LITTLE ROCK — The Bryant Hornets returned to action Saturday at the Minuteman Cross Country Invitational at Western Hills Park. The Hornets placed eightth out of 24 complete teams. There were 330 runners who completed the 5k (3.1 mile) race.
Henry Terry was the first Hornet across the line, placing 13th in a time of 17:29. The rest of the Hornet top seven were Nick Fowler (36th in 18:19), Blake Shields (53rd in 18:44), Christian Brack (63rd in 18:53), Decatur Austin (72nd in 19:00), Chris Morgan (81st in 19:14), and Dylan White (87th in 19:22).
“I thought Henry Terry ran a very good race,” said Hornets coach Steve Oury. “Huge personal record for him.
“We need to cut the time gaps among our top runners, which is going to be our goal for the next race,” he added. “We were resting Chris Barrientos this week, so that obviously had an impact on our placement as a team, but we need to have some guys step up.
“I was pleased with Nick Fowler, who has been a pleasant surprise as a newcomer this season,” the coach mentioned. “I also thought that sophomore Christian Brack had a very good race.”
JUNIOR BOYS
The Junior Hornets placed third out of 21 teams. There were a total of 381 runners in the two-mile race.
Bresner Austin led the way for Bryant with a seventh place finish in a time of 11:16. The rest of the team’s top seven were Hagan Austin (11th in 11:28), Chris Herrera (17th in 11:48), Taj Van Tassel (37th in 12:19), Johnny Chicas (47th in 12:28), Aaron Spangler (48th in 12:29), and Jessie Ibarra (49th in 12:29).
“We ran a very good race,” Oury said. “Bresner and Hagan Austin both ran personal record times, and Chris Herrera stepped up with a nice top 20 finish.
“Our middle school coaches, Deanna Porter at Bryant Middle School, and Denise Smith at Bethel Middle School, have done a great job, as has Lisa Dreher, who works with the ninth graders,” he added.
The Bryant teams are scheduled to run next at Russellville on Saturday, Sept. 23.
