Team concept puts Hornets over the top at home meet
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).
Photos courtesy of DeeDee Gillespie
The Bryant Hornets swim team garnered first place points in just one event Thursday night at a[more] home meet at Bishop Park but scored so well as a group that they took top team honors in the eight-squad competition.
Bryant piled up a whopping 451 points to far out-distance second place Cabot (238) and third-place Arkansas Baptist (213). Pulaski Academy finished fourth (196) followed by Little Rock Christian (103), Benton (93), El Dorado (39), North Little Rock (20) and Lonoke (12).
The lone first-place finish came in the 400 freestyle relay when the quartet of Ross Grant, Jake Tipton, Casey Ball and Dylan Rogers accumulated a time of 3:58.51 to beat out Cabot.
The Hornets were second in four events. In the 200-yard medley relay, Ball, Rogers, Hayden Stewart and Tipton teamed up on a 1:58.58 clocking that was just off the 1:56.99 pace of Arkansas Baptist’s team.
Tipton was second in the 100 free individually, finishing in 1:01.17 while Rogers took second in the 100 butterfly in 1:02.46. Nick Hoffpauir added second-place points for his 6:57.06 performance in the 500 free.
Spencer Qualls finished right behind Hoffpauier with a time of 7:22.30. Grant was third behind Tipton in the 100 free, turning in a 1:01.51.
Grant led a contingent of four Bryant swimmers that scored in the 200 free. He was third in 2:25.87 with Ryan West fourth (2:48.06), Jim Dellorto sixth (2:48.30) and Andrew Ball seventh (2:48.85).
Rogers was third in the 200 individual medley with a 2:29.88 clocking. Stewart was fifth (2:52.00) and Hoffpauir sixth (2:58.04).
Casey Ball was third (1:09.27) and Austin Sanchez sixth (1:37.98) in the 100 back stroke. Ball was also fourth in the 50 free (26.01) followed by Tipton (sixth in 26.51) and Luke Reitenger (15th in 31.19).
Grant, Casey Ball, Hoffpauir and Stewart combined in the 200 free relay and garnered third-place points with a time of 1:53.72.
In the 1-meter dive competition, Scott Mead was third, Reitenger fourth and Justin Combs fifth for the Hornets.
Stewart added a fifth-place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:08.33. Dellorto was seventh in 1:22.22.
In the 100 breast stroke, Andrew Ball’s 1:26.25 was good for seventh with Combs taking ninth (1:30.01) and Spencer Qualls 10th (1:33.10). Ryan West was 14th (1:16.41) and Sanchez 15th (1:18.54) in the 100 free.
The Hornets’ divers are set to compete at UALR on Tuesday, Dec. 6, with the swimmers returning to action on Thursday for the Catholic High Speed Meet featuring 50 and 100 yard freestyle races.
