Hornets finish third at ATCA Indoor Invitational meet
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).
FAYETTEVILLE — The Bryant Hornets opened up their track season with a strong showing at the Arkansas Track Coaches Association Indoor Invitational at the University of Arkansas on Saturday. The Hornets scored a total of 67 points to place third behind team champion Fayetteville (96 points) and Fort Smith Southside (76). Twenty-five teams scored in the boys division, with Cabot (36) and Bentonville (35) rounding out the top five.[more]
Tanner Tolbert was the top scorer for the Hornets, earning a victory in the long jump (21′ 4″), a second-place finish in the triple jump (43′ 2″), and a fourth-place finish in the 60 meter dash (7.23).
Also earning a t-shirt for a first-place finish was the 1600 meter relay team of Tyler Freshour, James Glasper, Kendrick Farr, and Stanley Oxner. Oxner pulled ahead in the last 10 meters to give the Hornets the victory in a time of 3:37.02. Oxner also earned a second-place finish in the 400 meter dash (52.54) and a sixth-place finish in the 60 meter hurdles (8.99). Glasper placed fifth in the 400 in a time of 53.94, while Farr earned an eighth-place finish in the 60 with a time of 7.37.
Troy Smith set a new personal record in the high jump with a leap of 6′ 2″ to earn a second-place finish. Also scoring for Bryant in the jumping events was Dylan Blasi, who placed fifth in the long jump (20′ 4″) and eighth in the triple jump (40′ 9.5″).
The 3200 meter relay team of Colton Klaus, Jacob Clark, Logan Howard, and Michael Smith, earned a sixth-place finish in a time of 8:45.33, while Luke Lindsley placed seventh in the 1600 meter run in a new personal record time of 4:43.47.
“I was very happy with our performance as a team today,” stated Hornets coach Steve Oury. “We competed with a lot of team pride, which really showed in the 1600 meter relay. Coach Brad Stroud, who coaches our jumpers, is certainly to be commended for the way the jumpers performed. Tanner was solid as usual, but Dylan Blasi stepped up and scored in two events in his first-ever track meet, while Troy Smith just keeps improving in the high jump.
“Stanley Oxner had a heck of a meet, especially considering he has been fighting a cold all week,” Oury continued. “Both of our relay teams did a great job.
“We have to be encouraged for the state meet in two weeks but, at the same time, we can not assume that the same performances will earn the same points in two weeks,” he concluded. “We will have to keep working to improve, because things change when a state championship is on the line. Teams like Pine Bluff and North Little Rock, who were not at this meet, will be there in full force in two weeks. However, I like our chances of finishing well at State.”
