CABOT — Two Bryant Hornet seniors finished off their track careers in style with[more] top 10 finishes at the Arkansas State Decathlon Championships in Cabot on Wednesday and Thursday. Troy Smith finished with a total of 6349 points to place seventh and Tanner Tolbert was 10 points back with 6339, which earned him an eighth place finish. The top 10 finishers in the decathlon earn plaques.
The Fayetteville duo of Bradley Culp (8,095 points) and Stephen Soerens (7,669) finished 1-2 in the final results.
“We are very proud of both of these young men not only for what they accomplished in the decathlon but also for their entire careers at Bryant High School,” stated Hornets head coach Steve Oury. “They both came up big in just about every event.
“Troy set a personal record of 12 feet in the pole vault and made huge improvements over last year’s performance in almost every event,” added the coach. “He worked extremely hard over the summer and the work paid off in a big way. To go from 27th place to 7th in one year is just amazing.
“Tanner is an extremely gifted athlete,” he continued. “He threw the discus 106 feet in only his third time to ever pick one up, and then pole vaulted 10 feet in only his second time to try it. He is one of the greatest athletes in Bryant history and showed a lot of grit and determination in the decathlon.”
Tolbert held his position after the first day but Smith surged from 11th after Wednesday to seventh.
Smith ran a 16.16 in the 110 hurdles to account for 834 points. It was the fifth best time of the day. His successful pole vault garnered 730 points. Only three vaults cleared great heights.
In the triple jump, Smith added 688 points by covering 37 feet, 6 inches. He ran a 5:41.78 in the 1600 for 382 points and threw the discus 87 feet for 370 points.
Tolbert discus toss added 560 points to his total while his pole vault added 370. He also scored 856 points for his triple jump of 41 feet, earned 729 for his time in the 110 hurdles, clocking in at 17.21. In the 1600, he finished in 6:19.42.
“Coach Brad Stroud and Coach Keith Dale played a big part in these guys’ success,” Oury related. “Their performance in the hurdles, throws and jumps was a direct result of how well they were coached by these two coaches. Coach Stroud and Coach Dale have done a great job all year long, so I know they are very proud of how the boys did.”
