Prep athletes of the week: Shoot a 63? Blaine sophomore stays in the golf moment

Great things have been expected of the sophomore since he made the Bengals' varsity team in eighth grade and went on to finish third in the Class 3A state meet.

Last week he showed why those in the know are so high on his ability when he set what is believed to be a boys' high school state record by shooting a 9-under-par 63 to win the Blaine Invitational at the TPC of the Twin Cities. He was the model of consistency in the round with nine pars, nine birdies and no bogeys.

"On my second hole, I made a birdie, then a nice 10-footer for par, then another birdie," VanArragon said. "That's when I knew I had something going."

He remained calm throughout the round despite word circulating around the course that something special was happening.

"I was surprised I was able to stay in the moment," he said. "On the last hole, I hit a 15-foot putt down the hill that I thought at first wasn't going to be hard enough, but it just kept rolling and rolling. Seeing it go in was a special feeling."

The senior pitcher had everything going her way last week. In 27 innings she went 4-0 with a 0.52 ERA and 43 strikeouts. At the plate, she hit .736 (14-for-19) with three home runs (all in the Forest Lake tournament) and drove in five runs.

In the Armstrong Invitational, the senior hurdler won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.96 seconds and the 300 hurdles in a state-best time of 38.62. The future Minnesota Gopher added a victory in the 4x400 relay and was fifth in the triple jump.

The junior pitcher went 7-0, allowing just 15 hits and three runs in 47 innings. She walked four and struck out 103, giving her a state-leading 141 strikeouts. She's given up only five earned runs all season and has a 9-1 record and 0.51 ERA.

The freshman shortstop was the linchpin for a 4-0 week for the Redhawks. She hit .643 (9-for-14) with a double, two triples, two home runs, nine runs scored, six RBI and six stolen bases. For the season, Pryor has an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.988.

The senior continues to climb the state individual rankings. He moved up to No. 7 in Class 2A by virtue of a three-hour, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4) victory over then-No. 5 Gavin Young of Eastview. Roseth remained undefeated after teaming with brother Hunter to win the No. 1 doubles flight at the Lakeville South Invitational.

JIM PAULSEN