CONWAY — The Bryant Lady Hornets freshman track team won two relays and had a bead on a third only to get tangled up with another team forcing neither of them to finish at the Kitten Relays at Conway High School on Thursday.
Zhania Hall contributed an individual first-place finish for Bryant, which accumulated 77 points to finish fourth in the eight-team meet, which was won by Conway White with 140.5 points. The Lady Hornets were competing for the first time since top scorer Deborah Shaw, who often accounted for over 40 points, moved up to the high school varsity team.
The meet on Thursday ended in thrilling fashion with the 4×400-meter relay as the Lady Hornets’ team of Megan Lee, Maggie Laws, Cassie Ray and Hall leaned through the tape ahead of Cabot North’s quartet by .04 of a second. Bryant was clocked at 4:23.63 with Cabot North at 4:23.67.
In the 4×800, Lee, Laws, Hall and Bailey Brazil ran a 10:46.27 to take first place. Russellville was second at 10:58.69.
In the 4×100, Jasmine Johnson, Charlotte Guevara, Ray and Yonni Allen didn’t finish.
“We had a really good run going and the Cabot girls fell during their handoff and tripped our girls,” explained Bryant coach Beth Solomon.
Hall won the 400-meter run with a time of 1:00.99 with Laws third in 1:05.82. Ray was second in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.98, bested only by Conway White’s Taylor Conway’s 15.99.
Lee and Brazil each scored in two events. Lee was third in the triple jump at 32’4” while finishing eighth in the high jump at 4’4”. Brazil’s 2:39.22 in the 800 was good for third just shy of the winning time of 2:38.03 turned in by Avery Tribbett of Conway White. In the 1600, Brazil ran a 5:59.23 to finish fifth.
Malori Pendergrass was fourth and Ray was seventh in the 300 hurdles. Pendergrass ran a 52.28 with Ray finishing in 54.88.
Allen and Laws added points as well. Allen was fifth in the 200 with a time of 28.81 while Laws cleared 6’0” in the pole vault to place sixth.
The meet was the final tune-up for the team before the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference championship which will be held at Lake Hamilton on Thursday, April 21.
