Airedale soccer teams begin 5A-West schedule at Harrison
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
Veteran Alma soccer coach Cory Sturdivant believes his program has made huge strides over the last couple of years
A win at Harrison Friday would certainly give the team a shot in the arm.
“We feel like we’ve gotten off to a good start scoring-wise,'' Studivant said. “Matt (McCarver) is our leading scorer, and Carlos (Gonzalez) and Elliot (Recinos) are not too far behind him, which makes us a little more multi-dimensional.”
McCarver pulled off the hat trick in Alma’s win over Prairie Grove last month.
The Airedales (2-3) opened the season with two wins in their first three games, one more win than the team had all of 2023.
Scoring is up, too. Except for the team’s lone win in 2023, a 6-5 victory over Sallisaw, Alma managed just 10 goals in its over 17 games.
This season, the Airedales have already scored 18 goals and are averaging 3.3 goals per game.
“Right now, your top two teams going into the season are going to be Russellville and Van Buren,” Sturdivant said. “I think Van Buren played well against Bentonville West the other night, and Russellville knocked off the deafening 6A state champion Conway, so you know both of them are going to be good. But as far as the rest of them, you feel like we’re going to be in the mix. We’re going to be in there with Harrison, Greenwood, Siloam, Mountain Home … it’s just going to depend on how things pan out for us.”
BASKETBALL
Isreal Towns-Robinson started talking 'coach speak' in the days before Alma's 5A-West opener with Harrison back on the first Saturday of January.
True to form, he didn't break character until the Airedales had clinched the school's first-ever 13-win conference record.
Along the way, he led by example, averaging 16 points and pulling down 12 rebounds to earn the league's Player of the Year honors. Towns-Robinson led Alma to its first 20-win season since 2013 and helped the Airedales win a first-round playoff game for the first time since 2015.
Towns-Robinson and Easton Boggs were named all-state selections.
Camden Curd, Tyree McGill, Miles Kendrick, and Carmani Smith were named all-conference.
Third-year coach Dominic Lincoln was named the 5A-West Coach of the Year.
Alma twins Jordan and Jaden Gramlich were both named to the All-Conference team, coach Chanlee Bottoms announced.
TRACK
Alma freshmen Brycen Lester and Dylan Jackson set the tone at Tuesday’s Alma Junior Relays at Tom McMurray Track.
Lester won the boys 110 intermediate hurdles with a time of 18:36. Lester anchored Alma’s 4x200 relay team with a third-place finish (1:45.10). The group included Jeremiah Whitaker, Chase Parker, and Luke Stogsdill.
Jackson was second (45.86) in the 300 IM hurdles, and he placed second (24.33) in the 200 meters. Jackson helped Alma’s 4X800 relay team to a third-place finish. The group included Grady Farmer, Josiah Stallings, and Izaac Plourde.
Jackson was fourth (17-2) in the long jump and seventh in the 100 meters.
Alma's 4X100 relay team (Plourde, Stogsdill, Chase Parker, and Daniel Rodriguez) finished third (48.43). Farmer was fourth in the 400 (59.27) and fourth in the triple jump.
Farmer, Stallings, Parker, and Carson Curd helped pace Alma’s 4x800 relay team to a fifth-place finish (10:01.70).
Plourde was fourth in the 100 meters and eighth in the long jump. Stogsdill was seventh in the high jump, Parker placed eighth in the triple jump, and Colton Nutt was fifth in the shot put.
Alma’s Julia McAlister was second (34-10) in the girls’ shot put.
The Lady Airedales’ Tori Muszanski was third (1:05.98) in the 400 meters. Muszanski, Ragan Shepherd, Rebecca Gillingham, and Kendiee Bovee finished sixth in the 4X800 relay.
Faith Sartor was fourth in the shot put and Mallory Holcombe placed seventh in the 100 meters.
SOFTBALL
The Alma Lady Airedales’ softball team dropped a 13-0 decision to Clarksville Tuesday, falling to 0-4 for the season.
Alma was scheduled to travel to Rogers Friday and open 5A-West play March 12 at Harrison.
The Lady Airedales’ junior varsity team earned a 9-2 victory.