Hornets finish close second to Magnolia at Arkadelphia meet
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ARKADELPHIA — The Bryant Hornets turned in nine top five finishes led by Justin Combs’ winning effort in the 200 individual medley but they were edged out in the team competition by the Magnolia Panthers in the Arkadelphia Invitational swim meet held Friday, Jan. 15, at Ouachita Baptist University.
Magnolia finished with 335 points to Bryant’s 327.5. El Dorado was third with 267.5 followed by Arkadelphia (198), Arkansas Baptist (73), Hot Springs Lakeside (36) and Little Rock Christian (11).[more]
Combs’ winning time in the 200 IM was 1:29.72. He also placed second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 6:08.40 and provided the anchor leg of two relays. In the 400 free, he joined Kyle Douglas, Brent Heil and Dylan Rogers in a 4:08.88 clocking that was good for second. In the 200 medley, he followed Brennan Bullock, Douglas and Rogers in a third-place time of 2:08.86.
Casey Ball and Caleb Thomas contributed second-place finishes for the Hornets. Ball finished the 200 free in 2:32.24 while Thomas earned a 98.55 in the 1-meter dive competition. Bullock finished right behind Thomas with a score of 62.40. He was also 10th in the 100 breast stroke with a time of 1:26.48.
Douglas contributed a third-place finish in the 100 free in a time of 56.70 and was fourth in the 100 breast in a time of 1:13.76. Hayden Stewart contributed a fourth in the 100 butterfly, finishing in 1:09.26. He was also 14th in the 50 free in a time of 27.47.
Cory Campbell turned in a 2:59.65 time in the 200 free to pick up fifth-place points. He also contributed 13th in the 100 free with a time of 1:14.55. Ross Grant, meanwhile, placed sixth in both of his events. In the 100 free, he finished in 1:02.41. In the 100 back, he turned in a 1:16.37.
Brent Heil’s 2:55.77 in the 200 IM was good for sixth. He also finished 11th in the 100 breast with a time of 1:27.57. Blake Heil’s 1:16.58 was good for seventh in the breast stroke and his 27.14 took 12th in the 50 free.
Rogers added a ninth in the 50 free in a time of 26.87.
In the relays, the Heils combined with Bullock and Grant on a fourth-place finish in the 200 free, turning in a time of 1:51.80. Ball, Stewart, Campbell and Thomas combined on a 1:55.64 to finish right behind them.
In the 400 free relay, in addition to the second-place finish by Douglas, Brent Heil, Rogers and Combs, the quartet of Campbell, Grant, Ball and Stewart finished fourth with a time of 4:46.28.
The Hornets will swim again on Saturday, Jan. 23, at Hendrix College in Conway. The meet will complete the regular-season schedule ahead of the conference meet on Feb. 16 at OBU.
