High school sports, May 9: Bluffton’s Neil Blanken again sets discus best
Bluffton’s Neil Blanken smashed his own South Carolina season best in the discus at Saturday’s Class 4-A Lower State track qualifier, one of two berths he locked up for next weekend’s state meet.
Blanken, headed to East Carolina next fall, uncorked a throw of 173 feet, 1 inch to easily win that event at Columbia’s Spring Valley High. That was nearly 3 feet beyond his previous best, set at last month’s Taco Bell Classic, and the third time he’s broken the state’s season mark this spring.
Blanken also placed second in the shot put, his toss of 54-1 1/2 trailing only Dutch Fork’s Rory Gallman. Bluffton’s Cathryn Roberts also won the girls’ pole vault with a clearance of 10 feet, 6 inches, and Madison Lewellyn was a qualifier in the 800 meters.
Beaufort boys nab 7 qualifying spots: Atlantis Mitchell and Reggie Jones Jr. each qualified in two individual events plus relays by the time the Eagles were finished at the Class 3-A Lower State qualifiers at Lower Richland High.
Mitchell qualified in four events, including both the 110 meter and 400 meter hurdles. He also was part of Beaufort’s 4x400 and 4x800 relays that earned state berths.
Jones qualified third in the 400 hurdles, also advancing in the pole vault and as part of the 4x400 relay. Kagel Coke was an additional qualifier in the pole vault.
BOYS’ SOCCER
Bobcats place 2 in North-South: Bluffton goalkeeper Steven DiMaria and midfielder Miguel Lopez have been selected to the South squad for next month’s North-South Soccer Classic, to be played June 18 in Rock Hill.
DiMaria posted 13 shutouts in 22 games for the Bobcats (21-2-1), who were ousted by Socastee in the Lower State semifinals. Just 14 goals got past him, good for a 0.67 goals-against average. Lopez tallied eight goals and assisted on four others, ranking fifth among Bobcats in scoring.
This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 10:28 AM with the headline "High school sports, May 9: Bluffton’s Neil Blanken again sets discus best."