Taj Van Tassel
PEARCY — The Bryant Blue Hornets eighth grade track team of Bethel Middle School earned six first-place finishes on Monday when they competed at the Lake Hamilton Junior High Invitational meet.
“It was just one of those meets that come up from time to time,” said Bethel coach Colton Bond. “A lot of unexplained finishes or near misses. I have seen this before in a few of my high school meets in the past, just one of those things, you’ve got to fight and rebound back. This group is a resilient group and they will rebound back.
“I was proud of our young men and their spirit to compete,” he continued. “We won the 4×800 and look to cap a perfect season with them next week. (Blake) Everett and (Blake) Snyder went with first place finishes in the 100 hurdles. Snyder was flying and ran a 14.69. His form at this age is about the best I have seen. He was three-stepping and in rhythm throughout the whole race.
“Everett ran and won the 300 hurdles in a personal record time,” the coach noted. “I’m also very proud of Luis Garcia. He was a young man who has never won the 200 but had been close several times. This time Luis finally got over the hump and won by the slimmest of margins. He competed to the end and was able to gut it out. (Taj) Van Tassel won the 400 in a great time of 56 seconds. He has been so consistent in the 400, he went 54 in the 4×400.”
George Terry
Regarding the seventh-grade team, Bond said, “Our seventh-grade group keeps putting in the work and it is going to pay off as our average finishes have been improving each week. We are going to be a good group come next year, the weight room is going to do this group good.”
The coach named Taj Van Tassell as the eighth-grade Subway Student Athlete of the Week and George Terry as the seventh-grade Subway Athlete of the Week.
“Taj has been very consistent this season as he has ran in 12 events with 10 firsts, one second, one third,” Bond said. “The second and third have been in relays. He is a great team member who is constantly wanting to improve our relay teams. Then he focuses on the 400, which is a great thing to see. His stride is so fluid and looks effortless, I predict great things from him in the future.
“George comes from a great track family and it shows,” he continued. “He is such a hard worker and a great student-athlete overall. He is a fast learner and picks up on little details which helps him improve each week. I’m very excited about his future. He is going to be a great representative for our district.”
The middle school teams will conclude the 2018 season on Monday, April 23, at Hot Springs Lakeside.
Here are the results from the Lake Hamilton meet for the Bethel boys:
8th Grade
Long Jump
4th Place- Blake Everett
8th Place- Logan White
Triple Jump
3rd Place- Micheal Rivera
5th Place- Brandon Gabe
6th Place- Andrew Steuve
7th Place- Mason Butler
Shot Put
3rd Place- Fabian Torres
Discus
6th Place- Caden Hope
High Jump
3rd Place- Layton Dickerson
4×800
1st Place- Jackson Meshell, Taj Van Tassel, Drew MacIntire, Jaxon Holt- 9:42
4th Place- Parker Sikes, Cameron Apel, Jacob Karp, Will Taylor 10:18
100 Hurdles
1st Place- Blake Snyder- 14.69
1st Place- Blake Everett-15.10
5th Place- Logan White-17.13
5th Place- Deyvon Brewer-18.25
100
2nd Place- Fabian Torres
2nd Place- Layton Dickerson
4th Place- Andrew Steuve
5th Place- Carson Burnett
6th Place- Julian Smith
1600
4th Place- Jackson Meshell- 5:36
5th Place- Drew MacEntire- 5:37
4×100
3rd Place- Blake Everett, Carson Burnett, Layton Dickerson, Fabian Torres
6th Place- Owen Lee, Carson Matson, Hunter Hagan, Jacob Knowlton
400
1st Place- Taj Van Tassel- 56.00
2nd Place- Michael Rivera
3rd Place- Jacob Karp
8th Place- Braxton Praither
8th Place-Gage Shepard
300 Hurdles
1st Place- Blake Everett- 46.24
3rd Place- Blake Snyder
5th Place- Logan White
5th Place- Luis Garcia-
8th Place- Dylan Atkinson
800
2nd Place- Jaxon Holt- 2:26
3rd Place- Cameron Apel – 2:27
200
1st Place- Luis Garcia 26.64
2nd Place- Brandon Gabe
3rd Place- Layton Dickerson
4×400
3rd Place- Taj Van Tassel, Jacob Karp, Gage Shepard, Michael Rivera
4th Place- Dillon Hoover, Hayden Upton, Drew MacEntire, Jaxon Holt
7th Grade
Long Jump
2nd Place- Brody Troyer
Triple Jump
8th Place- Sebastian Gough
4×800
3rd Place- James Billingsley, Mitchell Elmore, George Terry, Gavin Shelby-11:04
100 Hurdles
5th Place- Mitchell Elmore
6th Place- Ethan Skiles
6th Place- Hayden Meshell
6th Place- Hunter Linn
6th Place- Chaney Crosby
7th Place- Hayden Meshell
100 Meters
2nd Place- Xalen Curenton
2nd Place- Brody Troyer
5th Place- David Vivar
8th Place- Mitchell Elmore
1600
3rd Place- George Terry- 6:03
4×100
5th Place- James Billingsley, Caden Stovall, Joshua Luster, Xaylen Curenton
6th Place- Sebastian Gough, Evan Lamb, David Vivar, Jackson Fluger
400
3rd Place- Evan Lamb
4th Place- Aiden Shaw
6th Place- Jackson Fluger
6th Place Cole Shields
7th Place- Sebastian Gough
8th Place- Carter Moore
300 Hurdles
6th Place- Mitchell Elmore
6th Place- Ethan Skiles
6th Place- Chaney Crosby
800 Meters
6th Place- James Billingsley- 2:42
200 Meters
4th Place- Xalen Curenton
5th Place- Brody Troyer
5th Place- David Vivar
4×400 Meters
3rd Place- James Billingsley, Evan Lamb, George Terry, Hunter Linn
5th Place- Cole Shields, Chaney Crosby, Edwynn Delgadillo, Caden Stovall
