CABOT — The Bryant Lady Hornets freshman track team set records in three events as they[more] accumulated 83 points to finish fourth in the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference meet on Saturday.
Lake Hamilton won the girls title with 151.5 points followed by Cabot South (111) and North Little Rock (107). Conway White was fifth (63), Conway Blue sixth (55), Cabot North (30.5) and Benton (22).
Melinda Murdock set a new school record in winning the 300 hurdles for Bryant. She finished in 49.57. Leah Ward’s triple jump of 35-4 set a new school mark and earned first-place honors. And the Lady Hornets’ 4×400 relay team of Murdock, Ward, MeKaylah Muhammad and Marley Adams set a new school standard with a time of 4:41.99 which was good for fourth.
“Our girls competed really well,” stated Bryant coach Beth Solomon. “I am very proud of them.
“Every time we go to a conference meet, we get frustrated that we’re up against teams like Lake Hamilton who can use their 7th, 8th, and 9th graders to put their very best kids out there,” Solomon said. “Bryant is the only team that can only use 9th grade; every other school in our conference uses their 8th and 9th graders. It’s just frustrating, especially for the girls.”
In addition to winning the triple jump, Ward won the long jump with a leap of 15-9.5, and the 100 meter dash which she finished in 13.27. Along with contributing to the 4×400 relay team, she ran a leg of the 4×100, joining Hayes, Muhammad and Murdock in finishing second with a time of 52.79.
To go with her win in the 300 hurdles, Murdock finished third in the 100 hurdles with a time of 17.88. She was fourth in the 200, clocking in at 28.58.
Muhammad also contributed a third-place finish in the 300 hurdles (53.57), a seventh in the long jump (14-5) and a seventh in the triple jump (30-4).
Adams joined Sam Macci, Kat Bolton and Mikayla Douglas in the 4×800 meter relay. The team finished in 11:20.51 and earned second place. Individually, Adams finished eighth in the 1600, with a time of 6:14.15.
