by Ashton Eley.
The conference meet last night didn’t go as planned for the girl’s track team. Ranked first in conference, the girls were the favorites to win; however, they were robbed of first place by the Lady Cabot Panthers.
The team finished runner up with 132 points, 26 points behind Cabot.
“I’m really proud of the team for not just throwing in the towel. They kept battling and we had a lot of people really step-up,” coach Danny Westbrook said. “Leah Ward and Melinda Murdock had some great performances. Hannah Raney ran her best time in the mile and I thought Gabby Allen had an awesome day.”
Sophomore Leah Ward led the team with 30 points. She won first in triple jump with a 35 feet, 1 inch leap. Ward also finished second in the long jump with 15 feet, 8 inches, fourth in the 200-meter dash at 27.8 seconds and fifth in the 100-meter dash at 13.1 seconds.
Sophomore Melinda Murdock had 26 points and tied for first in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.6 seconds. She also placed second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 25.4 seconds and finished third in long jump, 15 feet, 6 inches.
Junior Alexis Royal, the team’s season high-scorer, earned 18 points. She won long jump, 35 feet, 1 inch. During her second attempt in triple jump, Royal pulled her hamstring. He first attempt of 34 feet, 8 inches was enough to earn her second place.
“When Alexis got hurt in the triple jump, it really made things difficult for us,” Westbrook said. “In the prelims, she had already qualified with the best time in the 100-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, and the 300-meter hurdles. With her out of the competition in those events, I knew we were in trouble.”
Junior Hannah Raney, who came in second place in both the 1600-meter and 3200-meter run, said everyone had to step up to compensate for the lose.
“Considering that we lost Alexis, I feel good about how we did,” Raney said. “The fact that we were able to get second showed me that track isn’t just an individual sport. It’s a team sport. I didn’t win 18 points in the mile and two mile for me. I won them for my team.
It will be up to Royal, her doctor and Westbrook to determine of Royal can compete in the state meet, in Rogers May 3-5. The top six places in each event qualify for State.
Other Scorers for Bryant:
100-meter dash – Gabby Allen – 4th – 13.1
200-meter dash – Gabby Allen – 5th – 27.8
400-meter dash – Randie Owens – 7th – 67.6; Lauren Stiles – 8th – 67.6
800-meter run – Sam Macchi – 7th – 2:36
1600-meter run – Stacy Emmerling – 8th – 6:01
3200-meter run – Marley Adams – 6th – 13:47
Long Jump – Makayla Muhammad – 6th – 15’1”
Discus – Myra Thompson – 7th – 80’1”
High Jump – Lauren Magneson – 8th – 4’8”
Pole Vault – Randie Owens – 5th – 7’0”; Sky Young – 7th – 6’6”; Anna Smedly – 8th – 6’0”
400-meter relay – Sarah Evans, Ward, Allen, Murdock – 3rd – 51.1
1600-meter relay – Owens, Ward, Emmerling, Murdock – 4th – 4:24.7
3200-meter relay – Emmerling, Macchi, Raney, Smedley – 3rd – 10:23
