Mena High School

Former Bearcat Zachary Jewell led the UCA Bears at the Southland Conference Championship this weekend. On Saturday Jewell won the 200m prelims with an effort of 20.57 and broke a UCA record in the process. Jewell came in second in the 100m prelims with a mark of 10.09. On Sunday Jewell won the 200m with a run of 20.72 & In the men's 100m final, Jewell placed second with a time of 10.12. https://ucasports.com/sports/mens-track-and-field GO ZACH & GO BEARCATS!!!

Nefarious activity, poor sportsmanship & questionable behavior was on full display at Union Bank Park on Friday afternoon. MHS Seniors were suckered into what was supposed to be a fair game of softball against MHS coaches & staff. The seniors led after the first inning & that is when the questionable behavior began. A sudden explosion of offense called into question the legality of the bats being used by MHS staff. A situation made worse by flagrant bat flipping, finger pointing & plodding home run trots. In addition there was the whole issue of the eligibility of one of the staff players & whether or not he was or was not actually employed by Mena Public Schools. In effect a ringer for the staff team. Between innings the staff team was seen slipping cash to the umpire who then denied the accusation of bribery. But it was obvious to those in attendance, after a staff batter stepped in front of a pitch, that the calls were going against the seniors. This all came to a head when the senior team’s manager was ejected from the game after questioning a call. This seemingly fired up the senior team who came back to tie the game in regulation & went on to win by a score of 7-6 in extra innings. Overall it was an awful display of athletic ability & thankfully we won’t be forced to witness it again till next year.

The Jr Ladycats had an excellent offseason this spring. Coach Fryar and Coach Goss saw tremendous growth mentally and physically from the girls. They held a Meet the Challenge Competition at the end of offseason. The events include bench press, squat, power clean, push press, vertical, mile, 400 M Run and a 100 M Sprint. The girls who scored an 80% or better Met the Challenge. The Spring Queen scoring the highest percentage was Karley Sharp. Meet the Challenge Winners: Karley Sharp Rylie Bentley Reese Montgomery Bailey Heald Addison Thomas Laney Gilchrist Kylene Denton Kate Wilson Jayden Cox Chloe Hooper Anna Ferguson GO LADYCATS!!!

As the final coat of wax is drying tonight, the redesigned game court of the Union Bank Center at Mena High School is now complete. The previous court design had been used since the 2011-12 school year.

Mena High School Theatre Students, under the direction of Ms. Jessica Kropp, performed "The Seussodyssey" for the public on Thursday night in the Performing Arts Center. It was another great show & a great job by all involved.

All Mena High School Students, Blended and Traditional, Please check your Email for instructions to return your chromebooks

ATTENTION SENIORS!!! Seniors have a mandatory meeting with Mr. Maxwell in the MHS cafeteria at 9 a.m. on Friday morning, May 14. There will be a drive-thru on Tuesday, May 18 from 10 a.m. - 12 noon in the Bus Loop, to pay for your stoles and/or cords that you will receive at the Honors Assembly on May 19 at 9 a.m. in the PAC. Exact change or check will be required.

Mena High School Juniors had an opportunity to receive information about furthering their education at the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain. UARM Recruiter Mike Godfrey & the Director of Admissions Wendy McDaniel spoke to the group in the MHS Performing Arts Center on Thursday morning. https://www.facebook.com/UARichMountain

A big shout out is appropriate for some of the most important staff members at Mena Public Schools on National School Nurse Day!!! They are critical to the health and well-being of our students. They have taken additional duties on during the past year due to the pandemic & done an outstanding job. Thank you all. Bobbi Landon - Mena High School Sherry Wood - Mena Middle School Lisa Falls - Holly Harshman Elementary Becky Richardson - Louise Durham Elementary GO BEARCATS !!!

Mena High School students performed in the 2021 Lip Sync & Talent Show on Monday for their peers... It was an entertaining display of talent & creativity in the MHS Performing Arts Center... GO BEARCATS!!!

Austin Rose took 3rd place and Big Bass award on Greers Ferry on Saturday 5/8/21 in the Arkansas TBF Tournament. Congratulations to to Austin and Jarrett Burger, both Juniors at MHS, for making the TBF of Arkansas Adult State Team and they will be representing the state of Arkansas in the TBF Semifinal.

We would like to give a shout out the Mr. Gary Callicott today !!!! Gary made a generous donation that included yearbooks from the mid 50's.. These additions filled some holes that we had in our collection at Mena High School.... Mr. Andy Philpot, yearbook sponsor, was thrilled to receive them.. If you or someone you know would like to make a similar donation it would be greatly appreciated... We do not have a single copy from 1962 or anything before 1951... For information send an E-mail to mark.hobson@menaschools.org Thanks Gary & Go Bearcats!!!!

Congratulations Elizabeth Cox!!!

Physicals are May 24th!

The Mena High School Student Council spoke to eighth graders at Mena MIddle School on Thursday. They were encouraging them to be a part of the organization when they transition to MHS next year.

Mena High School senior LIAM HASTEY, juniors JAKE BROTHERTON & LOGAN YANG took advantage of the sunny skies & calm winds to get in a drone flight today. The trio were filming for the senior video. Judging by the look on their faces they were having a great time.

Attention Mena FFA High School and Middle School Members: Next Tuesday, May 11th is our annual FFA Banquet. This event will take place at the Ouachita Center on the UARM campus. We encourage you to bring your Parents/Guardians to this event. Remember this is a formal event and if you have official dress you need to wear it! If not then wear business causal dress. For guys that means slacks or khakis, dress shirt, shoes, and tie. For girls that means skirt or dress slacks, blouse, close toed shoes, or a dress.

Falkner goes to 2-0 in young boxing career By Andy Philpot Bear Facts Media Mena High School Sophomore Brayden Falkener may have only started boxing a little over seven months ago, but his young competitive boxing career is currently standing at 2-0 after a victory that past Saturday night. Falkner competed in the Josua McBee Memorial Boxing Show in Mena this past Saturday, May 1, which was an event that featured 19 separate boxing matches at the First Baptist Church fellowship hall. The 16-year old Falkner defeated Desmond Robinson, also 16 years old from Pine Bluff. After first taking up boxing approximately seven and half months ago, Falkner experienced his first official competitive boxing match in March, which took place in Little Rock at a Diamond Rock Promotions boxing event. Falkner’s first match was against an opponent from Kentucky, and Falkner earned his first victory that night. According to Falkner, he’s always enjoyed cardio activities, and he used to focus on cross country and track events through the school. He stated that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit last spring, it reduced his opportunities to do competitive running initially. In an effort to balance the time he spent indoors with virtual learning, he would take runs down the road for exercise, but he began seeking something else to give him cardio exercise, but also be competitive again. With the approval of his grandmother, he was able to begin boxing and be part of a sport he had long been interested in. Falkner is part of the Defenders Boxing Club, in Mena, which is led by Richard and Jeremiah Hexamer. “One of things I like about boxing is that it’s an independent sport, so it’s all up to me to train, and if I win or lose, that’s on me,” Falkner said. “I’m enjoying getting better by the week, and I really like learning new things.” While Falkner doesn’t have his next boxing match officially scheduled yet, he plans on pursuing more boxing events in the future.

The Mena Bearcats soccer season came to a close on Monday in the first round of the conference tournament. Mena Bearcats-0 DeQueen-7 Mena wraps up the season with a record of 2-9/0-7. GO BEARCATS!!!

The Mena Ladycat soccer season came to an end on Monday in the opening round of the conference tournament. Mena Ladycats-0 Bauxite-5 Mena finishes with a season record of 3-4-2/1-3-2. GO LADYCATS!!!