McAdoo, Hornets step up in leader’s absence at Russellville
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).
RUSSELLVILLE — Running against their sternest competition of the season, the third-ranked Bryant Hornets entered the Cyclone Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 30, with perennial front-runner Ethan Blakley taking a week off to rest up for the Twilight Invitational at Christian Brothers College in Memphis on Oct. 7.
So, it was a pleasant surprise that the rest of the Hornets, led by Todd McAdoo, managed to finish third anyway, trailing only second-ranked Van Buren and fifth-rated Fayetteville. And, in the process, the Hornets got the best of a pair of teams that had finished ahead of them at their own Hornets Invitational two weeks before, Conway and Heber Springs.
“This meet was just what the doctor ordered,” declared Hornets coach Steve Oury. “We have been working very hard and the guys can see it start to pay off.”
Bryant not only finished ahead of fourth-ranked Conway and Heber, but also 7th-ranked Little Rock Catholic.
“Not having Ethan out there forced the other guys to step it up a notch,” Oury continued. “Todd McAdoo broke through and had an awesome race. Josh Harrison also ran very well.”
McAdoo finished seventh overall, covering the rugged 5k course in 18:05. Harrison earned a top 20 medal by finishing 17th in a time of 18:24.
Other Hornet finishers were Joey Fuoco (28th in 18:46), Cody Fiser (33rd in 18:54), Ben Higgs (44th in 19:14), Alvin Rapien (53rd in 19:38), Preston Adami (58th in 19:50), Brandon Mueller (86th in 20:44), Homer Coleman (99th in 21:17), Nick Pultro (116th in 21:54), Daniel Hall (119th in 22:04), Remell Allen (125th in 22:09), Brandon Barnes (128th in 22:18), Drew Persinger (129th in 22:12), Jeremy Cox (150th in 23:14), Trenton Palmer (163rd in 24:00), Jacob Pultro (164th in 24:06), and Ben Griffin (165th in 24:08).
“Two weeks ago if you would have told me that we would beat Conway, Catholic, and lots of other good teams without Ethan, I would not have believed it,” Oury stated. “Had Ethan run today we would have beaten Fayetteville but probably would not have been ahead of Van Buren. Hopefully, we will keep improving so that by State meet time we will be ready to run with them too.”
In the junior high competition, Bryant once again ran an excellent race and easily beat every team except one, the Lake Hamilton Junior Wolves. It has become a weekly occurrence. This week, Lake Hamilton dominated at the front of the pack and held off the field with a 33 point total. Bryant’s second place total of 68 was well ahead of Conway (99 points) and Russellville (107 points). Eleven teams and 190 runners completed the race.
Earning top 20 medals for the Junior Hornets were Jacob Clark (10th in 12:34), Chris Dubose (11th in 12:34), Devon Norris (12th in 12:39), Jacob Goff (17th in 12:49), and Dillon Rhodes (18th in 12:49).
“This is a very challenging course,” Oury commented. “The start is straight uphill, and we had some guys who got behind early but did a good job of getting back into contention. Chris Dubose did a great job today of stepping up. It was nice to see him finish right there with Jacob Clark and Devon Norris, who have been our front runners most of the year. Dylan Rhodes and Jacob Goff both got behind a little early but fought back.
“Lake Hamilton is really good,” added the coach. “I’m ready for their top ninth graders to move up to the senior high, and I’m sure our guys are too.”
Other finishers for Bryant were Colton Klaus (22nd in 13:04), Austin Benning (26th in 13:11), Tyler Webb (27th in 13:14), Luke Lindsley (40th in 13:31), Johnathon Chapman (41st in 13:40), Kevin Nalley (44th in 13:50), Matt Hill (55th in 14:06), Cash Lambert (58th in 14:09), Logan Howard (59th in 14:11), Wayne Hall (60th in 14:12), Ken Vega (62nd in 14:15), Daniel Tucker (76th in 14:41), Ian Russell (78th in 14:45), Ben Ackley (97th in 15:37), Ashton Arnoldy (106th in 15:54), Nathan Breeding (114th in 16:08), Tyler Nelson (117th in 16:13), Austin Kimbrough (120th in 16:14), Dylan Ball (131st in 16:57), Michael Ma (132nd in 16:58), Tanner Morris (136th in 17:04), Spencer Arendt (141st in 17:11), Travis Ferguson (147th in 17:46), and Nick Love (165th in 18:38).
