Arkansas
Arkansas Wins Afternoon Semifinal, Rack Up Four Regional Titles
The No. 9 Gymbacks started their regionals weekend on a strong note on Friday as they placed first in the afternoon semifinal and saw two athletes earn a total of four individual regional titles.
Arkansas’ score of 197.175 was good to punch a ticket to Sunday’s regional final, the Gymbacks’ third straight appearance in the round of 16. Arkansas ultimately placed second among the eight teams across both semifinals and were one of just two 197+ marks on the day. The Gymbacks had the top scores of their session on bars (49.375) and beam (49.150) along with taking the top spot of the afternoon.
The day was highlighted by a big all-around performances from Morgan Price and Joscelyn Roberson. Price scored 9.900+ on three of four events and totaled 39.575 on the day, which held on to win her the regional all-around title, Arkansas’ first since 2018. Her 9.950 on vault was good for a four-way tie for first, also Arkansas’ first individual champion on the event since 2018. Price’s top finishes of the day were rounded out with third overall on bars and floor.
Roberson delivered her trademark consistency on beam and earned her ninth 9.950 score on the event this season, which earned her the regional crown outright. She is one of just two Gymbacks to score a 9.950 on beam at regionals, the first regional beam crown for Arkansas since 2009, and only the second ever. Her 9.925 on floor came in a three-way tie for first on the event for her second title of the day. Roberson compiled an all-around total of 39.425, which placed her in fourth overall.
Price and Roberson’s combined four titles are the most in a regional ever for Arkansas, and most since 2013.
Floor
Arkansas opened the day on floor. Hailey Klein and Leah Smith earned 9.850 scores in the first and third positions, and Allison Cucci went second with a 9.825. Scores went up from there, as Morgan Price earned a season high 9.900 up fourth for the Gymbacks. She was followed by her sister, Frankie, who scored 9.875. Roberson closed the rotation with a 9.925, which brought the team’s event score to 49.400.
Vault
Smith continued the strong start to her day with a stuck Yurchenko full that went 9.900 in the lead-off spot on vault for Arkansas. Following a 9.700 from Roberson, Klein scored 9.800 midway through the vault rotation. Lauren Williams earned a 9.775 next, and brought up Morgan Price in fifth. She put down a spectacular vault that scored 9.950, giving the Gymbacks some momentum. Cucci went 9.825 in the anchor spot and Arkansas concluded vault with a 49.250 score.
Bars
Bars began big for the Gymbacks with Roberson leading off with a 9.850 and Klein and Smith following with a pair of 9.875s. Freshmen Cucci and Avalon Campbell earned marks of 9.850 and 9.800, respectively, to keep Arkansas in a good spot. Morgan Price delivered a great routine in the sixth position that went 9.925, and the Gymbacks tallied a total of 49.375 on bars.
Beam
Arkansas closed out the meet on beam and got a nice start from lead-off Priscilla Park. She stuck her dismount and scored a 9.850 for the Gymbacks. Klein went next and delivered a 9.800 to cap her all-around day. After a 9.650 from Weaver, Cucci began to build the scores again with a 9.750. Morgan Price kept it going with a 9.800 that only featured movement on the dismount, and Roberson was next at anchor. Once again, she was nearly flawless and put a bow on the rotation with a 9.950. Arkansas’ final beam score was 49.150.
Up Next
The Gymbacks will face off with No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 8 Missouri and Ohio State in Sunday’s regional final. The top two teams will advance to the NCAA Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas April 16-18. The meet is slated for 4 p.m. CT at Historic Memorial Coliseum in Lexington and will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live scoring via Virtius.
More Information
Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Gymnastics. You can also find the Razorbacks on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Gymnastics) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackGym).
Arkansas
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LITTLE ROCK, AR (KATV) — If you’ve been cruising Arkansas highways this year and spotted giant mesh-wire letters spelling “NATURAL?” you weren’t imagining things — and the question mark is the whole point.
The five-foot-tall “litter letters” are part of an anti-littering campaign from the Arkansas Department of Transportation aimed at grabbing drivers’ attention and showing, in a very visible way, just how much trash ends up along the state’s roads.
LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — A Russellville man’s federal prison sentence is highlighting Arkansas’ broader fight against repeat fentanyl traffickers as state and federal officials work to prevent counterfeit pills from causing more overdoses.
52-year-old Douglas Scott Reeves was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl. Reeves will also serve eight years of supervised release.
Federal investigators said Reeves manufactured and sold fentanyl pills from his Russellville home between 2021 and 2023.
During a search of the home, officers found fentanyl, mushrooms and drug paraphernalia.
Court records show Reeves also had a prior federal drug conviction tied to methamphetamine manufacturing in 2013, raising concerns about repeat offenders continuing to traffic dangerous drugs in Arkansas communities.
In response to questions about how Arkansas is working to stop repeat fentanyl traffickers before counterfeit pills lead to more overdose deaths, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said the state is focusing on education, addiction recovery and coordinated law enforcement efforts.
“Arkansas is addressing the problem of illicit opioids on multiple fronts,” Griffin said in a statement.
“Through our One Pill Can Kill initiative, my office is educating college students about the dangers of fentanyl and taking counterfeit pills.”
Griffin said his office has also used opioid settlement funds to support organizations addressing addiction and recovery while working with federal, state and local agencies to target fentanyl trafficking operations.
Federal authorities said fentanyl remains Arkansas’ top drug threat, particularly as counterfeit pill production becomes more widespread and localized.
DEA New Orleans Division Special Agent in Charge Steven Hofer said fentanyl continues to attract traffickers because of the low production cost and high profits.
“It’s so inexpensive to make the fentanyl that the profit margins are just huge,” Hofer said.
The DEA said traffickers are increasingly manufacturing counterfeit pills within Arkansas communities rather than transporting them from elsewhere.
In April, a DEA enforcement effort in Arkansas resulted in nearly 100 arrests and the seizure of more than 1,500 fentanyl pills, according to the agency.
But addiction and recovery leaders said arrests alone will not stop the crisis.
Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership Director Kirk Lane said long-term progress depends on treating addiction as a community issue instead of relying only on criminal enforcement.
“For a long time, addiction issues always became a criminal justice matter, and it never became a community matter,” Lane said.
Lane said opioid settlement funding is helping expand prevention, treatment and recovery programs across the state. He also said Narcan overdose reversal data helps officials identify areas seeing increases in fentanyl activity.
Despite a recent decline in overdose deaths nationwide, the DEA said fentanyl remains the deadliest drug threat facing communities across the country.
Officials warn that as little as two milligrams of fentanyl, roughly the amount that can fit on the tip of a sharpened pencil, can be fatal.
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