SAN ANGELO, Texas — Dinha Callejas didn’t receive the good news she was hoping for earlier this week while waiting to see if she would be the wild-card ninth-place qualifier at the Class 5A state track and field meet.

But the Lady Cats pole vaulter already had a consolation prize waiting, and she made it official by signing a scholarship Thursday to continue vaulting at the University of Texas-San Antonio.

Callejas, who owns the Central school record in the event at 11 feet, 6 inches, took third place last week at the Region I-5A meet, tying her with a girl from another region for the wild-card berth.In the end, a coin-flip tiebreaker kept Callejas from qualifying for state. Six years of vaulting, however, had already earned her a scholarship.She celebrated the signing with her track and field family at the San Angelo Stadium Field House, complete with a cake that was decorated with a tiny pole vault crossbar.

“It’s such a great feeling to finally sign because it’s been my ultimate goal since my freshman year,” Callejas said. “To actually be here is awesome.” Continue reading →

ROCKFORD, Il–  A stomach illness kept Jefferson’s Joe Ward from reaching his full potential in the pole vault last year.
A “brain freeze” ended in a no-height defeat at this year’s indoor NIC-10 meet.It’s clear, Ward has had a stretch of bad luck. And a couple of minutes with him these days makes it obvious that he doesn’t intend to let anything get in his way this year.
“Now, I’m always the first one at practice and the last one to leave. Last year, everything I had worked for was taken away, and now I’m going to make sure I do everything I can to make it happen,” said Ward, who won the indoor state title in March with a personal-best clear of 15 feet. “I knew everything would start paying off, and when I got 15 at indoor state, I could see it coming. Now, I’ve got to make sure it doesn’t stop.”
Ward, who also placed second in the indoor conference meet in the triple jump and who also runs two relays and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles, has built himself into a top pole vaulter with hard work and perseverance. Jefferson doesn’t even have a pole vaulting pit, so he travels to other schools to practice. Continue reading →

Tampa Bay, FL –On a near 90-degree day, not many athletes are still preparing for events on a Thursday evening as only top competitors training for state remain.That’s where you’ll find Wiregrass Ranch pole vaulter Alisha Henry, practicing and perfecting any and every technique she has at her disposal. She’ll need every bit of her ability this afternoon at the University of North Florida, as Henry will be competing against some of the best in the Class 3A state meet.The interesting thing, though, is Henry almost didn’t get today’s opportunity without the blessing of being welcomed back onto the team by Bulls coach Don Howard.Last season, Henry was on the team as a distance runner but after one meet was not feeling the role of a runner so much and left the team. Howard and Henry discussed the possibility of the then-sophomore competing in one single field event and the Bulls coach recommended pole vaulting.”I wouldn’t even have this opportunity at states without coach Howard allowing me back onto the team,” Henry said. “Last year, coach really pushed me on running and I did one event last year, one race and that was it. Coach then told me to go ahead and try pole vault if I wasn’t going to run.”The junior has Continue reading →

West Texas –  There are some ironies attached to the Midland Christian track program.For starters, the boys track team has won four TAPPS team state titles since 2003, yet the Mustangs don’t even have their own track to practice on. The school rents the track at Trinity for practice time. Despite that, Midland Christian has established itself as one of the premier track programs in West Texas. Not bad for a program that had just a rather small number of athletes participating about a decade ago.MCS has a total of 11 coaches, some paid and some volunteer, helping with the program, significantly more than the average track team at a public Class 5A school. But, this isn’t a case of quantity over quality, either.Among these coaches is collegiate All-American pole vaulter Corey Aguilar, who is one of six volunteer coaches with MCS and is regarded as one of the best pole vaulting coaches in the state. Aguilar’s college coach Kenneth Hines, who coached at Lee last season and won multiple national championships while coaching at Abilene Christian University and also coached at Odessa College, is also on the staff.”It’s unlike anything I have ever been a part of,” said Hines. “Even when I was at ACU there were only three of us on staff. I’m used to working with one group of kids for one event, then turning around and going to help with a completely different event. That’s not the case here. It’s amazing how many guys we have out here with this kind of love and knowledge of the sport.” Aguilar and Hines are just the beginning of reputable coaches on staff. Tony Goyang, who is the president of USA Track & Field for the Southwest United States, also volunteers his time as does longtime track coach and former athletic director at Abell Junior High Bill Jordan, who oversees the MCS hurdlers.

Read more: MCS track program benefits from coaching experience – Mywesttexas.com: Sports http://www.mywesttexas.com/sports/article_d79b1575-f7e4-5177-ad8b-602f5efaa007.html#ixzz1tv2a1suE
 

San Jose, CA. –Pole vault — Hughes (Los Gatos) 15-8; 2, Toney (St. Francis) 15-6; 3, Decker (North Monterey County) 14-11; 4, Magna (Gilroy) 14-0; 5, Mackanerney (Aptos) 13-7; 6, Benko (Scotts Valley) 13-6; 7, Clary (Palma) 13-4; 8, Yeh (Carlmont) 13-1 Pole vault — Jaques (Presentation) 13-0; 2, Bolton (Homestead) 12-10; 3, Wagner (Los Gatos) 11-7; 4t, Vinson (Aptos) 11-6; 4t, Hendel (Westmont) 11-6; 4t, McCarthy (Presentation) 11-6; 4t, Benham (St. Francis) 11-6; 4t, Fish (Soquel) 11-6. more

Ventura County, CA–Pole vault — 1. Connor Stark, Oak Park, 14-6; T2. Luke Zeolla, Oak Park, 12-6; T2. Nathan Cruz, Oaks Christian, 12-6; T2. Ian Markham, Oak Park, 12-6. Pole vault — 1. Kim Sanchez, Oaks Christian, 10-6; T2. Erin Triplett, Oaks Christian, 10-0; T2. Kelsey Drain, Carpinteria, 10-0

Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/may/03/high-school-track-results/#ixzz1tv0iwmVw
 
- vcstar.com

San Luis Obispo California boys star just misses county record in clearing 16 feet for first time; Arroyo Grande boys, San Luis Obispo girls win the team championships.Entering Thursday’s PAC 7 Championships at Atascadero High, all San Luis Obispo High junior pole vaulter Connor Hall wanted was to clear 13 feet, 5 inches to move on to the CIF-Southern Section preliminaries.
Well, he blew that expectation to pieces.

Thanks to a strong tailwind, Hall cleared 16-0 to not only set a meet record but he nearly became the best county pole vaulter ever. His three attempts at 16-3 — two inches more than the county record, according to his coach, Jan Johnson — came up short.
“We had amazing conditions, a massive tailwind,” Hall said. “I’ve been peaking a little bit but not too much because I wanted to keep on going. My legs were feeling great. I’m just incredibly happy with how today went. I couldn’t be happier.”

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/05/03/2053959/hall-soars-to-new-heights-at-pac.html#storylink=cpy

North Andover, MA–POLE VAULT: Matt Fenlon, Central, 13-0; Dan Kfoury, Central, 13-0; Anthony Andronaco, Methuen, 11-6; Ray Belanger, Central, 11-6; Kyle Quinn, North Andover, 11-0; Cam Hastings, North Reading, 11-0; Charles Guan, Phillips, 11-0; Michael Whelton, Londonderry, 11-0. POLE VAULT: Ali Attenasio, Pentucket, 9-6; Jessie Valenti, North Reading, 9-0; Melanie Packard, Londonderry, 9-0; Elaina Radzelovage, Londonderry, 8-6; Alyson Spencer, Central, 8-6; Jamie Maffeo, Central, 8-6; Helen Root, Andover, 8-0; Natalie Howes, Londonderry, 8-0; Chloe Pearson, Andover, 8-0  more

CLINTON, MA. — After a convincing 93-50 victory over Tyngsboro last week in a Midland-Wachusett League C Division dual meet with Bromfield, the Clinton High School (CHS) boys track and field team evened its record at 2-2, both overall and in the league.The team’s captains are senior Mike Bradley, juniors Jack Kousoulos and Steven Mendoza, and sophomore Brad Doolin. Bradley, the top pole vaulter in Central Mass., finished 10th in the state last year at the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) All-State Meet at Bridgewater State University. Bradley, who is also entered in the javelin, triple jump and relay, vaulted 12-feet 6-inches to set a new CHS record. The previous record was set by Jerry Campbell in 1978. Bradley was a captain of the Clinton football team that advanced to the Super Bowl this past season.
“Mike (Bradley) is an outstanding athlete and will do anything you ask of him,” Nieves said. “I could see him going all the way to the state finals and vaulting 14-feet. He isn’t far behind the best in the state and I could see him going all the way.”
Bradley is looking forward to competing at the highest level again this season.
“I’ve been in the pole vault since freshman year,” Bradley said. “The weather has been a little cool, but things have been going well.
“We don’t have any home meets, so jumping into different pits every meet doesn’t help,” he said. “My goal is to do well enough in the states to qualify for the New Englands (in Saco, Maine, on June 9).
“It (the pole vault) is a fun event, and I’ve always enjoyed it,” Bradley added. more