The current school year is soon coming to an end, and along with it all the prep spring sports teams are wrapping up their seasons, including the Bulldogs’ and Lady Bulldogs’ track and field teams. The GHS girls and boys competed in two huge annual regional meets in Van Buren and Fort Smith to close out their regular season schedule earlier in April before ending the month with the 5A West conference meet at Farmington and the state meet in Vilonia on Thursday this past week.
GHS Head Coach Jason Gill successfully recruited several new male athletes to his program this season, leading to improved participation and better results in the spring of 2025. Add to that the traditional strength of the Lady Bulldogs’ long distance running squad, and the blue-and-white thinclads have turned in a strong showing this spring.
Pointer Relays
On Thursday, April 17th, seventeen area teams descended on Van Buren for the annual Pointer Relays, and more than two dozen GHS student-athletes participated for Coach Gill and his staff. The Lady Bulldogs had three top three finishes and three additional top ten performances over a dozen events. Likewise, the GHS boys had seven top ten finishes.
In the girls’ 100-meter dash, Greenwood’s Laura Bankuti ran 19th overall while teammate Kristina Andrews placed 33rd. In the 200-meter dash, Daisy Farris crossed the finish line in 20th place, followed by Laura Bankuti (22nd) and Marin Youngblood (36th). The Lady Bulldogs’ best performance of the day was by Hadley Webb, who finished second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02.68. Julie Witherington also had a top five finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:31.77. Camryn Coston and Gracie Goines placed 13th and 21st, respectively.
In the 1600-meter run, Greenwood’s Piper Ames placed 14th while senior teammate Carole Werner finished third in the grueling 3200-meter run with a time of 12:39.52. Meredith Finely finished 10th in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 18.55 seconds, also placing 10th in the 300-meter hurdles (56.19).
The members of the GHS 4x100 meter relay event finished eighth with a time of 58.39 seconds. The 4x800 meter relay squad ran third with a time of 10:55.78. Finally, Greenwood’s Daisy Farris finished 21st in the long jump and Kiera Johnson placed seventh in the pole vault, soaring over the bar at a height of 7’6”.
For the GHS boys, Blaze McDaniel and Tremon Hunt tied for seventh place in the 100-meter dash with identical performances of 11.04 seconds. In the 400-meter dash, Terry Mcginster ran 17th while teammate Yadiel Garcia crossed the finish line in 25th place. In the 800-meter run, Greenwood’s Rhett Williams finished 27th. In the 1600-meter race, two Bulldogs competed, Ridik Lawless and Miles Wead, finishing 19th and 22nd, respectively. In the 3200-meter event, Andrew Rye placed fifth with a solid time of 10:33.57.
In the 110-meter hurdles, the Bulldogs’ Silas Spicer finished in eighth place with a time of 16.83 seconds. Greenwood’s Noah Myers placed 15th in the 300-meter hurdles. The GHS boys also had a top ten finish in the relay events. The 4x800 meter squad placed ninth overall with a time of 9:20.80. In the high jump, Kobe Lewis finished seventh at 5’8”. Three Bulldogs competed in the long jump, led by Tremon Hunt in sixth place (21’10”) with Noah Myers (24th) and Yadiel Garcia (25th). Lastly, Noah Myers finished in 12th place in the triple jump and Rhett Holloway was 12th in the pole vault.
MacDonald’s Relays
A week after their trip to Van Buren, the GHS thinclads took a shorter journey within the confines of Sebastian County at Fort Smith’s Southside High School. The event was the prestigious McDonald’s Relays held annually at Southside’s Jim Rowland Stadium. When the dust had settled and the final gun had sounded, the Lady Bulldogs had six top ten finishes, three in the top five. The GHS boys had seven top ten performances, four of those in the top five.
Among the ladies, Greenwood’s Laura Bankuti placed 25th in the 100-meter dash and Hadley Webb finished ninth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02.92. Three GHS girls competed in the 800-meter run with Julia Witherington earning fifth place points with a time of 2:29.58. Teammates Camryn Coston and Gracie Goines placed 13th and 24th, respectively. Piper Ames ran 12th in the 1600-meter run and Carole Werner finished eighth in the 3200-meter run.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Meredith Finely finished 15th and Mazzy Van Lare ran 17th. The same two Lady Bulldogs, Finely and Van Lare, placed 10th and 11th, respectively, in the 300-meter hurdles. The GHS 4x100 relay team ran 10th (55.61) and the 4x200 squad turned in a solid performance, finishing fourth (1:54.01) overall in a field of two dozen teams or more.
In the triple jump, senior multi-sport athlete Pate Jones placed 11th while teammate Kiera Johnson finished ninth in the pole vault with a leap of seven feet six inches. In the discus throw, Greenwood’s Belia Myers placed third with an outstanding toss of 104 feet seven inches. Sarah Permenter placed 19th in the same event. Permenter also finished 16th in the shot put.
For the Bulldogs, their first top ten finish came in the 100-meter dash. Tremon Hunt placed fourth with a time of 11.20 seconds and Blaze McDaniel ran tenth with a time of 11.52 seconds. In the 1600-meter run, Andrew Rye ran 22nd. In the 110-meter hurdles, Silas Spicer placed 14th. Greenwood then got four top ten performances from their relay teams, led by the 4x100-meter squad’s third place finish with a time of 45 seconds flat. The 4x200 meter team ran fifth (1:33.31), the 4x400 meter quartet placed eighth (3:54.47), and the 4x800 squad ran seventh (9:17.13).
In the high jump, Greenwood’s Easton Carter placed fifth with a leap of five feet ten 10 inches. Tremon Hunt was 11th in the long jump while teammates Braxton Canada and D.J. Dobbins placed 14th and 21st, respectively. Dobbins then finished 11th in the triple jump.
5A West conference meet
The GHS ladies had a dozen top ten finishes at Farmington on April 28th in the league’s postseason track and field meet, including four top five performances and two first place finishes. The GHS boys had 18 top ten performances, including three top five finishes. More than forty Greenwood student-athletes made the trip northward to Farmington.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Kristina Andrews finished 24th in the 100-meter dash and Laura Bankuti placed 14th in the 200-meter dash. Hadley Webb ran second in the 400-meter dash with an outstanding time of 1:03.63. In the distance events, three GHS ladies competed in the 800-meter run, led by Julia Witherington’s first-place finish and a time of 2:30.51. Teammates Camryn Coston ran ninth (2:47.34) and Gracie Goines 13th. Greenwood’s Piper Ames was also 13th in the 1600-meter run.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Mazzy Van Lare placed sixth for the Lady Bulldogs with a time of 17.71 seconds. Meredith Finely finished tenth with a time of 18.61 seconds. In the 300-meter hurdles, Finely placed 11th with Van Lare right behind in 12th place. Van Lare also competed in the long jump, coming in ninth with a leap of 15 feet even. In the triple jump, Greenwood’s Pate Jones finished in tenth place with a leap of 32 feet five inches.
The Lady Bulldogs excelled in their three team relay events, with a first-place finish and fifth and sixth place performances. The 4x100 meter squad came in sixth with a time of 55.77 seconds. The 4x200 meter team posted a fifth-place time of 1:54.86. But the Lady Bulldogs’ best score came in the 4x800 meter relay with a winning time of 10:36.56.
Kiera Johnson placed sixth in the pole vault for Greenwood at eight feet even. In the discus throw, Bella Myers placed third for the Lady Bulldogs with a toss of 103 feet even. Sarah Permenter was 15th and Kylah Robinson was 19th overall. In the shot put, Permenter placed seventh at 30 feet even while Robinson placed 13th.
For the GHS boys, Tremon Hunt ran fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.10 seconds. Fellow Bulldog Burroughs Wolfgang placed 16th in the same event. Hunt and Wolfgang also competed in the 200-meter dash, along with teammate D.J. Dobbins, placing sixth (22.68 seconds), 13th, and 15th, respectively.
In the 400-meter dash, Colton Lacy ran ninth for the Bulldogs with a time of 55.61 seconds. Freshman Braxton Canada placed 11th, Terry Mcginister 19th, and Jace Brown 22nd. In the 800-meter run Rhett Williams finished in 13th place and Ridik Lawless ran 21st. In the 1600-meter run, Greenwood’s Andrew Rye placed sixth with a time of 4:54.37. Ridik Lawless placed 14th. Rye scored points again in the 3200-meter run with a seventh-place finish and a time of 10:40.59.
In the 110-meter hurdles, Silas Spicer also placed seventh with a time of 16.95 seconds. D.J. Dobbins placed 11th. In the 300-meter hurdles, Spicer ran eighth with a time of 45.23 seconds. Noah Myers placed 11th and Yadiel Garcia finished 15th. Two of the four GHS relay teams scored points for the Bulldogs, including the 4x100 meter squad (fourth, 44.56 seconds) and the 4x800 meter team (sixth, 9:17.88). The 4x200 meter quartet ran seventh (1:40.46) and the 4x400 meter team placed eighth (3:47.19).
One of Greenwood’s top performers on the day was Easton Carter, who finished second in the high jump, clearing the bar at six feet two inches. Teammate Gavin Vonderheide also scored points in sixth place at five feet ten inches. In the long jump, Tremon Hunt returned for a seventh place finish at 19 feet 11 inches. Braxton Canada was 8th at 19 feet 10¼ inches. D.J. Dobbins finished 10th at 19’ ¼”. Yadiel Garcia finished in 20th place.
In the triple jump, Dobbins placed seventh with a leap of 40 feet six inches. Noah Myers was 14th in the same event. Rhett Holloway placed tenth in the pole vault, soaring over the bar at nine feet six inches. Brady Perminter placed 23rd in the discus throw while three Bulldogs competed in the shot put. Brock Shepard placed 20th, Cody Johnson 21st, and Carlie Hudnall 22nd.
5A state meet
Greenwood’s qualifying performers finished among the top five in two events at the 5A state track and field meet held at Vilonia High School last Thursday. They also had a sixth-place finish, two 11th place performers, and a 13th place finish. about a dozen GHS team members made the trip to Central Arkansas with Coach Jason Gill and members of his staff.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Julie Witherington came in fifth overall in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:29.22. The 4x800 meter relay squad also ran fifth with a time of 10:21.92. Greenwood’s Bella Myers finished 11th overall in the discus throw with a heave of 101 feet five inches. Finally, Hadley Webb ran 13th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02.73. For the Bulldogs, the 4x100 meter relay team placed sixth with a time of 43.18 seconds, and GHS high jumper Easton Carter placed 11th with a leap of six feet even.