Seniors lead Hornets to fourth at conference championship meet
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Photos courtesy of Carla Thomas
CONWAY — The Bryant Hornets rode the senior leadership of Troy Smith and Tanner Tolbert to a[more] fourth place finish in the 7A-Central Conference Track and Field Championships at Conway High School on Thursday.
Tolbert earned the Hornets’ only first place finish in the meet, winning the long jump with a leap of 21′ 7″. Smith earned a second place finish in the high jump (6′ 1″) to go along with a third place finish in the 300 meter hurdles (41.18), and a fifth place finish in the pole vault (11′ 6″).
Bryant scored a total of 75 points to finish behind Conway (180.5), Cabot (105), and North Little Rock (81.5). Finishing behind the Hornets were Little Rock Catholic (70), Little Rock Hall (59), West Memphis (52), and Little Rock Central (35).
“We had a pretty good meet,” stated Hornets coach Steve Oury. “I had us projected for 75 points before the meet, and that’s exactly where we ended up, although it didn’t go exactly as I had planned in each event.
“It was nice to see Tolbert have a good day in the jumps, and Troy Smith had another very solid day,” he added. “I was also glad to see our 400 meter relay team get the baton around the track and post a season-best time, and it was great to see James Glasper run a big personal record in the 400 meter dash and earn a trip to state.
“Luke Lindsley ran his best time of the season in the 1600 but took ill before the 3200 run, in which he would have placed in the top three or four had he been feeling well,” Oury related. “We will be looking to step up next week in state and see how we do against some of the teams from the West conference.”
Tolbert was fourth in the triple jump (42′ .5″), sixth in the 100 meter dash (11.28), and eighth in the 200 meter dash (23.25).
Junior Dillion Winfrey turned in a fourth-place finish in the 100 meter dash (11.24) and a sixth in the 200 meter dash (22.83).Glasper personal best time of 51.20 was good for sixth in the 400 while Michael Smith turned in a 2:03.98 to finish third in the 800. Lindsley’s time in the 1600 meter run was 4:37.49, good for fourth. Kris Bazzelle turned in an eighth in the high jump at 5′ 8″.
In the relays, the 400 meter relay team of Winfrey, Tolbert, Stephen Clark, and Bazzelle placed second in 43.04. In the 1600 meter relay, the team of Troy Smith, Bazzelle, Michael Smith, and Glasper placed fifth in 3:32.25. The 3200 meter relay team of Kevin Nalley, Khiry Thompson, Damian Kropp, and Lance Smith placed sixth in a time of 9:15.99.
The 7A State Meet will be held Thursday, May 5, at Conway High School.
