Only nationally-ranked team gets the best of Bryant girls
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting 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).
MOUNTAIN HOME — It’s taking the best teams in the region to beat the Bryant Lady Hornets cross country team.
Despite sporting just one senior on the squad, the Lady Hornets have been ranked No. 1 in the state of Arkansas since winning the season-opening UALR Invitational. They have still yet to be defeated by an Arkansas squad. It has taken the best team in Tennessee (Houston High School, at the OBU Invitational) and the best team in Missouri (West Plains, at the Mountain Home Invitational) to knock them off.
West Plains, ranked nationally last season and perhaps headed to that distinction again this year, put together a perfect score on Saturday, Sept. 28, to top the Lady Hornets and the rest of the field at Mountain Home. Bryant was second with 56 points. Mountain Home was the closest Arkansas team after that, finishing fourth with 102 points.
Meanwhile, the Bryant Junior High Lady Mustangs captured another team title with Cari Odle (10:03) and Nicole Snyder (10:06) finishing 1-2 individually. The Lady Mustangs just missed a perfect score themselves, finishing with five runners in the top six for 18 points.
“In only sport, you only get better when you compete against top competition,” noted Lady Hornets head coach Danny Westbrook. “That was the mindset (at Mountain Home).”
From the start of the race, West Plains send their team to the front and set a blistering first-mile pace that only Bryant’s Brooke Higgs was willing to cover. Higgs ran step for step with the lead pack most of the race and finished sixth with a time of 16:20, almost breaking up West Plains’ perfect score.
Candice James was ninth overall (16:44) with Jessica Graham 10th (in 16:45) for the Lady Hornets, each garnering top 10 awards. Bryant’s scoring quintet was completed by freshmen Mary Edwards (14th, 16:55) and Kim Bergen (17th, 17:24).
“We knew going into this meet what we were up against in West Plains, but we set a goal for ourselves to be the top Arkansas team in the race and we achieved that,” Westbrook commented. “Brooke Higgs ran a gutsy race. She ran stride for stride with some of the best female runners in the country and she is just a sophomore. Her potential is unlimited. I thought Jessica Graham had a great race today as well, finishing top 10 in such a talented field of runners.
“Next Saturday we will race at the Russellville Invitational,” Westbrook noted. “Last year, both Rogers and Fayetteville were at that meet, so I’m looking forward to competing against them.”
For the Lady Mustangs, the team championship was their fourth in as many meets this season. They went to the front early and continued their “pack attack” style of racing.
Joining Odle and Snyder in the top five were Mikki Eichenberg (10:12) who finished fourth overall and Sarah James (5th, 10:13). Samantha Montgomery was sixth (10:14), completing Bryant’s scoring group. Jessie Sutton also turned in a top 10 performance, finishing eighth (10:46).
“Our junior girls just continue to amaze me every time they race,” Westbrook said. “This was Cari’s second individual title in the last two meets so she is on a roll. This group has figured out how to win in this sport and every week they keep proving themselves.
“Next week, at Russellville, they will probably see their toughest competition. Russellville’s junior girls should be full strength for the first time this season and they have a very good team.”
