Before meeting 200 priests from around the world, Father Joseph Friend had to decide what cultural item he should bring to the Vatican.

While some pastors brought tequila or candy, Father Friend knew what best represented Arkansas: a Razorback Hoghead. A red plastic hat would immediately stand out in the crowd.

“That is one of the most unique things,” he said. “We don’t have any pro teams, and everyone loves the Razorbacks. That hat is just ridiculous.”

The hat was so popular that at the end of the Parish Priests for the Synod: An International Meeting at the Vatican April 28-May 2 the Hoghead disappeared.

“Someone took the Hoghead and I have no idea who has it… It could be in Madagascar or Ukraine or Russia or Slovakia. I have no idea who has it.”

Father Friend, pastoral administrator of Holy Cross Church in Crossett, Holy Spirit Church in Hamburg and Our Lady of the Lake Church in Lake Village, was one of five American priests chosen to attend the meeting, which had the theme "How to be a synodal local Church in mission."

“It was incredibly joyous,” he said. “That is the one word that keeps coming up. Joyous and thankful. It is pretty insane that a parish priest in the Delta would ever have this experience to witness the universal Church like that.”

Father Friend was chosen to attend because of his involvement in the diocesan and national synod process and his experience in rural parishes. Hundreds of parish priests spent three days praying and discussing their experiences of synodality and discernment in parishes and dioceses before having a two-hour dialogue with Pope Francis May 2.

The results of their discussions and contributions from bishops' conferences will be used in preparing the working document for the second session of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality in October.

Father Friend said some of his best encounters were with priests from Mexico who didn’t know how many immigrants had moved to Arkansas.

“They told me, ‘When you go back home, thank your bishop, thank priests and thank your people for inviting our people in,’” he said. “That was a powerful moment. They had no idea about Arkansas. They were so thankful. We immediately bonded. The Church in Arkansas and Mexico is so intimately connected because of our people.”

Father Friend said meeting Pope Francis for the first time was like meeting a father.

“He was so humble. He was like a father talking to his sons. It was outer-worldly for me because I couldn’t believe I was there. He was so calm, normal and approachable. By the time I shook his hand, it wasn’t a mind-blowing experience. It was like, ‘Yeah, this is Pope Francis and this is my father, this is Peter. He is our leader.’”

Participants were asked to share how their parishes have contributed to the mission of their diocese or eparchy, their experiences of "ecclesial discernment" and how they think participatory bodies like parish councils and finance councils work in their parishes and in their dioceses or eparchies.

The synthesis report of the first session of the synod in October 2023 specifically noted a need to include more parish priests in the synod process.

In a letter to the priests, Pope Francis told them the more pastors empower their parishioners to share responsibility for the mission of the Church, the more they will learn to set their ministry free "from the things that wear us down.”

Father Friend said the discussions with Pope Francis and other priests have pushed him to emphasize the laity's role and how they can put their faith into action more.

“How can parishes set up spaces to facilitate people using their gifts in the parish?” he asked. “We have incredible traditions and incredible writings. (The pope) is say now isn’t the time for words anymore. We need to study the words and know them, but (the pope) is really pushing us to take action.”

For those reading this article, he said, “Put the paper down immediately the moment you are inspired and decide to go live your faith. And come back to the paper. It’s time to move.”

Empowering the laity can be hard for some priests.

“As priests, we can’t be afraid of people wanting to step up,” he said. “If they truly discern with the Spirit and in line with Church teachings, it is going to bring peace and joy to the community. We have to give up control and give it to the Holy Spirit.”

For him personally, Father Friend said he was reminded he needed to stay focused on his role as a missionary and evangelizer, not an administrator.

“It is a huge culture shift, and it can weigh priests down a lot,” he said. “The parish mentality of moving from maintenance to mission. It is so easy to get caught up in this door knob is broken, we need to repaint this, we need to fix the sidewalk… So much of life can get so consumed with that…. How do we develop more of a sense of the early Church? We have to believe we are called to evangelize the world and encounter with a soul and lead them to Jesus and help them live their faith. That has to be in the forefront of our minds.”

In his letter to the priests, Pope Francis said the stronger the sense of shared responsibility in a parish, the more priests can concentrate on the "authentic core" of their ministry: "the proclamation of God's word and the gathering of the community for the breaking of bread."

Synodality is lived in the Church in Arkansas, Father Friend believes.

“We do synodality decently well here,” he said. “We really do rely on the laity a lot. Perhaps our diocese was selected for this process because there is already something moving. Maybe the Holy Spirit is saying let’s take it to the next level… The process has already started here and maybe the Spirit knows we can do it.”

Catholic News Service contributed to this article.

Four men joined the Diocese of Little Rock as seminarians this fall.

They are:

• Joseph Jones, 18, a member of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock. He is the son of Thomas and Laura Jones.

• Thomas de Prez, 19, a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in North Little Rock (Marche). He is the son of Joseph and Joanne de Prez.

• Quinn Thomas, 18, a member of Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro. He is the son of Del and Suzanne Thomas.

• Minh Phong Nguyen, 22, a member of St. Patrick Church in North Little Rock. He is the son of Phong Van and Lan Thi.

All four men will study at the House of Formation in Little Rock and take classes through the University of Arkansas – Little Rock.

Returning seminarians are:

• Nathan Ashburn, John Paul Hartnedy, Martin Amaro, Deacon Jon Miskin, Emmanuel Torres, Joseph Friend, Daniel Wendel, Ben Riley and Brian Cundall, all of Little Rock

• Omar Galvan of Fort Smith

• Mark Johns of Jonesboro

• Jaime Nieto of Springdale

• Alex Smith of Jacksonville

• Daniel Velasco of Searcy

• John Marconi of Crawfordsville

• Cody Eveld of Charleston

• Jonathan Semmler of Hot Springs Village

• Tuan Do of North Little Rock

In 2019 two seminarians, Miskin and Amaro, are scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood.

The number of seminarians is at its lowest level since 2006. At its peak in 2014 the diocese had 46 seminarians but now has 22. The drop is attributed to having nine seminarians ordained between December 2017 and June 2018.

The Diocese of Little Rock accepted four men as seminarians for fall 2017 and is preparing for one of its largest ordinations in its history in May.

The new seminarians are:

• Tuan Khac Anh Do, 21, St. Patrick Church, North Little Rock. Do, son of Thu Khac Do and Suong Thi Nguyen, will live at the House of Formation and study English.

• John Marconi, 23, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Crawfordsville. Marconi, son of Tim and Andrea Marconi, will attend St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana.

• Jonathan Semmler, 19, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Hot Springs Village. Semmler, son of Michael and Susan Semmler, will live at the House of Formation and attend classes through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

• Aubrey Volpert, 18, Immaculate Conception Church, North Little Rock. Volpert, son of Alex and Zana Volpert, will also live at the House of Formation and study at UA Little Rock.

One seminarian, Deacon Nelson Rubio of Hot Springs Village, is set to be ordained a priest Dec. 16.

The largest ordination in the diocese since 1955 will be held May 26 when eight seminarians will become priests. It will be 63 years ago that the diocese hosted an ordination at the Cathedral of St. Andrew for 12 men, eight for the Diocese of Little Rock and four for Subiaco Abbey. None of those eight priests are still living or serving in the diocese.

The new priests will be:

• Deacon Michael Johns, Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro

• Deacon Daniel Ramos, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, North Little Rock (Marche)

• Deacons Jeff Hebert and Tuyen Do, Cathedral of St. Andrew, Little Rock

• Deacons Patrick Friend, Joseph De Orbegozo and Stephen Elser, Christ the King Church, Little Rock

• Deacon Keith Higginbotham, St. Anne Church, North Little Rock

Other seminarians are:

• Nathan Ashburn, John Paul Hartnedy, Martin Amaro, Jon Miskin, Emmanuel Torres, Joseph Friend, Daniel Wendel, Ben Riley and Brian Cundall, all of Little Rock

• Omar Galvan of Fort Smith

• Mark Johns of Jonesboro

• Jaime Nieto of Springdale

• Alex Smith of Jacksonville

• Daniel Velasco Perez of Searcy

• Tito Zarate of Dardanelle

One man, Cody Eveld, 21, of Sacred Heart Church in Charleston, is currently a “discerner” living at the House of Formation and studying at UALR.

The number of seminarians studying for the diocese dropped this year to 28, down from 34 last year.

Seven new seminarians joined the Diocese of Little Rock this year, keeping the number of men currently studying to become priests at 44.

While the diocese has experienced larger increases in seminarians in the state over the past decade, the number leveled off this year. From 2005 to 2015 the seminarian enrollment increased 65 percent, according to diocesan statistics.

Vocations director Msgr. Scott Friend said the diocese could see its largest ordination class ever in 2018 with eight new priests. The average age of a diocesan priest is projected to drop to 48 years old. When Msgr. Friend was ordained in 1987, he said the average priest was 67 years old.

“We have a very different future than we did just a few years ago,” he said.

The new seminarians this fall are:

• Nathan Ashburn, 26, son of Deacon Chuck and Juliann Ashburn. They are members of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock. Ashburn will study through the House of Formation in Little Rock.
• Tito Zarate, 18, son of Tito and Carmen Zarate. They attend St. Augustine Church in Dardanelle. He also is studying at the House of Formation.
• Mark Johns, 19, son of Michael and Julie Johns, now of Baton Rouge, La. Johns, formerly of Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro, is the brother of seminarian Michael Johns. He is studying at Conception Seminary College in Missouri.
• John Paul Hartnedy, 18, son of Deacon Danny and Stephanie Hartnedy. They are members of St. Edward Church in Little Rock. He will also study at Conception Seminary College.
• Daniel Mayorga, 27, son of Darlen Victoria Soto Cortas of Colombia. He will study through the House of Formation.
• Luis Ruiz, 27, son of Javier and Damaris Ruiz of Colombia. He is studying at the House of Formation.
• One seminarian joined the diocese in January. Tuyen Ngoc Do, 38, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is originally from Vietnam. He is the son of the late Tam Quang Do and Lieu Thi Tran. He is attending Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corner, Wis.

Six seminarians who were ordained deacons in 2014 and 2015 are scheduled to become priests in 2016. They are:

• Deacons Luis Miguel Pacheco, Mario Jacobo and Taryn Whittington, all of Little Rock
• Deacon Joseph Chan of Fort Smith
• Deacon Norman McFall of Pine Bluff
• Deacon Stephen Gadberry of Wynne

Other returning seminarians include:

n Stephen Hart, Patrick Friend, Joseph de Orbegozo, Stephen Elser, Jeff Hebert, Martin Amaro, Jon Miskin, Emmanuel Torres, Joseph Friend, Daniel Wendel, Isidro Negrete, Patrick Saint-Jean, Ben Riley and Brian Cundall, all of Little Rock

• Omar Galvan of Fort Smith
• Martin Siebold, Keith Higginbotham and Ramses Mendieta of North Little Rock
• Michael Johns of Jonesboro
• William Burmester of Conway
• Robert Smith of Fayetteville
• Luke Womack of Hot Springs
• Nelson Rubio of Hot Springs Village
• Michael Davis of Rogers
• David Aguilar and Jaime Nieto of Springdale
• Alex Smith and Vince Kozlowski of Jacksonville
• Daniel Velasco Perez of Searcy
• Daniel Ramos of Benton
• John Taylor of Fort Worth, Texas

Every time Betty Friend received Communion, she walked back to her pew at Christ the King Church in Little Rock, knelt down and pulled out a little blue book. She prayed as she gazed at the face of Jesus.

It was this kind of devotion to her Catholic faith that led her daughter Kat Friend to create a series of jewelry, including crosses, religious medals and other charms, like butterflies, inspired by her mother, who died March 1, 2013, from cancer.

“We go to Mass every Sunday and we experience a miracle happening right before our eyes. It’s easy to forget, but she never did,” said Kat Friend, 23. “She was enthralled with what was happening in front of her.  She had such trust in God. I never saw fear in her eyes when she was sick.”

Friend has made a special set of 13 jewelry pieces for the Mercy & Me annual campaign by Mount St. Mary Academy, her alma mater, that feature various religious medals.

“It’s a way to give back to MSM and be a part of it my first year back from college. There’s something so sweet having the time with your girls at the school and learning about the Sisters of Mercy,” Friend said. “It’s been really exciting. Hopefully it’s used for years for Mercy and Me. It’s a pewter pendant; it has the mercy cross on it.”

Kirsten Dickins, director of advancement at Mount St. Mary Foundation, said, “We feel blessed to have Kat back at the Mount and see her using her creative talents to give back to the school and our community. She puts so much of herself into each piece to deliver beautiful products with sentimental value.”

The money raised from the jewelry, which ranges from $20 to $60, will go entirely to the MSM campaign. 

Friend said she learned this kind of generosity while growing up in a supportive Catholic household with her parents, Dr. Gerald and Betty Friend, and two brothers, Patrick and Joseph, now both diocesan seminarians. Her uncle, Msgr. Scott Friend, is the diocesan vocations director.

Betty Friend’s faith influenced how she treated those around her and her upbeat attitude.

“She was serious when she needed to be serious, but she’d put on some music and dance in the living room. She was a little bit of everything. All the perfect ingredients to make the sweetest cake, that’s my mom,” Friend said. “When you knew my mom, you felt good inside. She could talk to you about anything all day. She was easy going; she loved clothes and looking nice.”

“I know this might sound cheesy but my mom was definitely my best friend, my whole life. I had the utmost respect for her. She taught me really what it meant to just be truly unselfish and what it meant to have unconditional love,” she said.

After graduating from Mount St. Mary, Kat attended Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan. In May 2011, her mom went to Kansas to take her home for the summer.

“She was like super mom. I had to go take a final exam and I came back an hour later and she has packed up the car and said, ‘Let’s go.’ It was Mommy magic — that’s what she always told me she had and I believe it,” Friend said.

Two weeks later, her mother had symptoms of mononucleosis or a cold, so she went in for a chest X-ray.

“She had cancer that had metastasized to her lungs. They removed her kidney and started chemo right away. She immediately felt horrible. That was the scariest thing for us because before we thought she was sick with a cold. Then it’s terrifying to see her sick in bed. It was a lot to take in,” Friend said.

Doctors had different theories on how long she would live — a month, maybe six months.

“We were praying for a miracle and we definitely got a miracle of time,” Friend said. “She lived 22 months. She could have been taken away two weeks later.” 

During her illness, Betty Friend kept her upbeat attitude.

With Kat back in school, her sons in the seminary and her husband working, Betty’s friends, nicknamed “Betty’s Angels,” took turns spending time with her and helping her.

Kat returned home during the spring semester of her junior year to take care of her mother.

“It was the hardest thing I have ever done, watching my mom wither in front of my eyes was terrifying, but I knew God was there with me,” she said.

Her mother died at 49 under hospice care.

“I don’t know if we ever had that final conversation, but I think she didn’t have to say anything. She spent her whole life saying it and living it,” her daughter said. “My mom really taught my brothers and me, she said, ‘You got to keep moving; you’ve got to keep going.’ She made the choice to wake up every day and do what she could do.”

Since her mother’s death, Kat Friend said she’s taken her grief journey day by day, often talking with her mother.

“My boyfriend and I have an adoration hour at 3 a.m. Friday mornings. I know it was God and my mom and St. Therese talking to me one time saying, ‘You still have a relationship with her now.’ I have to talk to her, I have to listen to her,” Friend said. “I wouldn’t have the option of standing today if it weren’t for my faith.”

Part of her healing process has been her artwork, including a painting and sculpture series called “Death, Grieving and Rebirth.” She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Benedictine.

“Art teaches me about myself. If I can visually get my feelings on a canvas, I can find the words,” to describe how she’s feeling, she said.

Wearing the bracelet her mom made her just three months before her death with the words “I love you” and inside, “with all my heart and forever,” Kat had an idea.

As a thank you to “Betty’s Angels,” she made pendants, casting the molds herself, to put on jewelry as a thank you, everything from birds with the word “soar,” to butterflies, and elephants, some of her mother’s favorite things.

“She always wore beautiful things with spiritual reminders,” Friend said. “She’d always wear elephant earrings. With elephants, when a female is hurt, the other females will lift and carry them along. She always said Betty’s Angels were her elephants.”

It became not only a healing experience, but a side business from her job as an art teacher for St. Edward School in Little Rock and as a substitute at Our Lady of the Holy Souls School.

“I cast a lot of my pendants with pewter. I make my own molds, a lot of religious figures like St. Joseph and Mary. I like the antique feel, keeping it natural. I use a lot of earth tones,” Friend said. “I never thought I’d be making jewelry, but it’s become a really awesome thing.”

People can purchase her personal line of jewelry called “Kat Friend Art” for $25 to $125 at Pout and Cynthia East Fabrics (both in Little Rock) and by e-mail at katfriendart@gmail.com. She also does custom orders.

Her Mount St. Mary’s Mercy & Me jewelry is sold at By Invitation Only in the Heights, 5914 R Street in Little Rock. An order form can be printed at mtstmary.edu and mailed to MSM for local pick-up or to have it shipped.

Though Betty Friend isn’t here to try on the jewelry, her daughter said her spirit is always felt during her creative process.

“I think she would just love it,” Kat Friend said. “When I’m in my studio working, I imagine my mom popping her head in and putting it all on and supporting me. I’d like to think she’d be really proud of me. She would definitely be my best model.”

Taking the podium at Aug. 9’s Taste of Faith dinner in Little Rock, Msgr. Scott Friend, diocesan vocations director, couldn’t help himself. Introducing the diocese’s seminarians, he asked the crowd to refrain from applauding until all had been recognized. Then, in stern headmaster tone, he issued a mock warning.

“Now I know you people from Christ the King think you’re special. But just because you have 11 seminarians, which is more than some dioceses …” he said before Christ the King parishioners in attendance raucously ended his sentence with applause.

You can’t throw a stick in the Diocese of Little Rock without poking a seminarian native to Little Rock’s Christ the King Church these days. While other parishes can point to comparable numbers as a percent of congregation, none matches the west Little Rock parish’s headcount. In eight years, the Catholic congregation has produced one priest and lists 11 diocesan seminarians and one religious order seminarian.

“It’s a combination of a lot of people and a lot of prayer and always focused on Christ and always focused on the Eucharist,” said pastor Msgr. Francis I. Malone, who is quick to also point to his predecessor, Msgr. J. Gaston Hebert, as the genesis of the current culture of vocations.

“He baptized most of these young men, and I was blessed to give many of them first Communion and be their pastor for the past 13 years,” Msgr. Malone said. “I see my vocation as priest as extremely connected to Msgr. Hebert in the sense that both of us love Jesus Christ, both of us love being priests, and we love being pastor of Christ the King. I see that I’m standing on his shoulders.”  

Twenty-five percent of the diocesan seminarians are Christ the King parishioners. Father Andrew Hart was the first homegrown priest from the parish. Current seminarians and their projected ordination year are: Stephen Hart, 2017; Patrick Friend, Joseph de Orbegozo and Stephen Elser, 2018; Jon Miskin, 2019: Joseph Friend, 2020; Alex Booth, Brian Cundall and Ben Riley, 2021; and Daniel Wendel and Chandler Donaldson, 2022.

Brother Jacob Wisenbaker, a Christ the King parishioner and 2011 graduate of Catholic High School, is a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity and began his studies this month at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.

Most everyone you talk to about Christ the King’s success in fostering vocations points first to devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Msgr. Hebert built the adoration chapel; perpetual adoration began on Msgr. Malone’s watch.

“Having perpetual adoration (is when) we started to see young men respond,” Msgr. Malone said. “There’s nothing greater than the presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. This is a 24/7 deal; we have people there 24/7 praying and in particular praying for, among other intentions, an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. So, it’s just not a coincidence, it can’t be a coincidence.”

Accompanying perpetual adoration prayers is a traveling vocations chalice that weekly makes the rounds in parishioners’ homes. 

Mary Battreal, who along with her husband Conrad chairs the parish’s hand-picked vocations committee, said it’s not an issue finding hosts.

“It’s not difficult at all anymore, I have people calling me,” she said. “In the beginning, some thought it was just for people with large families and then just for families with boys. Now, it’s young, old, couples, families, single people, everyone.”

Related story: Seven new seminarians are joining the diocese this month

Equally impactful is a second “chalice,” a poster with photos of every Christ the King seminarian that is passed from one Christ the King School class to another following Friday’s school Mass. The children also write letters or prepare goody packages for young men away at seminary and pray for them throughout the year.

“One of our seminarians, Joseph Friend, was at Mass,” Msgr. Malone said. “He wasn’t dressed in any particular outfit or collar or anything, he’s just sitting in the pew and he said at the end of Mass he got up and a little child said, ‘You’re Joseph! You’re Joseph Friend!  We pray for you!’”

Many parishioners and parents also credit the 2,000-family parish’s active youth ministry program and the influence of Catholic High School on these young men’s decision to discern their calling.

“I’m not embarrassed or shy about asking a young man,” the pastor said. “When they start serving Mass in seventh grade, I’ll say, ‘Wouldn’t it be great one day if you wore these vestments? Help me up the steps, celebrate Mass together?’ And, you can see the reaction on the faces of young men as they serve Mass with me around the church.”

Moreover, he added, “we have encouraged people not to be afraid to ask someone, ‘Do you think the Lord is calling you to the priesthood? You have all the things that it seems the Lord would want in a young man to pursue this calling.’ And so our people are no longer bashful about that.

“I’ve had young men come to me and say ‘Someone behind me at Mass tapped me on the shoulder and asked “Have you thought about becoming a priest?”’ So it’s on the front burner for us as a parish.”

The seminarian count continues to climb for the Diocese of Little Rock.

With seven new seminarians, the diocese now has 44 seminarians.

The new seminarians are:

• Daniel Velasco Perez, 40, a member of St. James Church in Searcy. He is the son of Ismael and Maria del Carmen Velasco and will attend St. Meinrad Seminary.

• Isidro Negrete, 18, a member of St. Edward Church in Little Rock. He will study at the House of Formation in Little Rock. He is the son of Miguel and Manuela Negrete.

• José Jaime Nieto Bautista, 25, a member of St. Raphael Church in Springdale. He will study at the House of Formation in Little Rock. He is the son of María del Carmen Nieto Bautista and Jaime Ramírez González.

• Vince Kozlowski, 21, a member of St. Jude Church in Jacksonville. He will study at the House of Formation in Little Rock. He is the son of Vincent and Julie Kozlowski.

• Daniel Wendel, 18, a member of Christ the King Church in Little Rock. He will study at Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas. He is the son of Dr. Paul and Kathleen Wendel.

• Chandler Donaldson, 18, a member of Christ the King Church in Little Rock. The son of Greg and Christie Donaldson will study at Holy Trinity Seminary.

• Nelson Rubio, 33, of Maracaibo, Venezuela. He will study at the House of Formation in Little Rock. He is the son of Nelson Rubio and Carmen Villalobos.

Joining the seminarians in January was Ben Riley, 20, a member of Christ the King Church in Little Rock who has been studying at the House of Formation in Little Rock. He is the son of Dr. Richard and Melanie Riley.

Returning seminarians are:

• Deacon Jack Sidler of Barling, who will be ordained a priest Dec. 20 at Subiaco Abbey.

• Luis Miguel Pacheco, Mario Jacobo, Taryn Whittington, Stephen Hart, Patrick Friend, Joseph de Orbegozo, Stephen Elser, Jeff Hebert, Martin Amaro, Jonathan “Jon” Miskin, Emmanuel Torres, Joseph Friend, Alex Booth, Brian Cundall and Steven Kelley of Little Rock

• Dr. Joseph Chan and Omar Galvan of Fort Smith

• Martin Siebold and Keith Higginbotham of North Little Rock

• Norman McFall of Pine Bluff

• Stephen Gadberry of Wynne

• Michael Johns of Jonesboro

• William Burmester of Conway

• Robert Smith of Fayetteville

• Guillermo Caballero of Hot Springs Village

• Ramses Mendieta of Nicaragua 

• Daniel Ramos of Mexico

• Luke Womack and Karldy Isidor of Hot Springs

• Patrick Saint-Jean of Haiti

• John Taylor of Fort Worth, Texas

• Michael Davis of Rogers

• David Aguilar of Springdale

• Alex Smith of Jacksonville

• Cristian Andrade of Dardanelle

Related story: What are the secrets of Christ the King’s success?