Carder, Barrientos finish in the top 10 for Hornets
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
RUSSELLVILLE — The Bryant Hornets placed 5th out of 19 complete teams at the Russellville Invitational cross country meet Saturday. The Hornets finished with a total of 124 points over the hilly course in very hot conditions. Springdale Har-Ber won the team title with 91 points followed by Lake Hamilton (97), Catholic (112), and Cabot (114).
John Carder (4th in a time of 17:15) and Chris Barrientos (9th in a time of 17:35) both earned top 20 medals for the Hornets. The rest of the Bryant top seven were Eathan Devine (26th in 18:32), Enrique Ramos (38th in 18:54), Decatur Austin (61st in 19:41), Chris Morgan (82nd in 20:11), and Andy Doonan (83rd in 20:12).
“I am very pleased with how we competed,” said Hornets coach Steve Oury. “This is a difficult course, especially in the heat. John Carder and Chris Barrientos ran very well, as did Eathan Devine and Enrique Ramos. Our time gap for our top five needs to decrease and I think it will as the season progresses.”
Junior boys
The Junior Hornets placed fourth in the junior high competition at the meet with a total of 134 points, finishing behind Conway, Bentonville, and Lake Hamilton. A total of 20 complete teams competed in the 2-mile race.
Bresner Austin led the way for Bryant with a ninth-place finish in a time of 11:35. Christian Brack (23rd in 12:00), Chris Herrera (32nd in 12:21), Brandon Mann (34th in 12:24), Jackson Meshell (44th in 12:40), Dylan White (46th in 12:44), and Kakada Av (62nd in 12:55) completed the top five for the Junior Hornets.
“Bresner Austin had a spectacular race,” praised Oury. “He passed a lot of runners in the second mile of the race to earn a top 10 finish.
“We have several seventh and eighth graders among our top runners, which is a credit to our middle school coaches, Deanna Porter (Bryant Middle) and Denise Smith (Bethel Middle),” he added. “Coach Lisa Dreher has done a great job with our ninth grade boys and girls as well.”
The team’s top runners at both levels will travel to Fayetteville on Saturday, Oct. 1, for the annual Chile Pepper Invitational at Agri Park.
