Murdock paces Lady Hornets at State meet
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Photos courtesy of Julie Shelby
Photo courtesy of Julie Shelby
CABOT — The Bryant Lady Hornets competed at the Class 7A State Track and Field Championships at Cabot High School on Thursday and came away with a fifth place team finish.
Bentonville won the title with 160 points. Springdale Har-Ber was runner-up with 133 points followed by Fayetteville (83), Cabot (78), Bryant (35.5), Fort Smith Southside (32), and Conway (24). There were 16 teams competing.
Senior Melinda Murdock led the Lady Hornets with 17 points. She took second in the 800-meter run (2:18.4) and ran a personal best time of 14.9 in the 100-meter hurdles to finish third. She was also a member of both sprint relays that placed.
The 4 x 400-meter relay team consisting of Jadyn Lewis, Haley Hood, Murdock, and Rachael Owens ran a season best 4:05.8 to take fourth place.
“I thought Melinda had an outstanding state meet,” stated Lady Hornets coach Danny Westbrook. “Her 100-meter hurdle time is very close to our school record and our 4 x 400-meter relay team is close as well. I am very confident that we will have several events qualify for the Meet of Champs to be held next Saturday at Heber Springs. It will give us another opportunity to compete and take a shot at those school records.”
Photo courtesy of Julie Shelby
Senior Leah Ward finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 17’6″.
In the high jump, Owens, a junior, turned in a personal best leap of 5’2″ to take sixth and Hood, a sophomore, finished seventh with a jump of 5’0″.
Bryant also scored in the other two relay events.
In the 4 x 800-meter relay the team of Tayln Billins, Caitlyn Bell, Hannah Shelby, and Haley Hood took fourth place with a time of 10:10.7.
The 4 x 100-meter relay team of Reagan Smith, Murdock, Hood, and Owens took seventh in a time of 51.7.
Photo courtesy of Julie Shelby
Photo courtesy of Julie Shelby
