Blakley wins three conference ribbons
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LITTLE ROCK — Ethan Blakley racked up another three individual conference championships Tuesday at Scott Field in Little Rock as the Bryant Hornets scored 65.5 points to place fifth at the AAAAA-Central Conference Track Championships.
Blakley, who is the defending conference champion in cross country and also won the 3200 meter run at last year’s meet, won the 1600, 800, and 3200 meter runs and also anchored the 3200 meter relay to a State-qualifying fourth-place finish. Blakley recorded times of 4:30 in the 1600, 2:03 in the 800, and 10:14 in the 3200.
“What can you say about Ethan,” said Hornets head coach Steve Oury. “He had a great meet. It’s always a challenge for a distance runner to run all three distance races in the same meet, so for him to win them as easily as he did shows what kind of athlete he is. He is definitely among the favorites at the State meet. He will not run the 800 at State, so he should be well recovered from the 1600 by the time the 3200 is run.
Spencer McCorkel added an inch to the conference meet record he already owns when he cleared 16′ 7″ in the pole vault. McCorkel cleared 16′ 6″ in last year’s meet in Bryant.
Ben Griffin also qualified for State in the pole vault, finishing third by clearing 12’ 6″.
“McCorkel and Griffin both had good days in the pole vault,” Oury commented. “Spencer had some really nice looking jumps and just barely missed clearing 17 feet. He and Ben are both ready for State.”
Other qualifiers for the Wednesday, May 17, State meet in Cabot were Zack Orick in the high jump (tied for 3rd with a clearance of 5′ 10″) and the discus (3rd place with a throw of 124 feet), and the 3200 meter relay team of Todd McAdoo, Joey Fuoco, Ben Higgs, and Blakley (4th in 8:35).
“Zach Orick was a pleasant surprise,” said Oury. “He has been steadily improving in the discus, so to place third and qualify for State is great. He is a relative newcomer to the event and will only get better with time. He did a good job in the high jump as well. He’s ready to bust the six-foot barrier, so hopefully he will do that in Cabot.
“We are looking forward to a possible top 10 showing at State meet,” stated the coach. “The kids have worked hard and the coaches have too. Coach Brad Stroud and Coach Bart Reynolds have done a great job with all the boys. They deserve lots of credit.”
