RITCHIE TAKES HIGH POINT, JUNIOR BEARCATS WIN SEASON OPENING MEET

With high point award winner Devon Ritchie leading the way the first track meet of the 2024 season was a meet win for the junior high Bearcats in Ozark.

The Bearcats 108 point total edged the hosts at 104 with Dardanelle placing third with 97 and Pottsville fourth at 93.

Ritchie (shown) was responsible for 38 points including a pair of event wins in the triple jump at 36’ 5” and the high jump at 5’ 6”.

Ritchie was also second in the long jump, clearing 18’ 7”, was second in the 400-meter dash at 58.71, and he took seventh in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.88.

Hayden “HD” Daniel also scored in six events. In sprint events Daniel was fourth in the 100-meter dash with a 12.38, fourth in the 110-meter hurdles with a 19.03, and eighth in the 200-meter dash at 25.95.

In the field events Daniel was sixth in the pole vault clearing 7’ and he was fifth in the long jump at 17’ 5”.

Daniel was also ran the final leg of the 4x100-meter relay with Nick Widener, Callen Montalvo, and Braxton Hubble with the quartet placing fifth with a 51.71.

Both the 4x200- (Montalvo, Widener, Hubble, and Kass Dupree) and 4x800-meter (Taylor Shaver, Sean Pennington, Cooper Lentz, and Avery Reno) relay teams took second place with the 4x200 grouping running a 1:50.75 and the 4x800 group clocking a 10:21.44.

Distance runners Shaver and Pennington also placed in both the 800- and 1600-meter runs with Shaver fifth in the 800 at 2:30.27 and third in the 1600 at 5:33.21 and Pennington sixth in the 800 at 2:31.63 and fourth in the 1600 at 5:40.12.

Lentz also picked up an eighth place in the 400 with a time of 1:05.14 and ran a leg of the 4x400-meter relay with Montalvo, Hubble, and Widener for a combined 4:40.25 for seventh.

DuPree scored in both hurdle events, running the 300 distance in 51.56 for sixth and the 110 meter event in 19.59 for eighth.

In the throws it was Elijah Draper taking fifth in the shot put with a 35’ 10” throw and Tate Fowler was sixth in the discus with a toss of 104’ 7”.