LITTLE ROCK — The Bryant Hornets qualified 11 athletes for the 7A State Track Meet on Thursday at[more] the 7A Central Conference Championships. The Hornets placed 7th with a total of 44.5 points behind Conway (196), LR Central (86), LR Catholic (85), North Little Rock (84.5), Cabot (84), and West Memphis (62.5).
State meet qualifiers for the Hornets included:
The 4 x 800 relay team of Lance Smith, Clifton Hampton, Austin Middleton, and Tyler Purtle (5th in 8:58);
Derrick Dogan in the long jump (5th in 20' 0.5");
Dillion Winfrey in the 200 meter dash (4th in 22.93);
Tyler Purtle in the 1600 meter run (5th in 4:41.66) and the 3200 meter run (5th in 10:36.49);
Spencer Sullivan in the 300 meter hurdles (4th in 42.62);
Hunter Schelle in the 300 meter hurdles (6th in 43.34);
the 4 x 100 meter relay team of Dogan, Winfrey, Charles Henson, and Caleb Thomas (3rd in 43.53);
and the 4 x 400 meter relay team of Dogan, Winfrey, Thomas, and Travis Royal (4th in 3:38.42).
Royal also earned an eighth place tie in the high jump with a clearance of 5' 10", and Sullivan placed seventh in the 110 meter high hurdles with a time of 16.58.
"We had a combination of nice performances and disappointing ones,” commented Hornets coach Steve Oury. “We missed a few opportunities to qualify for state, but we kept fighting. We are really lacking experience in the field events, and going against teams like Conway makes it really tough.
“We have some talented kids who will be back next year, and with our outstanding group of freshmen coming up, I think we will be much improved next year,” he added. “However, I feel that we have some seniors that have a chance to do some good things at the state meet next week in Rogers. We want to make sure they finish their careers on a high note."
