes from the 501 who were recognized:
All Arkansas Track & Field Team 2020 – Cade Clark of Benton, Hunter Johnson of Lake Hamilton, Woyn Chatmon of Little Rock Central, Carson Lenser of Vilonia, Draven Smith of Vilonia, Jill Robertson of Jessieville, Kamaria Russell of Little Rock Central and Becca Beard of Maumelle Charter.
Arkansas Track & Field All Academic Team (boys) – Kelby Webb of Bald Knob; Cade Clark of Benton; Ethan Ives, Bresner Austin and Ammon Henderson, all of Bryant; Austin Sharp, Brendan Czerwonka, Evan Ford, Parker Benefield, Seth Prunty and Riley Reed, all of Cabot; Brad Baker, Landon Johnson, Dalton McCollum, Parker Hill and Brandon Tate, all of Heber Springs; Zeke McCain, Jack Keeling, Carter Manatt and Garrett Horton, all of Lake Hamilton; Andrew Helms and Reece Forrest, Little Rock Central; Walter Hendricks of Searcy; and David Adams of Vilonia.
Arkansas Track & Field All Academic Team (girls) – Mikayla Shaw of Bald Knob; Olivia Orr of Bryant; Ashlyn Wilson, Ashley Killingsworth and Grace Bing, all of Cabot; Madison Holloway of Conway; Sophia Lawrence, Katia Rubio and Jillian Herring, all of Heber Springs; Katherine Scalzo and Jessica Jennings, both of Lake Hamilton; Kate Barnes, Little Rock Christian; and Bryn Westby, Lauren Millikin and Shelby Duncan, all of Vilonia.
6A Boys All State – Josh Warren and Parker Benefield, both of Cabot; Ian Bush, Gunter Campbell, Ethan Kailey and John Sutton, all of Conway; and Woyn Chatmon, Little Rock Central.
6A Girls All State – Kamaria Russell, Little Rock Central.
5A Boys All State – Maverick Payne and Connor Goss, both of Beebe; Dylan Burnham of Benton; William Swecker, Zeke McCain and Hunter Johnson, all of Lake Hamilton; Cade Clark, Chance Cross, Levi Dugger, Evan Lockwood and Caiden Ingram, all of Lakeside; Tyler Melton of Maumelle; Ja’keylen Haney of Parkview; and Carson Lenser, Nick Lewis, Tyler Moran, Brayden Matyja, David Adams, Brandon Raulston and Draven Smith, all of Vilonia.
5A Girls All State – Sakari Faulkner of Benton; Olivia Pielemeier, Maylin Reyes, MacKenzie Cronin, Katherine Scalzo, Meighan Mears and Mahayla Swayze, all of Lake Hamilton; Maliha Crockett of Searcy; Felicity Watkins, Paige Lambert, Asya Dandridge, Jordan Sanders, Skylar Payton and Zoe Strong, all of Sylvan Hills; Shelby Duncan, Laynie White, Harlee Heath, Shelby Duncan, Emma Buck, Evy McKissack, Lauren Millikin, Sydney Huff and Maylee Leach, all of Vilonia.
(None listed in 4A)
3A Boys All State – Trace Knight, Weston Amos, Austin Drake, Ethen Drake, Matthew Gonzales and Ryan Jones, all of Clinton.
3A Girls All State – Jill Robertson, Juliah Rodgers and Abigale Pickering, all of Jessieville.
Class 1A/2A Boys All State – Josh Tibbs, Conway Christian; and Jacob Cantrell, Quitman.
Class 1A/2A Girls All State – Haley Shourd, Conway Christian; and Becca Beard, Maumelle Charter.
For more information, email [email protected].
