Higgs, Crosby highlight Bryant performances at State meet

Divers Sarah Weber, Caivon Crosby, Paris Works

BENTONVILLE — Michael Higgs turned in the top performances for Bryant as the Hornets finished eighth and the Lady Hornets 11^th at the Class 7A State swimming and diving meet on Saturday.

Bentonville swept the championships. In the boys, the Tigers accumulated 388 points to defeat Little Rock Central (304) and Conway (296.5) in the 19-team field. In the girls competition, Bentonville finished with 432.5 points to Central’s 343.5. Fayetteville was third with 310 as 21 teams competed.

Higgs turned in a pair of third-place finishes. In the 100 yard breaststroke, he finished in 1:00.03 behind Bentonville’s Hayden Harlow (55.84) and Conway’s Anderson Mainord (59.60). In the 100-yard butterfly, his time of 53.38 was third behind Mainord’s 52.22 and the 53.11 turned in by Blake Holland of Rogers Heritage.

The Hornets’ Caivon Crosby finished fourth in the one-meter dive with a score of 309.05.

Tristan Hoeschelmann, Alex Ball, Michael Higgs and Jacob Eubanks combined in the 200 medley relay.

The boys quartet of Alex Ball, Tristan Hoerschelmann, Higgs and Jacob Eubanks picked up sixth-place points in the 200-yard medley relay, clocking in at 1:50.90.

The top finishes among the Lady Hornets were in a pair of relays. In the medley relay, Leila Horschelmann, Lara Kockaya, Jessica Butler and Kayla Vaughan combined on a 2:04.25 for seventh. In the 200 free relay, Kockaya, Taylor Wilson, Vaughan and Butler finished seventh in 1:49.58.

The boys’ 200 free team of Eubanks, Ball, Kyle Henry and Higgs was eighth with a time of 1:37.22.

In the 400 relay, the Lady Hornets were ninth in 4:09.35. Wilson, Hannah Tennison, Vaughan and Kockaya teamed up in the event. The boys 400 relay of Eubanks, Hoerschelmann, Ball and Henry was 10^th in 3:42.76.

Ball added a 12^th-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke. His time of 59.63 was a personal record.

The Lady Hornets had two divers score points with Sara Weber 10^th and Paris Works 14^th. Weber’s score was 174.50 and Works’ was 86.30.

Butler scored in two events for the girls’ team. She was 12^th in the 50 free with a time of 26.30 and 13^th in the 100 free in a time of 58.91.