Photos courtesy of Jason Majors and Julie Shelby
Photo courtesy of Jason Majors
SPRINGDALE — Brendan Young won the 300-meter hurdles in a school record time of 39.41 to highlight the performance of the Bryant Hornets at the 7A-West Conference track and field championships on Thursday at Har-Ber High School
The Hornets finished fifth with 88.5 points. Bentonville won the team title with 150. Rogers was second (137.5) followed by Rogers Heritage (114) and Har-Ber (107). Finishing behind the Hornets were Fayetteville (31.5), Springdale (27), and Van Buren (5.5).
Young had the fastest qualifying time in the 110-meter hurdles prelims, but was disqualified for an infraction during that race.
The Hornets had several setbacks during the competition, but were also able to pick up some additional State meet qualifiers. Bryant had already qualified 12 entrants for the State meet coming into the conference meet. Any finisher who places in the top six at the conference meet automatically qualified for the State meet, which will be held May 8 at Cabot High School.
Photo courtesy of Jason Majors
“Early on, it seemed like Murphy’s Law was in full effect,” said Hornets coach Steve Oury of the conference meet. “We couldn’t seem to catch a break. It really hurt when Brendan Young was disqualified in the 110-meter hurdles. I didn’t necessarily agree with the call and filed an appeal, but the call was upheld. He took out his frustrations in the 300 hurdles and ran a great race.
“Also, John Winn had a cramp or a strain in his quadriceps after the 100-meter dash and was not able to run the 200, 400 or in the 4 x 400 relay,” he continued. “That was a big blow for us team-wise because he is such a good athlete. Fortunately he has already qualified for the State meet in those events and we are hopeful he will be good to go next week.”
The Hornets picked up third-place points in six events including the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. In the former, Mar’Kevius Nelson, Brushawn Hunter, Austin Vail and Makiya Hunter combined on a time of 43.33. In the latter, Pierce Finney, Vail, Steven Murdock and Darian Jarrett finished in 3:25.67.
Dany Murillo stepped up with a third-place finish in the discus, throwing 129’8” and Mark Winn was third in the 800 at 2:01.23.
A trio of Hornets scored in the 400, led by Murdock’s third-place 50.66. Jarrett was sixth in 51.16 and Vail finished seventh in 51.83.
In the 200, Brushawn Hunter was third in 22.70 with Murdock on his heels at 22.74 to garner fourth.
Photo courtesy of Jason Majors
Bryant’s quartet of Devon Davis, Charlie Terry, Clifton Hampton and Mark Winn ran an 8:21.81 to take fourth in the 4×800. In addition, Justin Combs added fourth-place points by clearing 13’4” in the pole vault and Jarrett tied for fourth in the high jump, clearing 5’10”.
Despite the tweaking, John Winn finished fourth in the 100, clocking in at 11.36. Brushawn Hunter was sixth in 11.46.
Jarrett was fifth and Makiya Hunter sixth in the long jump. Jarrett leapt 20’4.75” and Hunter went 20’1”. Christian Washington contributed a sixth-place in the shot with a throw that went 42’8.25”.
“I was extremely happy for the guys who stepped up and placed in the top six to punch their ticket to the State meet,” Oury said. “Dany Murillo really came through in the discus with a huge personal record to place third. Brushawn Hunter and Steven Murdock both were awesome in the sprints races. Mark Winn really came through in the 800 as well.
“We have a lot of guys competing next week in Cabot at the State meet, so we need to focus on the positive, work hard, and be ready to go,” the coach concluded.
Photo courtesy of Jason Majors
