CABOT — The Bryant High School swim team turned in eight top five finishes and wound[more] up placing fifth in the composite standings at the Cabot Invitational meet at the Cabot Community Center on Thursday.
Bryant was fifth in the girls competition and fourth in the boys division. Conway captured the team titles in both. Mountain Home was second in the composite standings, followed by Cabot, North Little Rock, Bryant, Jonesboro, Valley View, Vilonia, Greene County Tech and Paragould.
“We still have several swimmers out sick and we missed a day of practice due to the weather,” said Bryant coach Angel Dale. “This was a really tough meet.”
Sophomore Minki Kang continued his fine season with first-place finishes in the 50 freestyle (23.12) and 100 freestyle (51.41). He also contributed legs to two relays. In the 200 free, Kang, Andrew Ball, Ray Weldon and Casey Ball finished third with a time of 1:43.10. In the 200 medley relay, Casey Ball, Ray Weldon, Jim Dellorto and Kang took fifth in a time of 1:56.55.
Casey Ball, a senior, scored for the Hornets in the 100 backstroke, finishing fourth in 1:08.92 as well as the 200 free, taking fifth in 2:18.34.
Dellorto, a sophomore, was fifth in the 100 butterfly (1:11.47) and eighth in the 200 IM (2:40.30). He also joined freshman Trace Rhode, senior Nick Hoffpauir and soph Andrew Ball on the 400 freestyle relay team which finished 5th in 4:18.14.
Rhode also scored in two other events. He was sixth in the 500 free (6:02.24) and eighth in the 100 breast (1:20.81).
Along with Dellorto, Weldon (a freshman) and Ball scored points in the 200 IM. Weldon’s 2:33.03 was good for sixth and Ball’s 2:38.61 garnered seventh. Hoffpauir added an eighth-place finish in the 100 butterfly, finishing in 1:19.28.
The girls were paced by sophomore Lindsey Butler and freshman Katie Higgs. Individually, Butler finished second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:06.50 with Higgs fifth in 1:09.72. Higgs added a second-place finish in the 100 back (1:09.00).
Both contributed to a pair of relays. In the 200 free, they were joined by Reagan Smith and Libby Thompson on a 1:55.56 clocking that earned fourth place. In the 200 medley, the same quartet took fifth in 2:09.48.
Thompson added an eighth-place finish in the 100 breast (1:27.89).
The 400 free relay team of Julianna Shelton, Sarah White, Devin Hester and Mikayla Douglas combined on a 4:52.79 to finish seventh.
The Bryant team’s next meet is scheduled for Jan. 26, at Hendrix College in Conway.