September 6 in Bryant athletic history: 2014

Hornets impressive in winning Minuteman Invitational

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Photos courtesy of Jason Majors

John Carder (Photo courtesy of Jason Majors)

LITTLE ROCK — The Bryant Hornets kicked off the season Saturday with a convincing victory in the Minuteman Cross Country Invitational at Western Hills Park. The Hornets scored a winning total of 39 points to get the win over runner-up Maumelle (69 points). Little Rock Catholic (101), Vilonia (128), and Little Rock Christian (128) rounded out the top five teams.

Junior Charley Terry was the first Hornet across the line, placing fourth overall in a time of 16:40. Sophomore John Carder placed sixth in a time 17:04, with senior Connor Wilson (10th in 17:25), junior Ben Majors (11th in 17:28), senior Nicholas Schmidt (12th in 17:35), senior Nathan Stewart (15th in 17:40), and junior Eric Stewart (16th in 17:47) rounding out the Hornets’ top seven runners. Senior Mark Winn also earned a top 20 medal, placing 18th in 17:55.

A total of 143 runners completed the 5 kilometer (3.1 mile) race.

“That was a nice way to get the season started,” said Hornets coach Steve Oury. “Charlie Terry had a solid race to lead the way for us. John Carder has been a wonderful surprise. He just keeps getting stronger and gaining confidence.

Joey Culvert (Photo courtesy of Jason Majors)

“It was great to see Nicholas Schmidt and Nathan Stewart bounce back after having disappointing intrasquad races,” he added, referring to the team’s annual season-opening run held Aug. 26. “Ben Majors and Connor Wilson both ran strong, and I was excited for Eric Stewart and Mark Winn, who both broke 18 minutes for the first time.

“The boys are excited to get the win and are working very hard,” the coach related. “We have two weeks to train and get ready for the Wampus Cat Invitational in Conway, so hopefully we can get some nagging aches and pains taken care of by then.”