Hornets turn in strong second-place finish at Russellville
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be posting 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 Julie Shelby
RUSSELLVILLE — The Bryant Hornets track team competed in the Russellville Cyclone Invitational Friday night, earning a 2nd place finish in what is regarded as the biggest and most competitive regular season meet of the season in the state of Arkansas.
The Hornets scored 72.5 points to finish behind team champion Bentonville (82 points). Little Rock Central (66), Rogers Heritage (55), and Little Rock Catholic (47) finished out the top five teams. Twenty-four teams scored in the meet, which featured 13 out of the 16 teams in Class 7A.
“Bentonville is just loaded across the board,” acknowledged Hornets coach Steve Oury. “They have quality and exceptional depth. They are going to be tough for anyone to beat, but my guys enjoyed competing against all the great athletes at this meet. It gave us an idea of what the 7A West Conference and 7A State meet will be like.”
Darian Jarrett led the Hornets with a first place finish in the long jump (21-9), a fourth place finish in the 400 meter dash (50.77 – state qualifier), and a tie for fourth in the high jump (6-2). He was also on the winning 4 x 400 meter relay team, joining Austin Vail, Steven Murdock, and John Winn (3:24.49).
Winn also placed second in the 400 meter dash in a time of 50.14, while Murdock earned a fourth place finish in the 200 meter dash in a time of 23.10.
Also earning a first place finish was the 4 x 800 meter relay team of Murdock, Charlie Terry, Clifton Hampton, and Mark Winn (8:27). Hampton later placed sixth in the 1600 meter run in 4:42.48, while Terry earned a fourth place finish in the 3200 meter run in 10:07.38.
Justin Combs earned a third place finish and a state qualifying mark in the pole vault with a new personal record of 14-0 while the 4 x 100 meter relay team of Mar’kevius Nelson, Pierce Finney, Austin Vail, and Makiya Hunter finished fifth in 44.54). In addition, Dillon Daniels was seventh in the 300 meter hurdles (43.27).
“I was extremely proud of how the guys competed,” Oury said. “We were missing a couple of key performers, but we had some team players, like Mar’kevius Nelson and Makiya Hunter, who stepped up and did their best. Darian Jarrett had a phenomenal meet as did Steven Murdock and John Winn. Justin Combs broke through and cleared the 14-foot barrier in the pole vault, which was great.”
Bryant is set to compete at the Wampus Cat Invitationals in Conway with some of the team headed to the Benton Panther Relays on Thursday, April 10.
