Here’s a glimpse at recent achievements from students of the Batesville School District:
The Batesville Girl’s Bowling team finished in 1st place at the High School Bowling Bakers Tournament in Jonesboro on Jan. 18. They ended with a score of 1097 over second place Valley View with 1090.
Pictured above (left to right): Tamara Deutsch, Sophia Strain, Emma Robbins, Coach Sheila Phillips, Kali Combs, Alexis Lane, Caelyn Lane, and Coach Samantha Hogan.
***
The Pioneers Special Olympics team attended the Area 16 Basketball Skills and Drills hosted by Heber Springs School District on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023.
Basketball Skills that were judged: Target Pass, Hot Shot, and 10-meter dribble.
Batesville High School Charter students that competed:
Jackalyn Nash: 5th place female 16-21
Kia Fike: 4th place female 16-21
Gabe Rawls: 4th place males 16-21
Landon Long: Bronze males 16-21
Garner Killion: Silver males 16-21
Beau Davis: Bronze males 16-21
Darent Hernandez Vasquez: Bronze males 16-21
Other schools attending: BJHSC, Southside, Heber Springs, Mountain View, Cleburne County Community School, Timbo, Midland, Cedar Ridge, Concord, and Westside Greers Ferry.
***
The Pioneer Swim team continued their efforts towards the postseason. The Pioneers claimed another first-place finish with 504 points at the recent Pocahontas January Invite, while the Lady Pioneers finished fourth with 146 points.
The Pioneers were led by Sam Smith (Fr.), Ethan Insell (So.), and Dewey Rodgers (So.), as all three provided the Pioneers with 37 points each.
Both Kate Gunter (Sr.) and Penelope Nelms (Jr.) provided the top points for the Lady Pioneers, earning 14 points.
Several swimmers had top performances despite going from a yard to a meter pool. Ethan Byler (Jr.) finished first in the 200 Meter Individual Medley with a time of 2:35.56, dropping almost 10 seconds from his seeded time. Fellow teammate, Dewey Rodgers, finished first in the 50 Meter Freestyle with a time of 25.14.
Finally, Sam Smith, with a time of 1:09.70, took first place in the 100 Meter Backstroke.
The Girls’ 200 Meter Free Relay team of Parker Coggins (So.), Kendall Box (Sr.), Nelms, and Gunter finished with a time of 2:16.89, which resulted in a fourth-place finish and a two-second drop on their time.
Next up will be the Russellville Invite on Feb. 2.
“This will be our last chance to swim at Russellville before returning for the 5A State Meet. It will let the kids become familiar with the pool conditions one last time,” said Assistant Swim Coach Khang Nguyen.
***
The Batesville Pioneer Wrestling Team recently participated in the Pulaski Academy Bruin Wrestling Invitational.
SR. Justin Shaw (pictured above, right) – 120 lbs, 1st place, 26.0 pts
SR. Troy Stapleton (center) – 165 lbs, 2nd place, 19.5 pts
SR. Garrett Rice (left) – 138 lbs, 3rd place, 16.0 pts
Both Troy Stapleton and Justin Shaw are ranked 3rd in state for their respective weight classes and are expected to perform very well for the rest of the season.
The next wrestling match will be at Searcy tonight. Weigh-ins start at 4 p.m., and matches begin at 5 p.m.
***
The BHSC Beta Club attended the State Beta Convention in Hot Springs last week, with 13 students participating in various academic, performance, and service competitions, and of those students, several placed and are brought home awards.
Some of the BHSC Beta Club members placing in competitions included:
Mimi Ho — 5th in the 12th grade Science Academic Test.
Clara Nikkel — 5th in the 11th grade Language Arts Academic Test.
Kailan Thomas — 3rd in Division 1 of Recyclable Art.
Fia Cole, Moriah Beyer, and Mimi Ho — 3rd in the Performance Arts: Solo, Duo, Trio Instrumental Division.
Dylan Story, Alexander Tenace, Daniel Latus, and Clara Nikkel made the Top 8 in Quiz Bowl.
Emily Price and Penelope Nelms also placed 4th in the Service Learning Showcase.
Images provided by Batesville School District
Have a news tip or event to promote? Email White River Now at news@whiterivernow.com. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to download the White River Now mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Get up-to-date local and regional news/weather every weekday morning and afternoon from the First Community Bank Newsroom on Arkansas 103.3 KWOZ. White River Now updates are also aired weekday mornings on 93 KZLE, Outlaw 106.5, and Your FM 99.5.
