Hornets second at NLR 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).
Photos courtesy of Julia Combs and Jamie Hester
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — A strong, deep Little Rock Catholic team was the only one able to surpass the Bryant Hornets in the North Little Rock Christmas Invitational swimming and diving meet held Tuesday and Wednesday at the North Little Rock Boys Club.
Christian Reep
Catholic won five events but scored well in just about every event on the way to piling up 720.5 points. Bryant was second with 392 followed by North Little Rock with 332.5 and Cabot with 294.
Justin Combs, who competed in Wednesday’s diving competition, scored a 152.15 to earn the lone first-place finish for the Hornets. Scott Mead was second with a score of 143.85.
On Tuesday, the Hornets garners second-place points in three events including the 400-yard freestyle relay with Fonzee Bittle, Trace Rhode, Chandler Reep and Andrew Ball combining on a 4:03.86.
Reep and Ray Weldon turned in the other two seconds. Reep’s came in the 100 breast stroke with a time of 1:13.08. Weldon was second in the 50 free at 25.77.
In the 400 relay, the Bryant team of Ryan West, Cody Tarvin, Dru Wen and Derek Vos finished in 5:01.46 to place sixth.
Behind Reep in the 100 breast was West who was seventh in 1:29.37. Scoring with Weldon in the 50 free was Tarvin (12th, 33.65) and Wen (13th, 35.89).
Weldon, along with Ball and Rhode produced third-place finishes as did the 200 medley relay team of Weldon, Reep, Jim Dellorto and Ball (1:57.51).
Weldon’s third came in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:05.42. Vos was ninth in 1:21.33. Ball’s third was in the 100 free. He finished in 58.94 with Bittle ninth in 1:04.48. Rhode was third in the 500 free, turning in a 6:00.82 clocking with West 11th in 7:35.95.
Fonzee Bittle
The Hornets picked up points from three members in the 200 individual medley, led by Reep’s 2:30.67 for fifth. Bittle was sixth in 2:41.91 and Dellort eighth in 2:48.21.
Dellorto was seventh (1:12.86) and Rhode eighth (1:13.88) in the 100 butterfly while Ball finished seventh (2:22.76) and Vos ninth (2:29.24) in the 200 free.
The Hornets’ 200 yard relay team of Bittle, Rhode, Dellorto and Weldon finished fourth in a time of 1:47.94 with the quartet of Vos, Tarvin, Wen and West seventh in 2:10.59.
The meet was the last for Bryant before the Christmas break. The Hornets return to competition on Jan. 11, 2014, at Hendrix College in Conway.
Justin Combs
Jim Dellorto
Scott Mead
