LITTLE ROCK — The Bryant Junior Hornets picked up where they left off last season, scoring a dominant victory at the Minuteman Cross Country Invitational on Saturday at Western Hills Park. The Junior Hornets placed five runners in the top 10, scoring a total of 27 points. Little Rock Catholic (67), Cabot (67), Vilonia (84), and Episcopal Collegiate School (153) completed the top five teams.
Bryant’s Jhorman Cruz earned a runner-up finish in the two-mile race in a time of 11:07, with Michael Higgs (fourth in 11:09), Dawson Oakley (fifth in 11:13), Decatur Austin (sixth in 11:20), Chris Barrientos (10th in 11:42), Erik Gonzalez (13th in 11:50), and Ricky Barrientos (14th in 11:52) rounding out the team’s top seven finishers. Colby Harvey (16th in 11:53) and Edgar Tejada (17th in 11:57) also earned top 20 medals.
“Very good race by our junior high boys,” stated Bryant coach Steve Oury. “They got out to a good start and were in control throughout. I’m very excited about this group of kids. They have a great attitude and work very hard. I get to see the ninth graders’ work ethic every day and I know that our middle school coaches Deanna Porter at Bryant and Denise Smith at Bethel are doing a great job with those kids. We just need to keep working hard and remember not to take anything for granted.”
