Mansfield School District

And, then there were two. 

As the monthly pages of the Mansfield athletic calendar turned, it came down to two final competitors to wrap up the school year. Senior Laney Wood, who graduated on May 19, and sophomore Danielle Lowery each suited up for the final contest of the 2024-25 school year. The pair of Lady Tiger track athletes headed to the hills of Fayetteville for the AAA’s state heptathlon.

It was May 21 and 22, the last two days of school when most Mansfield students had either already left for the summer break or were wrapping up finals. Yet, this final pair of Tiger track athletes stayed in competition mode to represent MHS in the exclusive two day track and field speciality event.

According to John Mackey, Mansfield’s former head coach who temporarily came out of retirement to coach the 2025 season; the girls did themselves and the school proud.

“If you want the short version, they didn’t win,” said Mackey with a sly grin on his face. “That’s only happened a couple of times in our school history. But, if you want to know how well they did, I’d have to say I was elated with their performance. 

"These two days are very technical and quite grueling. Both girls gave a good account of themselves. I really think they reminded people that we still grow track talent down here in Mansfield, Arkansas.”

Wood and Lowery, Mansfield’s top two track scorers throughout the recently ended season, finished 29th and 31st respectively among an accomplished set of 70 track athletes from across the state. 

Wood finished with 3,043 total points over the two day, seven event session. On the positive, it was 257 points higher than her projected outcome submitted prior to the meet for seeded purposes. It was also 560 points above her 2023 finish in which she got to compete against her senior sister, Jadelynn.

Lowery followed closely with 3,005 points. Only one player separated the Lady Tiger teammates as the first time heptathlete finished 221 points above her projected ending.

“You know it’s tough learning some new events that aren’t normally on a player’s regular season track routine,” offered Mansfield’s long time coach that was attending his twenty-second heptathlon. “I thought our kids did well in just a few short practices. We really don’t work on some of those things until after the state championship.”

Lowery, a player the coach said is typically harder on herself than he is with her, wasn’t completely satisfied with her personal performance.

“I could have done better,” said Lowery in a self-deprecating manner to which she often uses to coax better performances from herself. “It was nerve-racking being my first time. I hope for the future I’ll be able to go again and represent Mansfield better.”

“Danielle did well for a tenth grader,” noted the coach. “Don’t let her fool you. She had the third highest discus throw, fifth best shot put, and tied for the sixth best high jump. She learned four new events out of the seven, and did a terrific job.

“This type of atmosphere is going to just make her better. It will give her more confidence as she competes in those big moments going forward over the next two years.”

Statistically speaking, Wood did fantastic as well. Mansfield’s track player of the year and the 3A-4 District medalist set personal records in four of the seven heptathlon events. The senior spun the discus 24.21m (79’ 5”) for 354 points. She turned the 200m corner race in 29.10 for 547 points. She rose in the high jump, in only her second such opportunity, over 1.45m (4’ 9”) for 566 points. Then, she pushed the pace in the 800m run, her last ever in high school, with a new personal time of 2:49.36.

“Laney went out the way a senior should,” exclaimed her head coach proudly. “There were some rough spots as she was a little more emotional than normal knowing this was the end. All in all, I think she was satisfied with her performance. 

“She was physically hurting by the end of the season. However, Laney wasn’t one to shy away from the task at hand. She gave all she had as a Lady Tiger track athlete, and she was proud to be the captain.”

As the team captain, Wood was charged with caring for the team’s ‘golden baton’. The golden baton, as the girls within the program have come to rely on its power, was one of the championship batons the award winning, eight time (indoor plus outdoor) state champions from the class of 2010 ran with back in the day. Although there were no relays at the state heptathlon, a strictly individual competition, Wood still carried the mystic stick to the meet.

After the heptathlon’s day one, Mackey reminded the senior she would have to give up the gold for future generations. Wanting to carry out her sacred duties until the very end, the senior simply said, ”Can I keep it until the last day?”

“Track meant everything to Laney,” explained Mackey. “This was her safe place. She loved it so much.

“When the last race was over, she began to cry inconsolably. I asked her if she was crying because she was hurt or because it was over? She said ’both’!

“Not many track athletes make it to their senior year. She invested six full seasons into the sport and wanted to make it last as long as possible. To finish her last race at the top of her game, even though hurting, reminded us all just how passionate and proud she was to represent Mansfield track.”