The Bryant Lady Hornets have athletes qualified in 15 events and the Hornets have them in 13 for today’s Class 7A track and field championship meet in Conway.
The Lady Hornets will be represented by Bailey Brazil, Amanda Burt, Kristin Garner, Zhania Hall, Bree Hood, Haley Hood, Maggie Laws, Megan Lee, Jadyn Lewis, Taylor McKinney, Cassie Ray, Zeia Robinson, Kayla Scott, Deborah Shaw, Hannah Shelby and Daelyn Young.
The Hornets will be represented by Landon Abernathy, Matthew Bagby, Chris Barrientos, John Carder, Joey Colvert, Madre Dixon, Pierce Finney, Christian McIntosh, Dany Murillo, Justice Pryor, Enrique Ramos, Eric Stewart, Randy Thomas, Cole Watson, Andre White and Diante Woodson.
Bryant’s boys are the defending Class 7A champion but, with numbers advantages for several teams including the rival Conway Wampus Cats and the Cabot Panthers, they face an uphill battle to garner another title.
Both teams, however, have been buoyed by freshmen joining the team and qualifying for State late in the season.
For the Lady Hornets, Haley Hood and Lewis lead the way. Hood qualified in five events including the 300-meter hurdles in which she’s recorded the fastest time in the state thus far at 44.43. Lewis has recorded the fifth best time in the 400 this season. She and Hall will compete in the event today, one of five events Lewis will be entered.
Haley Hood and Lewis are set in the long jump. Hood also will be in the high jump with Shaw and 100-meter hurdles with Shaw, Ray and Scott. In the 4×400 relay, Hood, Lewis, Burt and Robinson have combined for the second best time in the state this season in 4:03.29, just off the time of 4:02.85 turned in by Fayetteville.
Lewis will run in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash as well. Hall qualified in the 800 and Brazil in the 1600.
Bryant’s 4×100 relay team of Burt, Young, Robinson and Ty Foote have turned in the fifth best time in the state this season at 49.78. That’s the third best time among 7A teams with only Fayetteville (48.99) and Conway (49.05) doing better.
Shaw, one of those freshmen, has recorded the third best time overall in the 100 hurdles and the top time among Class 7A athletes at 15.44 but ran into some tough luck at the conference meet, failing to qualify because of a spill.
McKinney qualified in both the discus and the shot for Bryant while Bree Hood and Garner will compete in the pole vault. In the 4×800 relay, Lee, Shelby, Laws and Hall will team up.
The lone boys event in which Bryant has recorded a top five time among the state’s best is the 4×400 relay team with a 3:24.22, which was fourth overall and third among 7A teams. Woodson, Bagby, Finney and Abernathy will comprise the foursome.
Finney also qualified in the 200 and 400 along with the triple jump. He’ll also join White, Bagby and Woodson on the 4×100 relay team. Bagby will also compete in the 400.
Carder and McIntosh will run in the 1600 while Carder, Watson and Barrientos compete in the 3200.
Murillo is set for both the shot and the discus with Dixon also qualified in the shot.
Abernathy will compete in both hurdles races and Thomas made State in the long jump.
Pryor, Stewart, Ramos and Colvert make up the quartet for Bryant in the 4×800 relay.
