Head Coach Justin Cook and JHS' co-captains Chase Chamberlain and Chase Cook. | Photo by Ashley Helliwell

Exciting things have happened on the soccer pitch at Cooksey-Johns Field this season.

First-year Jonesboro Hurricane head coach Justin Cook has brought a youthful attitude and excitement to his squad and that has turned into goals and wins on the field.

Hurricane Warning

The attacking system the Hurricane has run this year is different than in past seasons. Cook has installed a system with three center midfielders, which is unique to high school soccer.

“We have a traditional center mid, one center mid that plays a true center mid and one’s an attacking center mid,” Cook shared. “All of them are allowed to go up and all of them are expected to get back. They all have their own individual roles around midfield that I haven’t really seen at center.”

The system is designed to give JHS more scoring chances on offense, while gambling a little that they can get back if needed on defense.

“It offers an extra attacker on offense which gives us more chances of scoring goals, but it also helps us control the entire centerfield,” Cook explained. “If you can control the center of the field you’re more likely to win the game. By having the attacking center mid, we can score the goal, but at the same time we have responsibilities on defense. But our main push is to get the extra chances to score that goal.”

Throughout the season the attacking style has reaped several benefits for the Hurricane as JHS has pounded the back of the net on multiple occasions, including a 10-0 beatdown against Marion and a 7-0 win over Nettleton back in February.

“It’s a big transition, because we’ve taken them from playing a certain way then we come in and kind of throw a wrench in it and change the way they’ve been doing things their whole life,” Cook said. “But it’s working and when they do it well, it works out perfect and you can’t really stop us.”

Cook shared some of the goals he had in mind for his team when his first season at the helm began earlier this spring.

“To play together, keep our heads on straight, beat the teams that we have failed to beat in the past, Searcy and Mountain Home,” Cook said. “And then to ultimately play for a state championship.”

In the season’s first meeting against 6A-East rival Mountain Home, the Hurricane squad battled to a 1-1 tie in mid-March in Jonesboro. The result kept the team unbeaten on the season, in addition to being a confidence booster to hang with the perennial soccer champs.

“In the past two years they both have been dominant,” Cook said of the Bombers and Lions, “But we have the team I think we can do it this year.”

JHS started the year with 11 consecutive wins as they quickly took to Cook’s attacking style of play. Their first defeat of the year didn’t come until ten days in April during their second meeting of the season with Searcy. The Lions beat an injury-riddled Hurricane squad 4-1. Down the stretch of the season the Hurricane’s list of injuries has sounded a lot like their entire roster, slowing their momentum, but the injuries can’t take away the accomplishments this JHS team has already achieved and the ones that are now within sight in the future.

Chase and Chase

Both of the team’s co-captains this year are juniors for the Hurricane, but Chase Chamberlain and Chase Cook are no strangers to soccer. Both captains have played on the same soccer team for a long time. Way back to the time when Hurricane soccer was just a club sport and even in community leagues before that dating back to the age of five according to both players’ estimates.

Neither captain feels like he has to take a demonstrative role amongst their teammates, however. Simply playing the right way and taking care of their business on the field goes along way in doing the talking for them.

“I don’t really start yelling at people if they do something bad or anything like that, it’s more by example,” Chamberlain shared.

The hard work of both captains as well as the dedicated work of the entire team and the large junior class has made the difference this season according to Cook.

“Not only the teamwork and attitude, but the leadership that our juniors have stepped up and taken over … as long as they keep their heads on right their leadership kind of carries over to the other guys.”

A Passion for Soccer

A former Hurricane star on the soccer field, JHS’ first-year coach was more than excited when the opportunity presented itself to coach his favorite sport at his alma mater.

“Soccer is definitely my biggest passion,” Cook shared. “If I had to choose between any sport I’d definitely pick soccer.”

Cook began coaching at JHS in the fall as part of Randy Coleman’s staff on the JHS football team.

“They put me as an assistant football coach in the fall so I could get coaching experience, luckily I’ve had my Dad who’s been coaching for many years … so he’s helped me out a lot from what he’s learned. I’ve just been trying to carry that over with these guys and so far it’s worked.”

The team’s captains appreciate the energy around the program, sparked by their young head coach.

“He likes to get out there and show us the ropes. He tries to show us what to do, but he doesn’t do it very well,” Chamberlain jokes a couple feet away from his smiling coach.

Chase Cook is Justin’s younger brother and commented on playing for his older brother.

“It’s tough,” Chase says with a deep sigh, then breaks into a laugh revealing his jab at his older brother and coach.

“It’s really a whole family thing,” Justin said.

During his own playing days at JHS, Cook was a talented midfielder while playing for his father. Following high school, Cook went to ASU to get his degree before later being met with the opportunity to return to coach at JHS.

The coach and his two co-captains all strive to get the word out about their favorite sport. They each say it’s the most-exciting sport to watch and firmly believe others will think so too when they give it a chance.

“Even though not many people watch us we put just as much effort as anyone else,” Chase Cook said.

“If you (know what’s going on) it’s one of the most exciting sports to watch because it’s non-stop action,” coach Cook said. “You don’t have to stop to hike a ball, or pitch a ball and watch it go foul and stop. (In soccer) for 45 straight minutes each half you’re going non-stop and there’s always action going on somewhere on the field.”

2010 and Beyond

Big things are on the horizon for the Hurricane in the years to come. Cook talked about just getting adjusted to the new scheme and surroundings this year, yet his team has played like they are seasoned veterans. The team boasts around 20 players, with only four seniors and a heavy complement of juniors giving the team a lot to look forward to in the future.

“This is only the beginning for us,” Cook said. “We’re getting the program installed the way we want things run here. The guys that are young here are going to come back and the success we have this year will hopefully carry over.”

GCT senior pitcher Shea Cothren

The Greene County Tech Lady Eagles softball program has been one on the rise over the last four years, and senior pitcher Shea Cothren has played a big part in her team’s success.

“It all starts with her,” GCT head coach Scott Wright said of his senior pitcher. “When she starts throwing the ball well everyone gets involved and they know they have a chance to win every time out. … Her leadership is being in the circle for us.”

In Control of the Circle

Cothren is producing yet another stellar season for the Lady Eagles this year. The Lady Eagles’ senior is averaging right around 11 strikeouts per game in her senior year, including several dominant performances. Cothren recorded 22 Ks in a double-header sweep of Batesville in late March, a week later in GCT’s double-header sweep over Nettleton, Cothren went the distance in both games allowing just two runs and striking out 16 in the double-header.

“The thing I really like about Shea is that she is a competitor and she wants to win. She cannot stand to lose, which is very nice for a coach,” Wright said. “Not only is she a competitor, but she has a lot of talent to go with it. That’s why we’re winning a lot of games, not to mention the other girls we have make a nice team.”

“Shea has been a contributor since day one as a freshman,” Wright said. “She’s a huge part of the success we have had and she has gotten better every year.”

Last year as a junior, Cothren recorded a total of 238 strikeouts while posting a 18-7 record in a year that her coach said she really came into her own in the circle.

“When I was a freshman I was really timid out here, but I think over the years I’ve just kind of broken out,” Cothren shared. “(Back then) we played against people like Shelby Wise … and I was like ‘oh my goodness, what now?’ But now I just go out there and pitch and play ball and it’s not any different than anything else.”

Meeting her Goals

Cothren has long hoped to someday play at the next level of college softball and now she can count the weeks until that dream becomes a reality. Cothren is on her way to SEMO in the fall to pitch for the Division-I Lady Redhawks.

“I’m very excited. I love the coach and I love the team. I’m just excited to go and play at that next level.”

The GCT senior knows it takes hard work and dedication to accomplish her goals, she’s done it before when it comes to softball.

“My Dad is into all these mental things and he made me write a pitching speed that I wanted to reach on my mirror once,” Cothren shared with a smile. “I wrote it in pink lipstick and I finally reached that goal.”

The pink “65” served as motivation for about the year’s worth of hard work and dedication it took to reach. Cothren’s goal of playing Division-I softball took the same amount of vision.

“When it came to playing Division-I, I told myself that I wasn’t going to settle for anything less,” Cothren said. “I was so relieved and excited when they called me.”

Last November, Cothren became the first player in GCT softball history to sign with a Division-I school, a great moment for her and the GCT program.

“That will always be a special memory for me and I know it’s important to her,” Wright said. “It’s also important to this program that we have somebody go to a Division-I school. That’s important to the girls that are on this team, but it’s also important to the girls in the seventh grade, and the eighth grade and the sixth grade. They’re going to see that we’re running a good program out here and they’ll see that if they come out here and work hard they might have the opportunity to get their college paid for. What a complement to the program.”

Cothren fell in love with the SEMO campus after visiting it last year and she was also very impressed with their medical studies program, a particular interest to Cothren who hopes to be an anesthesiologist once her softball playing days in college come to an end.

Cothren will pitch and play first base for SEMO, after almost exclusively being in the circle the past few years for the Lady Eagles.

“It’s exciting, but I also don’t want to leave these people,” Cothren says of her GCT teammates and sisters. “I don’t want to leave, but hopefully I’ll be able to come back and see them.”

According to Cothren the closeness of this year’s Lady Eagles’ squad is one of the reasons they have their sights set on big things as their season enters the stretch run. Cothren has played with all but just a couple girls on her team since she was eight years old. “We have a really, really good team this year and I feel that our closeness is going to help a lot,” Cothren shared. “We are a lot closer than anyone here has ever been and I know that’s going to pull us through a lot of tough situations.”

Lady Eagles have their eyes on the prize

The determined pitcher commands her team’s attention when she’s in the circle, leading GCT to a 7-1 start to begin the season in the always-difficult 5A-East play, including two victories over perennial front-runner Nettleton and a split with crosstown rival Paragould.

“We made the semifinals last year in the 5A state and we had a bitter taste in our mouth from not going further, so that motivated us,” Wright said. “Our goals on the season (started with) winning the 5A-East, we’ve never done that and this will be our best opportunity to do that.”

The Lady Eagles stood at 13-4-2 overall on the season following their doubleheader split with Paragould in mid-April.

“My freshman year was the first time we went to the state tournament and we did as the four seed,” Cothren remembered. “My sophomore year we were the third seed, my junior year we were the second and hopefully this year we’ll be first. That’s our team goal.”

Wright is in his fifth year leading the Lady Eagles’ softball program. Before Wright’s tenure at GCT the softball program had a revolving door of coaches with seven different head coaches in the eight previous seasons.

“When Coach Wright came here he completely turned the program around,” Cothren shared. “He’s so passionate about the sport and cares about us like were his own kids.”

As the team prepares for the stretch run this year, the Lady Eagles have their eyes set on the state’s biggest prize.

“Our second goal was to get back to the state tournament and ultimately we want to win the whole thing. If that’s not our goal then I don’t think we have the bar raised high enough,” Wright shared. “We’re not just content with making the state tournament anymore, we did that three years ago. Now that we’ve been in it and have a little bit better knowledge on what we’re doing, we want to win the whole thing.”

The GCT team has five seniors on the squad this year including Cothren, just three juniors and a large group of sophomores and freshmen as the team looks like they’ll be a softball threat for years to come in northeast Arkansas and at the state level.

“Hopefully it will continue every year so that when a team sees Greene County Tech on the schedule they’ll know they have to strap it on that day,” Wright said. “That’s where we want to be.”

Howl will celebrate two years of cheering on ASU in September. GF File Photo by Graycen Colbert

In this month’s School Spirit feature we take a look at another aspect of a spirit team, the mascot. No furry character is more recognizable in northeast Arkansas than ASU’s rowdy Red Wolf Howl. This month we check in on a few of Howl’s specific interests and hear from ASU’s Assistant Director of Athletics for Marketing and Promotions, Gleen Hart.

Howl has always had a flair for dramatic entrances. As a young Red Wolf he burst onto the scene and was introduced to the A-State family during the second quarter of ASU’s home football opener against Texas Southern on Sept. 6, 2008. Ever since that moment, Howl has been the face and the fur of ASU sports.

“He’s been a tremendous success, even more than we could ever have expected.” Hart shared. “Howl has increased the positive exposure for the athletic department in the community.”

Howl replaced his predecessor Red, but still carries on much of the same characteristics of the former ASU mascot. Howl is always excited and rowdy on ASU Gamedays, getting fans young and old alike into the spirit of rooting on the home team at ASU Stadium, the Convocation Center, or throughout the community.

“We had Red previously and we worked as a group to play off that and come up with a great character in Howl,” Hart said.

During last season’s home football schedule, Howl took up a new hobby. Motorcycling. The Red Wolf led the ASU football team onto the field before each home game, all while revving the engine of his very own Harley motorcycle.

“We wanted to produce a festive atmosphere leading up to games with Howl and the fans,” Hart said. “Since then it has kind of become a tradition for Howl to do that.”

In addition to his work with ASU athletics, Howl makes various appearances at local schools, birthday parties and community events. Howl and the Red Wolves brand are such a staple of the university its hard to believe it has only been two years since they first arrived.

Howl is so excited about Red Wolves’ athletics that he has his very own Facebook and Myspace pages. Follow the links to find his pages and add him as a friend today to stay in the loop about what’s going on with the rowdiest Red Wolf in town and all of ASU athletics.

“Howl will continue to be an integral part of our athletic department,” Hart said. “He definitely has a bright future ahead here at ASU.”

Jonesboro's Alex Aycock

Jonesboro High School senior Alex Aycock signed her National Letter of Intent Thursday to continue her volleyball career at Division-I Holy Cross outside of Boston.

“I’m thrilled,” Aycock said after the pen had completed its work on her signing day. “It’s been a goal of mine for a long time.”

The decorated senior athlete received 14 varsity letters during her time at JHS while competing in volleyball, basketball, cross country and track. She received All-State honors in volleyball and track, and was named the 2008 6A state tournament MVP for her play in leading the Lady Hurricane to another state volleyball title.

Aycock’s high school coach, Jo Beth Mathis, praised her senior’s dedication and drive to accomplish her goal.

“She’s worked so hard and dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s to make sure to get this opportunity,” Mathis said. “She got to choose where she wanted to go, which a lot of kids don’t get to. Because of her great schoolwork she really gets the best of both worlds, not only getting to play Division-I volleyball, but also to get a great degree.”

Coaches for the Patriot league school first saw Aycock play over a year ago when she was competing on an Arkansas Juniors team in California and ever since they kept up with their freshman-to-be.

“I am excited and really happy,” Aycock shared with a beaming smile. “Boston and the area is really gorgeous and the team and the school is so welcoming. I just couldn’t imagine going anywhere else.”

Aycock said she expects to play at outside hitter at the next level and her high school coach said she expects big things out of her former player in the future.

“She’s always gone from volleyball to basketball to track to cross country and she’s going to be phenomenal when she just concentrates on volleyball…,” Mathis said. “I think she has a whole lot more to blossom.”

The game will feature North and East all-star squads made up of seniors from high schools around the region. The athletes were selected by the head coaches for both sides. Marion head coach Lisa Beasley will lead the East team into play while the North team will be coached by Westside’s Glenda Patterson.

The rosters expanded this year to be able to include more athletes in the game. This year both teams will have 14 players, and the coaching staffs were increased this year as well, adding an extra assistant coach on each side. A total of 15 NEA high schools will be represented in the game.

The game provides one last time for the girls to wear their school’s colors on the volleyball court.

“I’m so excited,” Brookland senior Paige Smith said. “It’s a really great opportunity not just to be able to play for the last time, but to meet new people too and get to play with all these girls that you’ve seen playing on the news. It’s exciting.”

Some of the girls will have their own coach on their team, as Smith and her Lady Bearcat teammate Amber Stolebarger will with Brookland coach Nancy Taylor-Rodriguez serving as one of the assistants on the East team. For others they’ll get to play for coaches they’ve only played against in the past, like Jonesboro’s Alex Aycock and Bethany Gunn who will play on Westside coach Glenda Patterson’s North team.

With the game held at Nettleton’s Raider Gym this year, each of Jonesboro’s four public city schools will have hosted the event.

Admission to the game is $5 per person and all money raised from the event will go to the general operations fund of City Youth Ministries in Jonesboro.

The Rosters

East Team
Jacquia Bell Marion
Shonecia Johnson Marion
Madison Rupard Nettleton
Staci Ho Nettleton
Haleigh Lloyd Valley View
Kalli Marshall Valley View
Paige Smith Brookland
Amber Stolebarger Brookland
Lacy Staten Trumann
Sarah Cooper Trumann
April Sandlin CRA
Katie Howe CRA
Kobi Smith Paragould
Kat Keel Paragould

Coaches: Lisa Beasley, Marion
Nancy Taylor-Rodriquez, Brookland
Matt Mink, Trumann

North Team
Mollie Arnold Westside
Hailey Tate Westside
Kelsy Dement Westside
Kristin Long Harrisburg
Hilary Chappell Harrisburg
Chasity Becker Hoxie
Mallory Russell GCT
Deidre Nedelman GCT
Alex Aycock JHS
Bethany Gunn JHS
Micah Lewis Ridgefield Christian
Rachel Fields Ridgefield Christian
Elise Woods W. Memphis
LaChassity Phillips Wynne

Coaches: Glenda Patterson, Westside
Lauren Baker, Westside
Judy Goodwin, Westside

Paragould's Jessica Greene | Photo by Ashley Helliwell

Jessica Greene has been competitive her entire life. When Greene was in the second grade there was a contest at school to see who would lose the most teeth in a year’s time. As the year came to a close, Greene was in a neck and neck battle with another student. One day to go and they were both tied. Little Jessica knew what she had to do.

“I actually went home and pulled one of my teeth that wasn’t even loose just so I could win,” Greene remembers with a smile. “And I did win.”

The Paragould junior has been competing ever since, and more times than not coming out on top, without the need of pulling teeth.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve always been that competitive,” Greene added.

Several high school athletes play multiple sports. It’s not uncommon to see boys double up between football and basketball or the hardwood and the diamond. Girls often play volleyball and basketball or softball and tennis or basketball and soccer. The combinations are many. What makes Jessica Greene an elite athlete is that she not only plays in three sports for the Lady Rams, but that she is one of the best in the state at all three.

Greene has received All-State honors in softball and volleyball. And she recently completed a successful season on the hardwood and captured an All-State nod there as well after sparked the Lady Rams’ basketball team on both ends of the court. Greene played at both shooting guard and some at the point for the young Lady Rams in 2010 and received all-conference recognition as just a freshman last season with more recognition on the way.

Paragould girls basketball coach Jay Cook spoke highly of Greene’s improved quickness on the floor this year.

“She’s become really good at getting by people and getting into the lane with her quickness,” Cook said. “She’s gone from an athlete who plays basketball to a very good high school basketball player.”

On the volleyball court, Greene received All-State honors while playing the demanding defensive libero position for Angie Donner’s Lady Rams. The position requires Greene to be anywhere the ball might go, even out of bounds.

Jeff Greene has seen his daughter’s all-out competitive aggression up close. Jeff remembers an all-out dive Jessica made out of bounds against Marion to save a point. No matter that it was five feet beyond the court, Jessica was going to get it. It was just another example of the competitive drive inside the Paragould junior.

Playing one sport takes a lot of time. Greene plays three during the school year, also known as, all the time. When school begins in August the Paragould volleyball season is already underway. Within a week of that season coming to a close, Greene has shifted her attention over to the basketball court where she lines up at shooting guard or the point for Coach Cook. When basketball ends in late February the softball season is just a week away too, providing Greene just enough time to change out of her basketball sneakers and don her catcher’s mitt and cleats for another season on the diamond.

“I love them all. Whenever I’d become old enough for a new one I’d join,” Greene said. “Like seventh grade for volleyball and basketball in the fifth grade and softball I’ve been playing since the earliest time you could sign up. I just love them all, it doesn’t matter what sport it is.”

“If they’re keeping score she wants to play,” Cook said.

Greene doesn’t take it easy in the summer either. Such is the schedule of an elite multi-sport high school athlete. Greene traveled all over the United States last summer playing her best sport on an Under 18 Gold softball team. The experience took her to as far off states as California and New York during the cross-country softball experience.

“Every game we were playing people who were going to UCLA or Arizona State,” Greene recounted. “That was probably the best experience I’ve had. That was amazing.”

Those around Paragould athletics speak very highly of their multi-sport star.

“Jessica is a great young lady,” Paragould athletic director Dale Schenk shared. “We are extremely proud to have her, not only in our athletic program, but in our classrooms as well.”

Greene’s coaches heap the accolades upon her, but you won’t hear about any of that from her. Greene is quiet about her own accomplishments while she enjoys the sports she loves.

“She doesn’t toot her horn at all,” Paragould softball coach Bill Schatzley said. “… She’s humble and she comes to play. Most coaches know, those kind are hard to find. I really appreciate the fact that she’s so unselfish. It’s not about her. All she’s trying to do is help her team whether it is volleyball, softball, basketball or whatever. That’s just the way she is.”

Behind the Mask

Photo by Ashley Helliwell

Jessica Greene plays arguably the most demanding position on the softball field…behind the plate.

Greene first took on the job of playing catcher around the time she was 14, and she hasn’t given it up since.

“We didn’t have a catcher and nobody else really wanted to try so they said, ‘just throw Jess back there,’” Greene recounts. “You’re in every single pitch, and I love that.” Greene was starting behind the plate for the Lady Rams from day one as a ninth grader.

“Her experiences helped her come right in and be a vital part of our team as just a freshman,” Schatzley said.

Even though Greene measures up at just over five feet, the competitor is up for any challenge.

“Whenever I first started catching, the girl that I caught for threw it pretty hard and I was little bitty, so I remember the first time that I caught the first pitch it hit me in the chest and knocked me down,” Greene remembered. “I didn’t know how well that was going to go, but you learn.”

Greene is often given the freedom to call a game and dictate what how Paragould’s pitchers attack opposing hitters.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have coaches that have allowed me to call pitches,” Greene said. “That’s a blast.”

“A lot goes into calling a game,” Greene shared. “Most of the time we play girls that I’ve played against for many years in either summer ball or league play, I know what pitches not to throw. Like ‘this girl we shouldn’t throw her a high pitch’ or ‘this girl we shouldn’t throw her anything at all.’ It’s fun to pick and choose. We’ll put it there and see if she can do anything with it.”

“You learn situations and how to lead a team, where to throw the ball. A lot of that gets put on your shoulders because you can see the whole field and nobody else can.”

Greene explained her mindset when she crouches behind the plate.

“You can’t let anything by you because it’s your job to make sure the runners don’t advance,” Greene said. “Anything you can do to pick them off or block the balls or even through calling pitches to make sure the right people don’t get pitches. Anything you can do to keep the runners from advancing or even getting on base to begin with.”

The Lady Rams’ catcher also brings her team a consistent and quick bat in the lineup. Last year Greene tied the school record with 35 hits on the year, hitting .389 as just a sophomore, but ending the season one point shy of the school’s batting record. A fact that she hasn’t forgotten.

“I don’t even know what the record is, but I know I missed it by one point,” Greene admitted. “That is definitely a goal of mine for this season.”

Greene also racked up 35 RBIs last season and swiped 26 stolen bases to lead the team.

Schatzley knew he had a talented and competitive player on his team from Greene’s very first year as a ninth grader. As a freshman Greene didn’t strikeout until some 75 at-bats into the season according to Schatzley. Also during that freshman season playing against Nettleton and former Lady Raider great Shelby Wise, Greene didn’t back down against the star hurler. As a result, two of the three hits Paragould could muster came off Greene’s bat, in a day that the freshman had six quality at-bats during the two teams’ double-header.

“She just competes, and she doesn’t back off,” Schatzley added.

Greene would like to continue her sports career into college. She knows she would like to play at least one sport at that level, but hasn’t ruled out the possibility of playing two. More importantly though for Greene when it comes to a college choice next year is the educational side of the school, as the junior has big plans for her career outside of sports.

Greene wants to be a pediatrician, working with children. It’s something she says that she has wanted to do for a long time.

Greene excels at any sport she picks up. From volleyball, to basketball, to softball. And if teeth-pulling ever becomes sanctioned by the AAA we’re sure she would be a serious threat in that too. For Greene, deciding what her favorite sport is just requires a look at the calendar.

“I love whichever one it’s time for,” Greene said. “As long as it’s competitive I like it.”

Photo by Ashley Helliwell

Marked Tree's Hannah Ghant

Hannah Ghant feels right at home on the mound. The Marked Tree senior is gearing up for her final campaign in Poinsett County after three years of pitching for the Lady Indians.

Ghant burst onto the high school scene as a freshman when she won 20 games and struck out just shy of 300 batters. Her sophomore year she had to battle through a case of mono that limited her success, but Ghant rebounded in her junior campaign to put up stellar numbers again. Ghant finished last season with a record of 17-7 with a 1.84 ERA and 187 strikeouts. The girl with the number one on her jersey also came through at the plate, hitting a crisp .390 and knocking in 27 runs last year.

Now after a summer of playing traveling softball around the country playing in the Amateur Softball Association’s 18 and Under Gold division, the senior is full speed ahead entering her final year on the mound at Marked Tree.

“I competed against some really good teams last summer and I’ve been practicing non-stop since,” Ghant said.

In an area of Northeast Arkansas where the sports attention is often dominated by football and basketball, the Marked Tree softball program has carved out a tradition of excellence. The team heads into 2010 as two-time defending 2A-3 conference champions, and will look to improve upon a mark of 17-7 last season that sent them into the state tournament.

Returning to the state’s biggest softball stage is an ongoing goal for Ghant entering her senior year.
“I want our team to go back to the state tournament this year,” Ghant said. “I think we’ll be strong. We lost some good players last year, but we can replace them.” An added bonus for the Lady Indians this season: the regional tournament will be held at the Marked Tree Sports Complex, just down the road from the high school. This year the team could be on display during the postseason right in their own backyard.

In addition to the experience Ghant has gained playing across the country,  the senior has also worked regularly to hone her game with noted pitching coach Ernie Parker out of Memphis for the past three years.
“I’ve made a lot of progress since I started with him,” Ghant said. “He knows his stuff. He can just look at what the pitch does and instantly tell you what you have done wrong. Without him I would not be where I am now.”

Marked Tree softball coach Waylon Dunn has watched Ghant from the dugout since her first days on the varsity team in the ninth grade. Ghant’s competitiveness shines through on the field. It’s always been quite evident to her coach.

Ghant is pitching in her senior season at Marked Tree for the Indians.

“Hannah is a very out-going, bubbly personality about her, but I’m going to tell you, there’s a beast inside of her when you step into those white lines,” Dunn says with a look of pity for the opposing teams. “It’s like a flipping of a switch. She becomes a different person in the heat of battle as soon as you step into that box, I promise you that.”

“I’ve always been competitive,” Ghant explains with a smile. “I don’t like to lose, so anytime I’m at it I want to make sure I do my best.”

That competitive nature can sometimes get the best of her, but it only is a reflection of just how much she cares and the determination she has to succeed.

“Hannah brings a great enthusiasm to the game,” Dunn said. “Now getting her to control it sometimes is different. She’s harder on her self then I could ever be on her. Sometimes I’ve got to calm her down a bit when she gets frustrated.”

Ghant started playing softball as early as the t-ball level and has been playing fast pitch ever since she was 12. As she’s matured in her game, she’s settled into her role as a leader on the team as well.
“I think Hannah brings a lot of leadership with her experience, playing from the time she was old enough to hold a ball in her hand and playing good competition, that has given her a lot of valuable experience,” Dunn said “…Other kids turn to her for leadership and direction. It’s been nice having that for three years, and now going on four.”

“Over the years I think I have developed more maturity, but I think I’ve always been a leader on the team and every team that I’ve been on,” Ghant said. “Being able to keep everyone under control and make sure that we are all on the same page, keeping that intensity up.”

“Another thing she does is help out the other players during practice or games,” Dunn said. “She’s good about spotting certain things in other teams. We communicate a lot about hitters and how we can attack them, and just helping the other players with their game. Sometimes it’s just with keeping their heads up. She’s hard on herself, but with everyone else she’s great about keeping them focused and helping them not lose their head when something bad happens.”

Ghant’s parents are two of her biggest fans, rooting on their daughter around the country, including a tournament in Colorado this past summer.

“Hannah plays a different level of summer softball than many girls around here,” proud father Marshall Ghant shared. “This past summer we traveled all around the United States playing in very large college exposure tournaments.”

Hannah has several fond memories of past games and performances, especially as her Marked Tree team captured consecutive district titles, and trips to the state tournament as well.

Marshall Ghant has a memory of his own from one of Hannah’s performances last summer on her traveling team in the Amateur Softball Association’s 18 and Under Gold division.
“We played a team in Colorado that was called the Gold Coast Hurricanes and all nine out there were already signed to major colleges,” Marshall Ghant recalled. “Of course they beat us, but they were beating people 15-0 and scores like that. Well, Hannah pitched the last three innings and they didn’t score a run.”
“Except for that one really loud foul ball,” Hannah interjects. “I’m sure it’s still flying!” she adds with a laugh.
“Yes, we were sure glad it was on the outside of that yellow line,” Marshall said.

The high level of competition over the summer has refined and improved Ghant’s game overall.
“I’m just glad I was able to compete at that level with the people who have already signed to real big schools. I was a good feeling,” Ghant said.

The senior makes it clear how much she appreciates the support of her biggest fans: her parents, her coach and her fellow teammates who take the field alongside her for the Lady Indians.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without my team, and my coaches and my parents,” Ghant said. “They’re all real important to me to know that I have all that support.”

Ghant plans to continue her softball career next year at Three Rivers Community College in southeast Missouri. After two years at TRCC, Ghant hopes to be able to transfer to a larger school and take her stellar softball talents with her. Ghant would like to study physical therapy in college, but acknowledged with a smile, “that might change.”

Before that, however, Ghant still has some work to do this season. The first acts in the story have been more than intriguing enough to draw you back for Ghant’s final campaign. You can be sure that whatever way the season goes, Ghant will be giving it her all on the diamond. Being so competitive by nature it will be hard not to.

“Nobody wants to win more than she does, I assure you, and not just winning the game, but winning batter-to-batter,” Dunn shared. “She wants to win that duel, no doubt. Nothing upsets her more than giving up a hit, I promise you. And she’ll just as soon strike you out as a fly out or anything else.”

“Not only is Hannah a very good softball player, and I’m glad she plays for me. But she’s a good kid and a good student,” Dunn said. “I think that’s very important too. For somebody who’s had the accolades she has had, she’s very humble.”

The 2009-2010 Jonesboro High School Cheer Team

The Jonesboro High School Cheerleaders makeup one of the most accomplished cheer teams in all of Northeast Arkansas. Led by Caroline Crawford, the Lady Hurricane Cheer team has won four state titles in Crawford’s 12 years coaching the team, the most recent was during the 2010 class’ sophomore year two years ago.

The 2009-2010 team of 24 girls is led by senior co-captains Jameson Murray and Shan Powell. Both girls began their cheer careers way back in eighth grade and have taken great pride in continuing them through their time at high school.

“You grow up a lot in it,” Murray said of cheerleading. “You have to deal with not only people your age, but when you’re a sophomore you have to learn to respect people who are seniors and juniors at the time, and then when you get to where you are a senior you have to learn to deal with those who haven’t done cheerleading as long as you. It’s just a really big growing experience, and teaches you a lot of how to deal with people.”

Part of the growing experience includes the process of developing into a leadership role as one advances through high school. Both Murray and Powell are strong leaders on their team, a role that both of them embrace whole-heartedly.

“(As a senior captain) what you do has more of an impact (on others) than someone else on the squad,” Murray shared. “You have more of an influence by being a captain on the squad.”
“If I do something, somebody else will probably do it too,” Powell said.

“I think what’s the hardest thing as captains is learning not to please everybody,” Crawford shared. “I think every year my girls that are captains learn that. It’s real hard for your friends to say one thing and to have to do the opposite.”

The Jonesboro cheer team has achieved much on the floor during competitions, as they continue to carry on their tradition of competitive excellence.

JHS finished third overall at the 6A State Championships this year, while placing first in dance and second in the cheer portions of the event. The team also got first place overall at the Arkansas Cheer Classic in Northeast Arkansas.

Months and months of training goes into the team’s competitive programs and yet all their training boils down to just a couple minutes to impress during their competitions.

Crawford called the competitions “nerve-racking” for her girls.
“You have two minutes and thirty seconds to prove yourself and then it’s over with,” Crawford said.

All the hard work often pays off in the end, sometimes it even pays off into State Championships and trips to Nationals, as it did for Jonesboro two years ago. Murray vividly remembers the work that her team put in and what it took to reach the pinnacle.

“My tenth grade year we went to Nationals in Orlando,” Murray remembered. “We practiced for about six months straight, and it was a whole lot of work, but we got to compete and be on television and do our routine out at Disney World. That was a lot of fun and it made all our work worth it.”

In addition to their collective awards this season, the team placed four girls on the All-American list at the Universal Cheer Association competition held at ASU last summer. The girls receiving the recognition for their performances were Murray, Powell, Brooke Yancey, and Hallie Waddell.

Just last month Crawford was selected to coach the East All-Stars at the 2010 AHSCA All-Star competition later this summer. Two members of the Lady Hurricane cheer team will join their coach in the competition, as both Murray and fellow senior Tyler James were selected for the team.

“It’s an honor because my peers and fellow coaches voted for me to do that,” Crawford said.

The team works together extremely well according to Crawford, even though there are so many varied and diverse personalities amongst the 24 girls. When asked about their team’s personalities the answers covered the spectrum.
“We are all little individuals,” Crawford said.
“No two people on the team are alike,” Murray shared.
“We’re goofy,” Powell added with a sigh and a smile.

The competitive season is over, but the constant drive to improve remains with this talented bunch of girls as they cheer on the Hurricane basketball squads.

“I have 24 cheerleaders and they are all very hard workers,” Crawford said. “They spend a lot of time supporting their school, fundraising, competing, and representing Jonesboro High School in every way possible. I think they are good role models and good leaders.”

ASU had a chance to win the game in their last possession as Rashad Allison raced up the floor to the rim following a missed WKU free throw, but his layup attempt was released too late, and it didn’t fall anyway, sending ASU to yet another tough late game loss, this one ending their season.

“I’m proud of our team,” ASU head coach John Brady said. “I’m really proud of what they are developing at our scoool, regardless of a one-point win or one-point loss.”

The Red Wolves held a six-point lead with 2:56 to go in the game, but back-to-back three pointers from WKU’s Anthony Sally and A.J. Slaughter tied the game at 62 with 1:28 left. Moments later Slaughter hit again from deep to put WKU in front 65-62 with just over 25 seconds left.

The scene was reminiscent of the ASU-WKU game at the Convocation Center just a few weeks ago. ASU was leading in overtime in that game, until Slaughter hit two deep three-pointers to steal the game late in overtime. Slaughter’s shots were each from well behind the arch and he made them despite facing a hand in his face on both attempts. The same was true tonight as ASU had him well guarded a few steps behind the arch.

“I was going to try and make him shoot it real deep or give it up and he didn’t give it up,” Brady said. “He just backed up two feet and shot it from there.”

“I didn’t want ot let my team down, or let myself down,” Slaughter said “I just wanted to try my best to put the ball in the basket and it fell for me.”

The talented WKU senior ended the game with 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including five three-pointers.

The Red Wolves answered Slaughter’s shots when WKU was called for a goaltend on the other end of an Martavius Adams’ shot inside, with 7.8 seconds left. On the ensuing possession ASU fouled Slaughter, who missed the front end of the one-and-one, giving Allison the chance to drive the court.

Freshman Brandon Reed and Adams each led ASU with 17 points each on the night. Sophomore guard Daniel Bryant finished with nine points on three shots from deep.

ASU carried a huge rebounding advantage through most of the game, at one point doubling up the Hilltoppers in rebounds at 30-15. WKU stopped some of ASU’s advantage late, but the Red Wolves still finished the game with a plus-13 rebounding advantage, and a 16-7 advantage on the offensive glass. The Red Wolves also shot the ball at a 45.6 percent clip throughout the game, but WKU shot even better, connecting on 49 percent of their attempts.

The first half saw one  run after another  as both teams traded spurts throughout the opening twenty minutes of play. WKU owned the first seven minutes, grabbing a 19-6 lead with 12:59 left in the half, but ASU would quickly answer as Bryant sparked the next eight points for ASU. The sophomore hit back-to-back three pointers, his third attempt in as many trips rimmed out, but Jejaun Brown was there for the rebound and put back to halt the Hilltoppers’ early momentum.

Then later in the half leading 26-21, WKU went on a 9-0 spurt to build their largest lead of the game at 14 and seemingly put the Red Wolves in a bind, but the home-state team had one more run of their own in them before the break. From the 3:23 mark of the half ASU held the Hilltoppers scoreless the rest of the way. Reed scored nine straight points, including back-to-back three-pointers from deep to draw within five, and then the ASU defense produced a turnover which resulted in an Allison layup on the other end with under two seconds to send ASU to the locker room on an 11-0 run and down just three at 35-32.

ASU kept their foot on the gas pedal to start the second half, and scored a quick four points to grab their first lead of the game at 36-35 with 18:33 left. They weren’t done yet though. By the time their spurt was complete ASU had recorded a 30-7 run in the 10 minute span from 3:23 left in first half, through the opening seven minutes of the second frame to build as much as a nine-point lead. Western stayed within range the rest of the way though which kept them in position for their late game charge.

The Red Wolves end the season with a record of 17-14 overall and 11-7 in conference play. The record boasts four more wins than last season’s mark of 13, and with only one active senior this year in Jejuan Brown, ASU has room to get even better in the future.

“I know this offseason we’re going to work real hard,” Reed said. “We’re already thinking about next season.”

“Thy have the pieces to be in the top tier of the league and of course they want to go to the next level,” WKU head coach Ken McDonald said.  “We’re going to have to deal with them in the future, and they’ve done that in a short amount of time. Coach Brady deserves a lot of credit.”

Inside the Box Score

A look inside the box score after the Trojans’ win shows that the numbers were fairly even in most categories, which marked an accomplishment for the Red Wolves after losing to the Trojans twice earlier this year by 26 and 31 points respectively.
“Certainly a much better effort today than the first two times we played them,” ASU head coach Brian Boyer said. “With that being said, unfortunately it’s the same result.”

- At the end of the game the overall assists to turnover ratio for both teams made a difference. The winning Trojans dished out 25 assists to only nine turnovers, while ASU turned the ball over 19 times for the game to only seven assists. “Obviously that’s the killer,” Boyer said. “With their defense … they really wear on you from a guard standpoint … you have to stay incredibly focused for forty minutes not to turn the ball over against them.”

- UALR forced 10 steals on the afternoon.

- UALR leading scorer Chastity Reed had a huge game for the Trojans, finishing with 34 points on 14-of-29 shooting from the field. “I’ve said all year, she’s as good as there is in the country,” Boyer said. “I haven’t seen many players like her. She can get a shot off on anybody at anytime.”

- Shania Hurst led ASU with 20 points on the afternoon on 7-of-16 shooting, while senior Ebonie Jefferson recorded 18 points in her final game as a Red Wolf.

- “We didn’t win today, but there’s a lot of things that we can look back on … I don’t think anyone will hang their head about their performance today,” Boyer said.