High school sports, March 28: Bluffton discus thrower sets season’s best in state

Bluffton's Neil Blanken unleashed a throw of 169 feet, 6 inches to set a new state discus mark for the season, part of a sweep of the discus and shot put titles at last weekend's Bob Jenkins Coaches Classic meet in Irmo.

Blanken's throw sailed almost 11 feet farther than second-place Rory Gallman of host Dutch Fork. The Bobcats senior also nosed out Gallman for the shot put crown, his throw of 51 feet, 3 inches going one inch farther than his rival.

A pair of Beaufort girls took runner-up finishes in their specialties, with Bre-Anna Heyward-White edged out in the 400 meters and Amanda Barnes finishing second in the pole vault.

Savionna Glover finished third in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump, and the Eagles' 4x400 relay placed third in its final.

Battery Creek's girls were led by an eighth-place finish by GiGi Forehand in the discus, while Diamond Smith (100 meters) and Zakiya Cobba (triple jump) just missed top-10 finishes. Jordan Smalls-Watson turned in the best finish among the boys, placing 17th in the high jump.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 10:14 AM with the headline "High school sports, March 28: Bluffton discus thrower sets season’s best in state."