DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS- New York–At 7:13 p.m. Thursday night — the majority of events at the track and field division championships already completed — Riverhead senior Dan Normoyle sprinted down the pole vault runway for his first run-through. For more than three hours, Normoyle, wearing sweats over his uniform, watched pole vaulter after pole vaulter compete in the division championships at Connetquot High School. Finally, it was his time. Electing to enter the competition at 13 feet 6 inches, Normoyle began at a time when 32 pole vaulters had already bowed out of the competition, leaving just four athletes still standing. He had reason to be confident. He easily soared over the bar at 13-6. And about 45 minutes later, in an intense competition featuring four outstanding pole vaulters, Normoyle set an outdoor school record by clearing 14-9. What made the competition so great for Normoyle was the fact he was competing against two of his teammates. Sophomore Charles Villa set a personal best by clearing 14-6. He came awfully close on his second attempt at 14-9, just nicking the bar with his chest as he glided over. Smithtown West senior Karl Nilsen matched Villa by clearing 14-6, but couldn’t equal Normoyle. Riverhead senior Jonah Spaeth was fourth in the competition by clearing 13-6. Normoyle attempted 15 feet three times just before the lights shut off at Connetquot. Nilsen, who was persevered through a leg injury, was the first to clear 14-6 on his second attempt. Normoyle matched him on his next attempt, leaving it up to Villa to join them at the next height. On Villa’s third attempt he topped 14-6 for his personal best. The four pole vaulters from Division II cleared higher heights than any pole vaulter from Division I or III. more

Call it a progression. In the adrenaline-propelled pole vault competition,
senior Chris Burley has steadily moved the bar, resetting the Great Bend High  School track and field boys’ record four times over the last two  seasons. Last Friday, Burley catapulted himself to a new school-record height  of 15 feet, six inches. His latest flight eclipsed his former mark of 15-0,  securing him a Class 5A regional crown at Salina District Stadium in the  process. Burley makes his final trip to Wichita and the state meet this  afternoon at Cessna Stadium on the Wichita State campus with the second-best  jump in 5A — trailing only Bishop Carroll’s Nick Meyer, who vaulted 16-0 last
Friday in a regional at Carroll and has a season-best of 16-8. Burley’s  ascension in the GBHS record books has been a direct result of a progression of  poles put into use. “That’s the first time I’ve jumped on that pole,” Burley  said, moments after clearing 15-6. “I like to get on new poles in a meet, so I  feel comfortable on it and I have a little bit more adrenaline going … so I’m  not scared.
“I go back to practice and I’m not scared of the pole anymore  because I know that I can get on it.” Prior to the regional meet at Salina  District Stadium, Burley switched from a 15-foot pole to a shorter one at  14-6. “There’s a progression of poles going on,” he said. “If you start out  jumping on one pole, you have to move to this pole and that just happens to be  the next one for me to get on.”
For Burley, who came close on all three  attempts at 16-0 at the regional meet, he’s on the cusp of eclipsing that  barrier.  “That’s the goal now,” Burley said, in reference to 16-0. “The goal  is to go and compete at state. There’s a really good kid from Bishop Carroll,  and my goal is to beat him.  “That’s my next goal, actually. If he has an  off-day and I have a spectacular day … it’s definitely attainable now.” This  is Burley’s third-straight state appearance in the pole vault. A two-time state  champion in wrestling, he knows as well as anyone how difficult it is to try to  maximize one’s efforts when it matters most.  “For the pole vault, it’s  really hard because sometimes when you get an adrenaline rush, you’ll run faster  and you’ll out-jump your poles and you have to move to the next one,” he said.  “It just kind of messes up a lot of stuff, with all of the extra adrenaline  going on and the nerves.  “It’s about how mentally tough you are, and  anything can happen at state. more

OMAHA, Neb. — McCook High School pole vault coach Bill Ramsay might have a little leverage for a bonus. Ramsay’s vaulters each recorded school record marks and brought home medals from the 2013 Nebraska State High School Track and Field Championships last weekend in Omaha. Senior Kyle Stewart won the Class B boys pole vault with a career-best mark of 15 feet, 4 inches. Stewart broke the old Bison school record of 15 feet even set by Kyle Craw at the 2011 Class B state meet.Abi Mohr, a junior, came so close to winning the Class B girls pole vault last Friday at Burke High Stadium. Mohr shattered her previous personal best and finished second at state when she cleared 11 feet, 4 inches. MOHR and Tara Starzec of Columbus Scotus waged a battle at the top of the girls pole vault. Both cleared 11 feet even, with Mohr bettering her career-best mark by three inches in the process. The girls moved up to 11-4 and both cleared that height. Starzec survived when she hit the bar on her way down. But the crossbar hopped high and bounced on the upright pegs, just barely staying on the peg for a good jump. Mohr was asked about her thoughts watching Starzec’s fortuitous effort. “It was off,” Abi said of the bar. “Watching that, my fists tightened and my fists clenched, ‘Dang it! No!’” Starzec cleared 11-8 and Mohr couldn’t clear that height on three attempts, as the Bison junior settled for second. “It was good. I hated getting second — I could have won,” Mohr said. “I’ve got next year, but I wanted to be back-to-back state champion, and it didn’t happen. Oh, well.” KYLE CRAW is a member of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln men’s track team. Continue reading →