Bright to Meet of Champs
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PEARCY — Junior Steven Bright qualified for the Meet of Champs when he finished second in the 800 meter run at the Class AAAAA State championship meet at Lake Hamilton High School on Saturday, May 15.
Bright’s was the top performance among the Bryant Hornets’ contingent at the meet. The Hornets scored 16 points in the meet.
The Meet of Champs was set to be held Wednesday, May 19, at Lake Hamilton.
Bright ran a season-best time of 1:58.42 to qualify but didn’t go head to head with his chief competition.
“We are all frustrated for Steven,” Bryant head coach Steve Oury allowed. “He won the fast heat of the 800, but Glen Ritter of Jonesboro posted a slightly faster time in the slow heat.
“It’s an unusual situation in which an athlete narrowly misses winning a state championship and didn’t even get to race the winner,” he added. “I do know that Steven is looking forward to the Meet of Champs. He won’t have to worry about someone in another heat, since there is only one heat of each race.”
The Meet of Champs brings together the state champions from each classification in each event, plus the next three fastest times regardless of classification, Oury said.
Blake Zuber, the Bryant school record holder in the pole vault, was unable to make that height Saturday. He did manage to clear 13 feet to finish in a three-way tie for fifth. Senior Bryan Ballew and sophomore Chris Robinson also scored for the Hornets. Ballew was sixth in the 1600 with a time of 4:34.38. Robinson finished seventh in the 800 with a time of 1:59.77.
Robinson’s situation was similar to Bright’s.
“Chris ran an incredible race to place second in the slow heat and ended up seventh overall,” Oury noted. “It’s a shame they couldn’t have all run together.
“Bryan ran a gutsy race in the 1600,” he said. “He had to go to the hospital afterwards because of dehydration. We think he may have actually had too much water to drink before the race, which led to an electrolyte imbalance. He has an outside shot of getting into the Meet of Champs, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed. He wants another shot to break 4:30.
“Blake was disappointed in himself,” added the coach, “but he wasn’t the only pole vaulter to struggle. I was just glad he cleared 13-0 on his first attempt because a number of the competitors struggled to clear it.”
Thirteen feet was the opening height.
Sophomore Adam Schneider fell just short of scoring in the 3200. His time of 10:39 was good for ninth. Sophomore Brandon Clem competed in the pole vault for Bryant but was unable to clear the opening height.
“I’m very pleased by our athletes’ performances,” Oury stated. “I felt like all six of our guys gave it their best shot, and that’s all you can ask for.”
