Payson pole vaulter wins championship

May 15, 2012 by mvrocket in Arizona | Permalink

Bo Althoff, the Payson High track and field team’s pole-vaulting coach and the school record holder in the event, is beaming with pride.His satisfaction is the result of having one of his students, Keith Williams, win the Division III state pole vault championship by clearing 14 feet, 3 inches in the finals held May 11 and 12 at Mesa Community College.

Just over 20 years ago, it was Althoff being crowned a state champion in the grueling event that requires upper body strength, speed, exceptional coordination and a healthy dose of confidence.

While Williams did come up a bit short of the 15 feet Althoff predicts he is capable of vaulting, the state mark was three inches higher than runner-up T.J. Ryan of Sedona.

Also in the pole vault, PHS senior Levi Sopeland cleared 13 feet to finish sixth in a field of 16 qualifiers who competed in the event.

Williams’ win could earn him invites to several post-season competitions including the Meet of Champions. Continue reading →

Sterling Colorado vaulter wins title

May 15, 2012 by mvrocket in News--College | Permalink

Steven Richendifer of Sterling has proven that he was the best pole vaulter in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. He won the event at the RMAC’s indoor meet in February and he won it again at the outdoor meet last week.The sophomore at Chadron State College also proved that his victory at the outdoor meet was not a fluke. Later in the week, he cleared 15-5 1/2 to improve the Chadron State record that he set last year by a half inch.Richendifer won the indoor conference championship by going 15-1. During the outdoor meet he vaulted 15-3, then added 2 1/2 more inches while competing at the Emporia (Kan.) State Twilight Meet on Saturday night.CSC coach Ryan Baily noted that Richendifer barely missed clearing 16 feet at Emporia, but brushed against the bar after most of his body was over it.The bar was raised to 16 feet because clearing that height would have qualified Richendifer for the NCAA Division II National Championships.”If he keeps improving like I think he will, he’ll get there next year,” Baily said.Richendifer won the all-class gold medal at the Colorado State High School Meet as a senior at Sterling High in 2010 by topping 15 feet more

‘Dr. Ellis’ puts pole vault firmly in her past

May 15, 2012 by mvrocket in News--World | Permalink

Canada –Dana Ellis hadn’t touched a vaulting pole in three-and-a-half years when she picked one up this season and felt that old, familiar tug.Ellis, the Canadian pole vaulting record holder and former Olympian, is still nagged by what-ifs over a career sparkling with highlights but cut short by injuries. But the Kitchener native knows that was in the past — she has a new life now.On Saturday, Ellis will officially begin a new chapter in her post Continue reading →

British pole vault rivalry spurring Dennison on to greater heights

May 15, 2012 by mvrocket in News--World | Permalink

Flying high: Dennison previously enjoyed complete dominance in Britain

Kate Dennison claims losing the British pole vault record she once owned to 20-year-old Holly Bleasdale has provided all the motivation she needs going into the London Olympics.Dennison broke the national record 10 times in 2009, netting a nice bonus of around £5,000 a time, before Bleasdale blew it out of the water with a clearance of 4.70 metres last summer.Bleasdale extended the mark to 4.87m during the indoor season this year, while Dennison’s best is 4.61m from last year.But the 28-year-old believes that domestic rivalry is just what she needs ahead of the biggest summer of her career.I think in the past maybe I have (rested on my laurels),’ the psychology graduate said. ‘I jumped Continue reading →

Alabama State 1A – 6A Championships

May 15, 2012 by mvrocket in Results | Permalink

Boys Pole Vault 4A
1 Hibbard, Dillon              Alabama Chri          13-00.00      3.96m 10
2 Morrison, Preston            Guntersville          12-06.00      3.81m   8
3 Fuller, Casey                Corner                11-06.00      3.50m   5.50
3 Thompson, Drew               Brooks                11-06.00      3.50m   5.50
5 Laue, Brandon                Pope John Paul I     J11-06.00      3.50m   3.50
5 Majure, Emerson              Ums-Wright           J11-06.00      3.50m   3.50
7 Grady, Sam                   Ums-Wright           J11-06.00      3.50m   2
8 Russell, Josh                Ums-Wright           J11-06.00      3.50m   1
9 Moore, Drew                  Guntersville          11-00.00      3.35m
9 Watson, Danny                St Clair County       11-00.00      3.35m
11 Price, Jordan                Beauregard             9-06.00      2.89m
11 Mickens, Aavory              St Clair County        9-06.00      2.89m
11 Reeves, Scotty               Alabama Chri           9-06.00      2.89m
14 Sumner, Ty                   Beauregard             9-00.00      2.74m

Girls Pole Vault 4A
1 Mitchell, Kendra             Alabama Chri           9-06.00      2.89m 10
2 Ramano, Michaela             Guntersville           9-03.00      2.81m   8
3 Brutkiewicz, Rose            Ums-Wright             8-00.00      2.43m   6
4 Hannahan, Catherine          Ums-Wright            J8-00.00      2.43m   5
5 Plog, Jodi                   Beauregard            J8-00.00      2.43m   4
6 Urquhart, Brittany           Alabama Chri           7-06.00      2.28m   2.50
6 Hunt, Gracie                 Ums-Wright             7-06.00      2.28m   2.50 Continue reading →

I needed to hit rock bottom, says pole vaulter Hooker

May 15, 2012 by mvrocket in News--World | Permalink

Steve Hooker of Australia holds his gold medal in the men's pole vault final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium during the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi October 12, 2010. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

(Reuters) – Hitting rock bottom six months before the London Games was the best thing that could have happened to Steve Hooker, the Olympic pole vault champion said, after climbing out of an abyss of self-doubt to qualify last week.The 29-year-old jets off to Shanghai on Tuesday for the weekend’s Diamond League meeting, having only just booked his ticket to London with a vault of 5.72 meters at a sanctioned event in Perth on Friday.The party-like atmosphere of thumping electronic music, spotlights and an exclusive guest-list at a disused railway carriage depot was at odds with the enormous pressure Hooker felt as he stared down the runway hoping the painstaking work he had to Continue reading →

Georgia State A – AAAAA Championships

May 15, 2012 by mvrocket in Results | Permalink

Boys Pole Vault Class A

1 Levi Cummings Athens Christian 13-06.00
2 Skyler Toney Riverside Mil 13-00.00
3 Jason Grimes Holy Innocents’ 12-00.00
4 Alex Cox Darlington J12-00.00
5 Dylan Sheppard Bremen J12-00.00
6 Tal Covington Eagle’s Ldg Chr J12-00.00
7 Jacob Carr Pinecrest Acad 11-06.00
8 Chaney Westbrook Athens Christian 11-00.00
9 Cory Jewell Gordon Lee J11-00.00
9 Max Levy Galloway J11-00.00
11 Ryan Horton Bryan County 10-06.00
11 Trent Minis Bryan County 10-06.00
13 Jacob Simmons Savannah Chr 10-00.00
13 Connor Clarke Tallulah Falls 10-00.0

Boys Pole Vault Class AA

1 Jared Scotland Hart County 14-07.00
2 Issac Tony North Oconee 13-06.00 Continue reading →

Devers, O’Brien, Temple, Connolly selected to U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame

May 15, 2012 by mvrocket in News-USA | Permalink

DALLAS – Four track and field greats are among the 10 individuals and one team to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate Class of 2012. Olympic gold medalists Gail Devers, Dan O’Brien and James Connolly and coach Ed Temple are among those to be inducted as members of the 15th class. Also selected into the Olympic Hall of Fame were Jean Driscoll (Paralympic track & field), Gary Hall, Jr. (swimming), Lisa Fernandez (softball), Kristine Lilly (soccer), Jenny Thompson (swimming), the 2004 U.S. Olympic women’s softball team and Ted Stevens (special contributor). The Class of 2012 will be inducted into the Hall of Fame July 12 in Chicago.

Dan O’Brien
One of the decathlon’s most celebrated athletes, O’Brien is an Olympic gold medalist, former world record holder and the most highly ranked decathlete of his generation. A five-time U.S. champion, O’Brien won Olympic gold at the 1996 Games in Atlanta with 8,824 points for his 11th consecutive decathlon win since September 1992. He avenged a no-height performance in the pole vault at the 1992 Olympic Trials – which kept him off the U.S. Olympic team – to set the then world (and existing American) record later in 1992 with 8,891 points in Talence, France, bettering his previous WR of 8,812 set in 1991. The world decathlon champion in 1991, 1993 and 1995, O’Brien earned the year-end world #1 ranking from Track & Field News on six occasions and finished in the top ten of T&FN’s World Athlete of the Year voting four times during his career. He was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2006. more