With wins in five events, Lady Hornets capture team honors at memorial meet
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JACKSONVILLE — The Bryant Lady Hornets won three individual events and two relays to capture top team honors at the annual Thomas Holter Memorial Invitational Swim meet, hosted by North Little Rock High School at the Jacksonville Community Center pool.
Bryant accumulated 569 points to pace the seven-team field. Cabot was second at 396 with Mount St. Mary Academy of Little Rock third at 359 and North Little Rock fourth with 264. Searcy (45), Lonoke (38) and Carlisle (21) also competed at the meet.
The event was held in memory of a 2011 graduate of North Little Rock, a member of the Charging Wildcats swim team from 2008-2011, who was killed in a motorcycle accident June 17, 2014.
Lindsey Butler and Jessica Butler produced or contributed two four of Bryant’s first-place finishes. Lindsey, a senior all-State performer, won her specialty, the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:01.79, beating out Cabot’s Jessie Baldwin (1:03.38). She also captured the individual title in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:24.32, just ahead of Cabot’s Haylee Beckley who turned in a 2:28.42.
Jessica Butler won the 100 butterfly in 1:04.28 edging Brianna Hanley of Mount St. Mary Academy who touched in 1:04.36.
In the 100 back, the Lady Hornets also picked up points from Katie Higgs who finished fourth in 1:08.54, Ploy Freebairn who was fifth in 1:09.58 and Paris Works who was 10th in 1:03.53.
In the 200 IM, Taylor Wilson was fourth for Bryant in a time of 2:42.02. Skylar Barber was sixth in 3:17.21 and Lauren Nalley ninth in 3:31.31.
Jessica Butler was joined by Higgs (third, 1:10.91) and Nalley (seventh, 1:37.98) in the 100 fly.
The Butler sisters were joined by Higgs and Freebairn in the 200 freestyle relay, winning in 1:47.76. Cabot was second with Baldwin, Beckley, Melanie Abbott and Caytee Wright turning in a 1:48.58. Bryant had a second team score points in the event as Reagan Smith, Jordan Tarvin, Julianna Shelton and Wilson combing on a 2:06.82.
Bryant also won the 400 freestyle relay. Lara Kockaya, Helen Woodham, Wilson and Freebairn produced a winning time of 4:24.90 with Mount St. Mary’s quartet of Morgan Parker, Alexis McCauley, Evelyn Nick and Rachel Parker finished second in 4:31.63.
Cabot’s Baldwin, Abbott, Beckley and Wright won the 200 medley relay with a time of 2:01.63. Bryant was a close second at 2:02.92 with the Butlers, Kockaya and Higgs teaming up.
Freebairn’s 2:09.32 was second only to Searcy’s Erin McGuirt (2:01.01) in the 200 free. Woodham (2:40.31), Devin Hester (2:45.18) and Works (2:46.23) finished eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.
Third-place finishes were turned in by Smith in the 100 free, Wilson in the 500 free and Jessica Butler in the 100 breast stroke. Kockaya was fourth in the 50 free.
Smith finished in 1:07.63 in the 100 free with Cabot’s Wright winning in 56.34. Shelton was seventh (1:11.16), Tarvin eighth (1:14.79) and Skylar Barber 13th (1:20.50) to add to the Lady Hornets’ point total.
Wilson turned in a 6:10.77 in the 500. McGuirt won the event for Searcy in 5:20.98. Woodham was sixth in 7:13.38 and Jamie Hammers was seventh in 7:14.88.
Baldwin won the 100 breast stroke in 1:13.08. Jessica Butler’s time was 1:18.64 with Kockaya fourth in 1:23.06 and Hammers 11th in 1:32.08.
Kockaya’s time in the 50 free was 29.33, just off the pace of the winning time of 25.45 by Cabot’s Wright. Three more swimmers scored in the event for the Lady Hornets with Smith sixth in 29.51, Shelton ninth in 31.88 and Tarvin 11th in 32.06.
