The Bryant Hornets boys track team split ranks and competed in two meets Thursday and[more] Friday. On Thursday, a limited group of Hornets competed at the Conway Wampus Cat Relays, scoring a total of 8 points to place 12th out of 15 teams.
At the Lake Hamilton Invitational on Friday night, Bryant placed seventh with a total of 40 points. Spencer Sullivan earned top three finishes in both hurdle races (second in the 300 meter hurdles in a time of 41.42, third in the 110 meter high hurdles with a time of 16.21). Also earning a top three medal was Brenden Young in the 300 hurdles (third in 41.91), and the 4×400 meter relay team of Steven Murdock, Young, Darian Jarrett, and John Winn (third in 3:28.77).
Starting off the scoring at Conway for the Hornets was the 4 x 800 meter relay team of Austin Masters, Alex Houpt, Nathan Stewart, and Damien Kropp, who placed 6th in a time of 9:24.24. Also scoring were Kropp in the 1600 meter run (eighth in 5:09.31), Jim Dellorto in the 800 meter run (eighth in 2:17.28), Dylan Masters in the 3200 meter run (eighth in 11:48.73), and the 4 x 400 meter relay team of Marcus Griffin, Austin Masters, Marc Reed, and Raphael McCuien, who placed seventh in a time of 3:50.26.
"We saw some great effort by some guys who haven't got to compete since our home meet,” said Bryant coach Steve Oury. “Lots of personal records were set and we sneaked in and got some ribbons. I really liked how these guys competed."
Also scoring at Lake Hamilton were Jarrett in the long jump (fourth in 20' 4.75"), Makiya Hunter in the long jump (eighth in 19' 7"), Brushawn Hunter in the triple jump (seventh in 40' 8"), Justin Combs in the pole vault (eighth at 12' 9"), the 4 x 100 meter relay team of Jalen Bell, Makiya Hunter, Murdock, and Sullivan (sixth in 46.14), John Winn in the 200 meter dash (eighth in 23.35), and Murdock in the 400 meter dash (eighth in 52.33).
"Early on, I was disappointed in our intensity and execution,” Oury commented. “We had a botched handoff in the 4 x 100 meter relay that cost us a chance to win, and we had some other performances that were not up to par.
“We have a young, but talented team, and they are learning to compete at the senior high level,” he continued. “I challenged them to step up the intensity and we had much better effort in the second half of the meet. Our 4 x 400 meter relay team ran the fastest time a Bryant team has run in the last several years.
“We do have some guys who are dealing with some injury issues, but we have to learn that if we are able to make it to the starting line, then there will not be any excuses,” the coach concluded. “Other teams are dealing with the same issues, so we have to be willing to accept the challenge and compete."
The Hornets will next be in action at the Cabot Invitational on Tuesday.
