Hornets run their best at annual Westbrook Invitational
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).
Photos courtesy of Cynthia Austin
Calling it “our best team performance of the season,” Bryant Hornets head cross country coach Steve Oury praised the effort of his team for their work in Saturday’s annual Danny Westbrook Invitational at Bishop Park in Saturday.
In the junior high division, Bryant’s boys took top honors.
The Hornets’ varsity finished with just 57 points, second only to a 27-point performance by Conway, which finished with three of the top four runners and all five of their scoring runners in the top 11.
Lakeside was third at 115 followed by Maumelle (147) and Russellville (164) in a field with runners from 16 schools.
Bryant’s top finisher was Bresner Austin, who ran the 5K in 16:28.39 to place sixth overall. His brother Hagan Auster was eighth with a time of 16:37.20.
The Hornets had four more runners finish in the top 20. Christian Brack was 13th in 17:01.34 with Chris Herrera 15th in 17:02.16. Luis Martinez ran a 17:13.21 to finish 17th and Ammon Henderson’s 17:22.88 was good for 20th. Rounding out Bryant’s top seven was Ethan Ives. He ran a 17:42.28 to place 31st.
“We only had a 45-second gap from our first to fifth runner, and we had several boys set big personal records,” Oury noted. “Christian Brack had never broken 18 minutes before today, and he almost got under 17 minutes.
“Hats off to Conway for running a very good race,” he added. “Their front runners ran really well, and we just couldn’t match up with them at the front of the pack. I think we have better depth than Conway, but their top five are running really well.”
On a 3200-meter course, the Bryant Junior High boys won with 27 points to defeat Conway (58) atop the field including runners from 12 schools. Russellville was third with 100. Little Rock Catholic and Hot Springs Lakeside tied for fourth with 142.
The Junior Hornets finished with all five runners in the top eighth and three more in the top 20.
Bryant’s George Terry was third in 11:07.98, less than a second behind Max Henry of Conway for second. Joseph Bariola of Lakeside won in 10:49.41.
Brady Bingaman for Bryant was fourth and Mason Lewis fifth. Bingaman ran 11:08.63 and Lewis 11:16.76.
Alex Skelley finished seventh in 11:30.59 and Brandon Avila was eighth in 11:35.18.
Layton Baugh finished 12th for the Junior Hornets with a time of 11:39.03. Payton Brack was 16th (11:47.36) and Sam Herring 17th(11:47.97) for Bryant.
“George Terry and Brady Bingaman did a great job leading the team,” said Bryant Junior High coach Brooke Meister. “We have been having a great season and the boys are getting stronger every race. They make me extremely proud and I look forward to every race.”
Said Oury, “I would like to thank all of the parents who volunteered their time to make this meet a success. We can’t pull this off without their help.”
Next Saturday, Bryant gets a chance to run on the Oaklawn Park course that will be the site of the Class 6A State meet. The Lake Hamilton Invitational will be held there. The State meet Is Nov. 9.
