Westside earns win at Cabot

CABOT — Defending Class 4A state champion Westside warmed up for the upcoming state tournament it will host by defeating Class 7A Cabot 25-13, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16 in high school volleyball on Thursday.
For Westside (26-2), Mollie Arnold had 23 kills and 11 blocks, while Taylor Britton added 37 assists and 14 digs. Kelsy Dement was 16-of-16 serving, and Madison Morgan had 15 kills and seven blocks. Kristen Castleberry was 22-of-22 from the service line, while Hailey Tate had 40 digs. Whitney Owens added eight blocks.
Westside will open state tournament play at 2 p.m. Tuesday against Arkadelphia at Warrior Gym.

GCT sweeps past Brookland

BROOKLAND — Greene County Tech won its final tune-up for the Class 5A state touranment, posting a 25-17, 25-18, 25-15 victory over Brookland on Thursday.
Ajax Simpson had seven kills for Brookland, while Taylor Wilson added a team-high seven digs. Katie Stotts dished out nine assists and Erica Simpson served three aces. Jade Stevens added four blocks.
The third-seeded Lady Eagles will face second-seeded North Pulaski at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Wynne. Brookland will begin defense of its state title at 4 p.m. against Lutheran in the Class 3A tournament in Harrison.

Smith’s condition encouraging

FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino says he’s encouraged by running back Michael Smith’s performance in practice as he recovers from a concussion suffered in last weekend’s game at Kentucky.
But Petrino stopped short Thursday of saying Smith would see action in this weekend’s game against Mississippi.
Arkansas plays the Rebels at Fayetteville on Saturday, and Petrino said the team was, overall, “in pretty good shape, health-wise.” He said Thursday’s practice session was a good one.
“Michael Smith came out, worked hard, probably took about 65 percent of the reps, ran the ball, caught the ball and did some pass protection,” Petrino said. “We’ll just have to see what the next 24 hours brings, but I’m very encouraged by that.”
Petrino said other players who had suffered injuries had also returned to practice, including defensive lineman Ernest Mitchell, out since late September with a knee injury, and Jamar Love, who had surgery on a thumb.
“Ernest Mitchell is back to full speed, we’ll get some reps out of him during the game,” Petrino said. “Jamar (Love) practiced yesterday and today and he’s kind of wait and see. He’ll probably dress and be ready for the game.”
Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 6 p.m. in Razorback Stadium.

Arkansas sets up pig fund

FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — University of Arkansas officials want the Razorbacks’ official live mascot, a large, hairy pig named Tusk II, to show up at more sporting events, and they’re asking fans to donate money to make that possible.
Tusk lives on the Stokes family farm in Dardanelle, and makes a 2-hour trek up to northwest Arkansas for every Razorback football game, according to a news release from the Arkansas athletic department.
A “Tusk Fund” has been set up to help pay for more such trips, the release said.
“The establishment of the Tusk Fund could allow ... Tusk II, to attend more Razorback events such as basketball, soccer, baseball and many more of Arkansas 19 intercollegiate sporting events,” the release said.
Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long said the Tusk Fund was a voluntary way for fans to help support the live mascot program.
“Our live mascot is an integral part of our tradition and serves as a great source of pride for Razorbacks everywhere,” Long said.
The news release said contributions to the Tusk Fund may be made anywhere Tusk II appears, starting this weekend at the Ole Miss football game at Fayetteville, or through the Razorback Foundation.

Four from area in Nike Cup

HOT SPRINGS — Four area players will compete in the 2008 Nike Cup Matches on Saturday and Sunday at Hot Springs Country Club.
The Nike Cup matches the best 12 amateurs and four seniors representing the Arkansas State Golf Association against the best 12 professionals and four best senior professionals representing the Arkansas PGA Chapter.
Will Little of Jonesboro, Bruce Dickey of Paragould and Ron Mangold of Pocahontas will represent the amateur team, while Jonesboro Country Club’s Lee Brun will play for the professional team.
The teams will play 4-ball matches on Saturday and foursome matches on Sunday in a Ryder Cup-style format.

Trumann man fires hole-in-one

TRUMANN — Randy Bolin of Trumann used a 6-iron to ace the 175-yard No. 2 hole at Trumann Country Club on Tuesday.
The hole-in-one, Bolin’s first-ever, was witnessed by Steve Horn and Brandon Murrell.

Black Rock boys, girls win

MONETTE — The Black Rock senior high boys’ and girls’ basketball teams each recorded victories in the Joe V. Jones Classic at Buffalo Island Central’s Mustang Athletic Complex on Thursday.
The senior boys’ team defeated MARMADUKE 71-58 and was paced by Trent Morlidge with 20 points. In the senior girls’ game Black Rock defeated Turrell 60-44 and was led by Ashley Stallings’ 17 points.
In other action the BIC senior girls’ team beat Sloan-Hendrix 55-45.

Mammoth Spring whips Timbo

NORFORK — Seth Godwin scored 31 points, dished out six assists and had six steals to lead Mammoth Spring to a 73-54 rout of Timbo in senior boys’ basketball on Tuesday.
Wes Davis added 14 points, Trevor Vincent scored 12 points and Caleb Brown had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Bears (1-1).

Correction |

In Monday’s story about the Harvest Cup soccer tournament at Joe Mack Campbell Park, the runner-up in the U-13 girls’ division was incorrectly identified. Maumelle Dragonflies defeated GT United 96 out of Germantown, Tenn., 1-0. The article stated Maumelle defeated the Lady Lobos out of Collierville, Tenn.
The Sun endeavors to make all stories accurate. However, in the event that an error of significance occurs, we will make a correction promptly. Call the writer of the story, the editor of the page where the story appeared or Managing Editor Maria Flora at 935-5525, 1-800-237-5341 outside the Jonesboro area.