Author: Bradley Linam
BENTONVILLE COACHES LINDSEY DAVIS AND KENT EARLY TOGETHER REPRESENT TWO DECADES OF EXCELLENCE IN COACHING AND MENTORING IN MULTIPLE SPORTS. BY BRADLEY LINAM | PHOTOS BY MARK STRICKLAND PHOTOS For the Bentonville High School athletic department success is customary. While it is not easy, their success is due to hard work, determination, committed athletes and parents – and some superior coaching. Bentonville has seen success in almost every sport in the last couple of decades. They have achieved multiple state championships in football, golf, cross-country, baseball, softball, tennis and many other sports. Since 2000 the program has achieved 130 state…
Standout underclassmen Layne Taylor & Jenna Lawrence are on quests for breakout seasons on the basketball court for Farmington High School. BY BRADLEY LINAM | PHOTOS BY MARK STRICKLAND PHOTOS JENNA LAWRENCE #23 As a newcomer to the Farmington Lady Cardinals, standout 6’3” junior Jenna Lawrence felt like she truly belonged here right away. Already committed to the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team, Jenna is excited about her next two years at Farmington, and she stresses that, “I’ve transitioned very well. I moved here from Melbourne, which has only one stop light. “The day I moved here…
BY BRADLEY LINAM | PHOTO BY MARK STRICKLAND PHOTOS Skylur Lewis and Archer Jones have both been wrestling competitively since they were very young. They’ve both had plenty of success along the way as they won state championships as freshmen in their respective weight classes last season. Before Skylur began attending Rogers Heritage and Archer began attending Springdale Har-Ber, they attended the School of Innovation at the same time. Girl’s high school wrestling in Arkansas is gaining momentum every year. Three more high school seasons for both of these phenomenal wrestlers will allow them to continue their dominance in Northwest…
BY BRADLEY LINAM | PHOTOS BY MARK STRICKLAND PHOTOS Addison Wicklund has been swimming competitively since the age of seven. Her older brother and sister have also been swimming since a young age. The entire family has been a constant source of encouragement through the years for the freshman standout swimmer from Rogers. Addison won the state championship earlier this year in the 100-yard butterfly at the 2021 6A Girls State Swimming Championships. She’s already one of the top swimmers in the state of Arkansas and has a lot of time left in her high school career. We asked Addison…
BY BRADLEY LINAM | PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS ATHLETICS Sophomore guard Sasha Goforth returns to her hometown after a short stint at Oregon State where she had a standout season her freshman year. She is excited to be back home in Fayetteville and looks to contribute heavily to Head Coach Mike Neighbors’ Arkansas Lady Razorbacks basketball team this year. Q&A: The Varsity Report: What is your favorite high school basketball memory? Goforth: Playing as a freshman and winning that state championship game was surreal. It was the best day of my life. It’s truly one of the best…
ISAIAH SATEGNA Highly recruited Fayetteville Wide Receiver and speedster Isaiah Sategna led the Bulldogs receiving corps last year with 814 yards receiving. Sategna is a standout at both football and track and has received scholarship offers from almost 30 schools including Texas A&M, Arkansas, LSU, USC, Oregon, Auburn and Baylor, just to name a few. Sategna recently committed to play football and run track for the Oregon Ducks after having previously committed to the Texas A&M Aggies. However, before he begins that journey at the next level, he has some unfinished business at Fayetteville. “Our main goal is to always…
After just a few minutes into our interview with Rhett South, it is apparent that he has a love for the game of golf and also the great outdoors. The Farmington Cardinal golf stand-out hit his first golf ball at the age of three, according to his mother. Rhett stopped playing baseball at the age of 10, putting his entire focus on his golf game. Apparently, that decision paid off for him as he says, “I haven’t looked back since.” That focus on one sport led to many successes on the course and ultimately the chance to compete beyond high…
GAME CHANGER WITH KEITH KILGORE BY BRADLEY LINAM | PHOTO BY MARK STRICKLAND PHOTOS Being an athletic administrator requires long hours, lots of organization and the ability to make tough decisions in a sometimes thankless occupation. The start of the pandemic made the role of athletic director harder than ever before. 2020 was a year that changed the course of high school athletics in the state of Arkansas and will not soon be forgotten. In August of 2020, athletic directors had a monumental task at hand in order to get student-athletes back in competition– safely. This took buy-in from coaches…
UNBREAKABLE BOND Tiger Pride Runs Deep for Alpe & Wright Families BY BRADLEY LINAM | PHOTO BY MARK STRICKLAND PHOTOS Arkansas roots run deep for the Wright family of Bentonville, Arkansas. Robin Alpe Wright grew up in Bentonville and graduated in 1994 from Bentonville High School where she played basketball and slow pitch softball. Wright’s husband, Dan Wright, grew up in Batesville, Arkansas and came to the University of Arkansas and played for legendary Arkansas baseball coach Norm DeBriyn from 1997 to 1999. Dan pitched in the major leagues for the Chicago White Sox and is now a Major League…