UPDATE: Mountain View’s Erin Akins won the Class 3A girls individual state title at the same meet. Read that story: Mountain View’s Erin Akins Wins 3A State Cross Country Title
The Quitman girls cross country team is bringing home another state championship after winning the 2026 Arkansas Class 3A girls state title Thursday, Nov. 5, at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs.
Quitman scored 39 points to win the team title by 45 points over runner-up Genoa Central, which finished with 84. Lincoln placed 3rd with 118 points, followed by West Fork with 119 and Mountain View with 124.
Madilyn Varvil led the Bulldogs with a 3rd-place finish in 21:16.01. Kaitlyn Norris finished 5th in 21:19.16, just over 3 seconds behind her teammate, and Kendall Cullum placed 10th in 22:09.58.
Baylee Gadberry placed 12th in 22:35.65, and Lainey Black rounded out Quitman’s scoring 5 in 16th with a time of 23:05.10.
Quitman State Championship Results
Madilyn Varvil — 3rd — 21:16.01
Kaitlyn Norris — 5th — 21:19.16
Kendall Cullum — 10th — 22:09.58
Baylee Gadberry — 12th — 22:35.65
Lainey Black — 16th — 23:05.10
Osheena Orabona — 19th — 23:34.16
Leah Love — 27th — 24:13.27
Paislee Davis — 39th — 24:59.05
Madison Burkhead — 50th — 25:42.79
Mountain View’s Erin Akins won the Class 3A girls individual title in 18:53.43. Maumelle Charter’s Mia McFarland finished 2nd in 19:08.53.
8 Straight State Titles
The title is the Quitman girls’ 8th straight state cross country championship. The Cleburne County school won Class 2A girls titles every year from 2019 through 2025 before moving up to Class 3A this season. Quitman’s girls also won state titles in 2016 and 2017.
The win matched a MileSplit Arkansas state preview that projected Quitman as the Class 3A team champion ahead of Genoa Central.
The Bulldogs celebrated with the Class 3A state championship trophy and a banner reading “2026 3A Girls Cross Country State Champions.”
Quitman’s boys finished 9th in the Class 3A boys team standings with 254 points. Harding Academy won the Class 3A boys state title at the same meet. Read that story:
Harding Academy Wins 2026 Class 3A Boys State Cross Country Title
The 2-day Arkansas State Cross Country Championships, hosted by Lake Hamilton High School, run Nov. 5-6 in the Oaklawn Park infield.
ArkansasRadio.com congratulates the Quitman runners and coaches on another state championship.
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