FAYETTEVILLE’S GALLARDO-LOPEZ, HAR-BER’S BESHEARS EARN 6A-WEST CROSS COUNTRY TITLES

ROGERS -- Alan Gallardo-Lopez felt a little remorse for Sean Burns when the sloppy conditions during the 6A-West Conference Cross Country Championships caused the Bentonville runner to slip and fall a couple of times. The Fayetteville senior, however, couldn't let the opportunities to take the boys individual championship go to waste. Gallardo-Lopez took the lead during the early stages of Tuesday afternoon's race and finished Rogers High's 5,000-meter course in a winning time of 15 minutes, 54.21 seconds. Burns, despite the stumbles, finished second at 16:10.56. "It's pretty bad conditions out here," Gallardo-Lopez said. "I mean, it's all muddy. Sean Burns, he fell twice, and he probably would have had a better race had that not happened. "Luckily, I didn't fall any. I was able to stay under my feet and just came out with the win. That's just what you've got to do in a race. Obviously, no hard feelings, but do what you can to win." The course conditions became worse as rain steadily fell throughout Tuesday's races, and the girls had already ran their race before the boys took their turn. As a result, many runners felt the effects of the elements. Gallardo-Lopez and Burns were very close to each other during the early stage of the race when the latter fell as he attempted to cut around a corner. He quickly was back on his feet, but it still allowed Gallardo-Lopez to cushion his lead some. "During the race, I was just trying to stay up," Gallardo-Lopez said. "I was taking the corners a little bit slower, just to make sure I wouldn't fall." Fayetteville's Luca Brady was right behind Burns and took third place in 16:14.45. A pair of Bentonville runners rounded out the top five as Logan Hurley crossed the finish line in 16:21.19, followed by Camden McClellan at 16:22.09. Bentonville, which ran Tuesday's race without leading runner Brian Burns, had six runners finish among the top 10 and took the team title with 26 points. Fayetteville finished second with 46, followed by Bentonville West with 92, Fort Smith Southside with 108 and Springdale Har-Ber with 127. "The good thing about my team is we have a lot of good returners and a lot of strong runners coming back," Bentonville Coach Mike Power said. "It's always nice to highlight the seniors, but the younger guys had a good chance to flex their muscles a little bit in the mud. "I know Sean slipped a few times, and another guy -- Camden McClellan -- he ran well after an easy week from some slight leg pain. I had a couple of others slip and fall, but I'm sure the other teams had their stories. To be honest, I think they enjoy that type of race, which is unique for this season." The girls race had a Beshears win the individual title for the second straight, but the winner wasn't the same girl or even represented the same school. Har-Ber's Hattie Ray Beshears -- the younger sister of defending champion Lilly Beshears of Rogers -- was the first to cross the finish line. Hattie Ray Beshears, a sophomore, turned in the winning time of 17:55.35, while Bentonville freshman Flannery O'Daniel was next at 18:07.14. Lilly Beshears, who has been out most of the season with an injury, rooted for her younger sister from the sidelines. "I just wanted to come out here and have fun," Hattie Ray Beshears said. "I didn't know what the outcome was going to be. I knew it could have been any out of five girls, and I was excited to come out here and have fun. "Definitely staying on my feet was a big thing. I wanted to get through the first mile and the 2-mile mark with the girls, then honestly seeing what I had left. One of the Rogers girls was by me, and I know her pretty well. She was like 'It's time to go,' and I was like 'OK' and didn't look back from there." Rogers Heritage's Nora Wise took the third spot with her time of 18:14.48, while a pair of Rogers runners rounded out the top five. Anna Scudder finished fourth at 18:20.83, while sister Elizabeth Scudder was next at 18:26.59, less than 2 seconds ahead of Bentonville's Claire Lorimer. Rogers, despite the absence of Lilly Beshears, claimed the team title with 36 points while Bentonville was right behind with 46. Bentonville West took third with 80, followed by Fayetteville with 116 and Har-Ber with 144. "It was a brutal day with the conditions," Rogers Coach Powell Bryant said. "I'm glad we ran the varsity races first because it would have been a lot harder race if we didn't. "The girls competed hard. We had our five girls finish in the top 11. (Kate) Scudder ran probably her best race of the year, and Anna did a really great job out there. We sent five girls out there, and they got the job done."

FAYETTEVILLE’S GALLARDO-LOPEZ, HAR-BER’S BESHEARS EARN 6A-WEST CROSS COUNTRY TITLES

Photo Credit: Caleb Grieger

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