At track and field meets on consecutive days, one at Hot Springs and the other at Conway, Leah Ward then Melinda Murdock set new[more] Bryant Junior High records as the Lady Hornets finished second both days.
The Lady Hornets were running on consecutive days to try to make up for lost time as they prepare for the upcoming Central Arkansas Junior High Conference meet on Saturday, April 16, since previous meets were rained out.
At Conway on Wednesday, Murdock won the 300 meter hurdles in 52.1 to set a new school record.
Tuesday, at Hot Springs, Ward’s long jump of 16-11.75 set a new school mark.
Wednesday, Murcock’s first-place finish was one of five for the Lady Hornets. Ward accounted for two of those individually. She won the long jump with a leap of 15-4.75, and the 100 meter dash in a time of 13.40. She also took second in the triple jump, covering 33-7.5.
Murdock also turned in a second-place finish in the 200 with a time of 28.6 and third in the 100 hurdles with a time of 17.0. Jazmine Hayes was eighth for the Lady Hornets in the 200, turning in a 30.9 while MaKaylah Muhammad was eighth in the 100 hurdles with a time of 18.2.
The Lady Hornets won two of the relays as well. In the 3200, the quartet of Sam Macchi, Kat Bolton, Mikayla Douglas and Marley Adams won in a time of 11:22. Hayes, Ward, Muhammad and Murdock combined to win the 400 relay in 53.7.
In the 1600 relay, Murdock, Adams, Muhammad and Ward finished in 4:52 which garnered third-place points.
In the individual distance races, Adams finished second in the 1600 with a time of 6:28 with Macchi third in 6:34 and Douglas sixth in 6:44.
Katlynn Randolph added a fifth-place finish in the 400 with a time of 1:13.
“The girls did a good job at the meet,” said head coach Beth Solomon. “After competing Tuesday night, they still looked good and were proud to represent Bryant. We only ended up taking 13 girls since this was a make up meet and held on a Wednesday night.”
Looking ahead to the conference meet, the coach added, “Especially after seeing how the girls did this week, I have high expectations for us.”
Tuesday’s meet included five first-place finishes for the Lady Hornets as well. Ward again won the long jump (with her record jump), the triple jump (34-6.5) and the 100 (13.22). Murdock won the 200 and the duo combined with Ward, Hayes and Muhammad to win the 400 in 51.7.
Murdock was second in the both hurdles races. Her time in the 100 was 18.22. Muhammad also had a second-place finish with her distance of 33-2.5 in the triple jump.
The 3200 meter relay team and the 1600 meter relay team both finished third. In the former, Douglas, Bolton, Macchi and Adams teamed up on an 11.22 clocking. In the latter, It was Murdock, Ward, Muhammad and Adams.
Katelin Bird was fourth in the discus with a throw of 53 feet. Muhammad was fifth in both the long jump (14-3.5) and the 100 hurdles (18.86).
Adams was seventh in the 1600 with a time of 6:17 while Myah Thompson contributed an eighth-place finish in the discus with a throw of 48-7.
“We were happy to finally get another meet in before conference,” Solomon said. “We were starting to worry that we’d be going to conference only having run in one meet. The girls did a great job. We had a good total team effort tonight. When we’re going up against schools that can run seventh, eighth, and ninth graders together and we’re still in second place only using ninth graders, it says a lot about our kids and their determination to do well.”
Steven Murdock Sr.
In the years to come these girls on Bryant Track Team will be a force to reckon with all around Arkansas. Coach stay with them & keep them TOGETHER!