Mounties XC team raises the bar

Rogers has long been the premier cross country program in Arkansas, but this season coach Carlton Efurd trotted out his best team ever.

He called it "raising the bar."

The bar kept going up as the Mounties climbed to a national ranking of No. 13, easily won a sixth straight state championship and received an at-large invitation to the Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore.

Along the way to new heights, the Mounties recorded a perfect score of 15 at the 7 A-West Conference Championships and missed winning the state title by a single point.

Going up against the country's best, the Rogers team had a good outing at the Portland Meadows Race Track.

It was the first time an Arkansas team has competed in the 14 th annual Nike Team Nationals race.

The Rogers group - not running as Mounties - finished 16 th out of a 22-team field.

Rogers senior Aaron Hamilton placed 13 th overall out of a field of 154. They fought through a tough muddy course and frigid temperatures mixed with snow.

"Very pleased," Efurd said. "We finished five places higher than they predicted us. That's a positive. Aaron Hamilton finished in the Top 15. He ran a great race. We ran a good race. For the first time at nationals, we had a good meet. With the mud, the weather, the snow, negotiating everything, I think the kids ran real well."

Also for Rogers, senior Taylor Surly finished 46 th with a time of 17 minutes, 06. 7 seconds. Senior Forrest Roth ran a time of 17: 19. 5 for 71 st. Junior Cameron Efurd ran a 17: 48. 0 and finished 111 th, junior Juan Orrala had a 17: 52. 3 for 119 th place. Junior Jordan Falls finished 148 th with an 18: 18. 8 and junior Henry Wildenborg had 18: 23. 2 for 150 th.

"This course was the most challenging course our kids have ever run," Efurd said.

The top two teams from 11 regions received automatic berths to the NTN meet. Rogers received one of the four at-large invitations. A seeding committee picked the atlarge teams.

The Mounties finished third at the Nike South Qualifier on Nov. 17 to two Texas teams - The Woodlands and Southlake Carroll.

Rogers, nationally ranked No. 18 in November, has won 15 Arkansas state championships under Efurd and the past six in a row. The Rogers Lady Mounties also have won 15 state titles, giving Rogers High School a total of 30.

The Mounties were ranked third by DyeStat. com after scoring 16 points at the state Class 7 A race on Nov. 10, one point from a perfect score.

Hamilton won the Arkansas Class 7 A race in 15: 30, a new course record. Surly was second in 15: 55. Roth ran a 16-flat for third. Falls was fourth in 16: 11 and Cameron Efurd was sixth in 16: 24.

Wildenborg was seventh on 16: 27 and junior Oralla was eighth in 16: 31.

The state championship was the Mounties' most dominating performance ever, their coach agreed.

"There's no doubt," Efurd said. "There's no question in my mind."

The 16 points scored by the Mounties at Oaklawn Park were its fewest ever. They scored 21 points in 2006, when they won for a fifthstraight time.

"We wanted to raise the bar this year," Efurd said. "I think we just shot it through the roof, golly."

Another storyline that ran through Rogers' cross country program was the division of two high schools and how much longer RHS can dominate the state scene after the breakup.

Prevailing opinion is one more year. After that, Arkansas cross country is perhaps up for grabs.