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FAYETTEVILLE — Two Bryant Cross Country runners competed in the annual Arkansas vs. Oklahoma All-Star Meet on Saturday in Fayetteville. Lady Hornet Hannah Raney was part of a victorious Arkansas squad, placing 38th in a time of 21:33. The Arkansas girls team, coached by Bryant girls coach Danny Westbrook, scored a convincing 60-131 victory over the Oklahoma girls.

Each team's top nine runners were scored, instead of the traditional five runners used in most meets.

In the boys race, Bryant's Luke Lindsley placed 32nd in a time of 17:16, but it wasn't enough as the Oklahoma boys team earned a narrow 85-90 victory over the Arkansas squad, which was coached by Bryant boys coach Steve Oury. There were a total of 67 finishers in the boys race.

Bryant’s all-State performers Luke Lindsley and Hannah Raney will be among those representing Arkansas in the 15th annual Arkansas/Oklahoma High School All-Star Invitational cross country race to be held at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville on Saturday, Nov. 14.

In addition, Bryant’s Dan Westbrook will coach the Arkansas girls team and Bryant’s Steve Oury will coach the Arkansas boys team, both in conjuction with Lake Hamilton’s Karl Koonce.

The event pits the top 25 cross country athletes from each state in a head-to-head challenge race. The top nine finishers from each state are scored as opposed to the traditional five scorers. Medals will be awarded to the top 25 finishers in each race. Each member of the winning team (Arkansas or Oklahoma) will also receive a medal.

MOUNTAIN HOME — The northwest Arkansas domination of the Class 7A Girls Cross Country Championships continued Saturday, Nov. 7. Teams from the 7A-West Conference took the top four spots.

The Bryant Lady Hornets had to settle for fifth place.

Bentonville won the championship with an impressive 40 points. Rogers was runner-up with 85, followed by Fayetteville with 123, Rogers Heritage with 134, and then Bryant with 147. There were 16 teams and 118 total finishers.

The Lady Hornets had hoped to break the streak of championship wins over the last several years by northwest Arkansas teams. Bentonville has won four and Rogers has won three. The last central Arkansas team to win a state title was Bryant in 2002, and since that time Bentonville and Rogers have dominated.

MOUNTAIN HOME — The Bryant Hornets battled the hills and heat of Mountain Home Saturday to earn a ninth place finish in the Class 7A State Cross Country Championships. Bryant scored 229 points to finish behind team champion Bentonville (85), Fayetteville (94), Rogers (99), Conway (118), Russellville (132), Cabot (142), Rogers Heritage (147), and Sprindale Har-ber (215).

Luke Lindsley again led the way for the Hornets with a seventh place finish in a time of 17:19, earning a top 10 medal and All-State honors along the way.

CABOT — The Bryant Junior Lady Hornets cross country team ended their season Saturday with a fourth-place finish at the Wal-Mart Invitational Cross Country Championship held in Cabot.

Russellville won the meet with 70 points. Lake Hamilton was runner-up with 75 points, followed by Heber Springs with 90. Bryant scored 96 points. There were eight teams in the competition.

CABOT — The Bryant Lady Hornets turned in a dominating performance to take home the 7A-Central Conference title at the league’s cross country championships held at the Rolling Hills Golf Course Monday.

The Lady Hornets placed all five of their scoring runners in the top 11 places to claim the crown with 42 points. Van Buren was runner-up with 71 points followed by Conway (74), Mount St. Mary (111), Russellville (126), Cabot (142), and North Little Rock (158).

As they have all season, the Lady Hornets used their “pack attack” strategy to perfection, establishing a lead pack right from the start and pretty well staying in control of the team race the entire way.

CABOT — For the second year in a row, the Bryant Hornets have placed fifth in the 7A-Central Conference meet which was held Monday, Oct. 26, at Rolling Hills Country Club. The Hornets scored 119 points to finish behind team champion Conway (43), Russellville (66), Cabot (71), and Little Rock Catholic (81). Finishing behind the Hornets were Van Buren (184), Little Rock Central (191), and North Little Rock (213).

Luke Lindsley earned all-conference honors with a ninth place finish in a time of 17:01. Other Hornet finishers included Jesse Wolf (20th in 17:47), Jacob Clark (27th in 18:01), Rodrigo Rodarte (29th in 18:04), Michael Smith (36th in 18:18), Dillon Rhodes (38th in 18:23), Logan Howard (44th in 18:38), Peter Alverio (47th in 18:44), Kevin Nalley (51st in 19:08), Nick Hughes (55th in 19:14), Josh Pultro (68th in 19:41), Dylan Ball (82nd in 20:09), Fabian Ruthardt (84th in 20:11), William Waddell (113th in 21:32), Tyler Potts (118th in 21:43), Levi Lindsley (119th in 21:43), Forrest Fowler (127th in 22:25), Christopher Oldfield (129th in 22:44), Ben Ackley (134th in 23:20), and Jesse Marcrum (141st in 26:13).

By Rob Patrick

As it turns out, the Bryant High School athletes will continue to compete in the Central Conference after this year.

As part of the usual two-year cycle re-alignment by the Arkansas Activities Association, Bryant had been assigned to the South Conference in a move that mixed Class 7A and Class 6A schools in hopes of saving travel costs.

Of course, even that re-alignment saved some teams travel while increasing others so there was a lot of dissatisfaction expressed about the plan. As it turned out, the schools that would most benefit from the cut-down in travel were those in Little Rock (Hall and Parkview, moving from the East to the Central, and Fair, moving from the South to the Central).

FAYETTEVILLE — The Bryant Lady Hornet cross country team finished 12th out of 40 teams at the Chile Pepper Festival Saturday held at the Agri Park Cross Country Course in Fayetteville. The festival is the region’s largest cross country meet, bringing together colleges and high schools from all over the central part of the country.

Carroll, Texas won the girls’ high school division with a score of 74 points. Bryant finished with 458 points and was fourth among Arkansas teams. There were 311 runners in the race.

The Lady Hornets were led by ninth-grader Hannah Raney who, despite finishing in 38th place, set a new Bryant school record for 5K cross country. Raney finished with a time of 19:58, becoming the first Lady Hornet to ever break the 20-minute mark, and eclipsing the old school record time of 20:14 set in 2005 by Mary Edwards. Edwards was at the meet competing for Arkansas State University in the college division.