Adam Coulon is a young pole vaulter who literally is on the rise. Illinois phenom holds world record for 13-year-olds; Merritt sets national frosh record. The 14-year-old eighth grader from Tri-Valley (Downs, Ill.) already has cleared an amazing 15 feet this spring. Last year he set a world record for 13-year-olds when he vaulted 14 feet, 6 inches.The world record for age 14 is 15-7, shared by two foreign vaulters from the late 1980s. The American record for age 14 is 15-6 by Kelly Stephens of Houston, in 2000. Stephens was a freshman at the time. The record for an eighth grader, according to national track expert Jack Shepard, is 15-5 by Tommy Skipper of Sandy, Ore., in 1998. Skipper went on to set the national high school record which still stands at 18-3.
Coulon, who has been vaulting since fifth grade, told MaxPreps, “I’d like to get 15-8 (this year).”
Competing for the Flying Dragons Pole Vault Club of Normal, Ill., and his junior high, Coulon admitted that when he reached 15 feet, “I couldn’t believe I made it. It was a cold day and I was sick.” Continue reading
Daily Archives: May 21, 2012
A crack in the vault
Canada’s second-ranked junior pole vaulter Spencer Allen was lucky to escape the Kamloops Track and Field Centennial Meet without injury.The 18-year-old’s vaulting pole snapped in half when he planted it into the ground while approaching the bar on Saturday, May 19, at Hillside Stadium.“It happened so fast that I didn’t even have time to think,” said Allen, a Thompson Rivers University student.“It felt like a really good vault and the next Continue reading
Area pole vaulters load podium
Lakewood, Colorado – Niwot senior Dillon Manzanares cleared 14 feet, 6 inches to take fourth place in the 4A boys pole vault at the state track and field championships at Jefferson County Stadium. “I definitely felt like I could have gone a lot higher today,” said Manzanares, who plans to compete in the decathlon and pole vault at the University of Arizona. “I just had something wrong with my form and I wasn’t going all the way off the top of the pole.” Manzanares was one of six area athletes to place among the top nine in the event. Longmont’s Steven Wacker won, while teammate Derek Wing was third. Silver Creek’s Erik Monahan was fifth and teammate Scott Baldwin.was ninth. Samuel Estrella of Centaurus was sixth.more
Maestretti wins second-straight state title
RENO — Douglas High pole vault er Nick Maestretti makes it look so easy even in the most difficult situations.
Maestretti, who is headed to Kan sas on a track scholarship in the fall, cleared 16 feet to win the 4A pole vault at the NIAA State Track & Field Championships Saturday at Damonte Ranch High School.
Maestretti, the defending champ in the event, hit on his first and only attempts at 14 feet, 6 inches; 15 feet; 15-3 and 16. He then had the bar raised to 16-61⁄4 and missed all three attempts at what would have been a stadium record. His best shot at 16-61⁄4 was on his last attempt.
“I knew the stadium record was 16-6,” Maestretti said. “I wanted a chance to break that. It’s only the second time I’ve hit 16 feet. It was a good day.”
“I wanted him to go 16-5, but he wanted to go 16-6,” said Lane Maestretti, who coaches the Douglas vaulters. “The wind was really tough at the time. He had a good shot on that last one.” Continue reading
Vault record what Axtell’s Benson wanted from meet
OMAHA — Axtell’s Brandon Benson regained the Class D state pole vault record, and it salvaged his senior year.A year ago at the Nebraska State High School Track and Field Championships, Benson served notice on the rest of the field that he would be a force this year. He won the 100- and 200-meter dashes and set the Class D pole vault record at 14 feet, 9 inches. Then came a knee injury and surgery during football season. A second knee surgery followed in basketball season. He sat out the early track meets this year and watched Twin Loup’s Jed Fenske break the pole vault record — a record he thought he regained after he came back only to later learn that Fenske still held the record because of a typographical error.At this year’s state meet, Benson tried to duplicate the performance he gave at last year’s state meet, but that didn’t materialize.“I knew it wasn’t going to be as good as last year. My knee might be 90 percent right now. Even the doctors said it wouldn’t be 100 percent by this day,” Benson said. Continue reading
UT pole vaulter reaches new heights
Natasha Masterson vaulted herself into University of Texas history last week.She became the first Longhorn to ever win a Big 12 women’s pole vault championship.If not for a random encounter at summer track camp, Masterson may have never lifted herself to such heights. As she entered her junior year in high school, she’d never touched a pole vault. Then, her dad signed her up for track camp at UT.“I was always that kid that said I would never pole vault,” Masterson said.Frustrated by the basic instruction at events she’d already done, she turned her attention to a much taller obstacle.”I was talking with some girl. She said, ‘You should just come hang out with me at pole vault,’” Masteron said. “It did take a little while. I’m the kind of person that if I don’t feel like I’m really good at it right away, I don’t want to do it.”It didn’t take that long. Less than two years later, she was a Texas high school state champion and pole vaulted her way to the University of Texas.It wasn’t until late in her freshman year at UT that the momentum finally slowed. A health issue sidelined her, followed by a quad injury her sophomore year and then a torn meniscus this winter.”There were sometimes where I didn’t know if this is what I was supposed to be doing. If I keep getting hurt, am I really supposed to be out here?” Masterson said.Any doubts were put to rest with her Big 12 Championship last week. Natasha and the Longhorns will now take on the NCAA Regional Meet this weekend. She needs to finish in the top 12 to reach the NCAA Championships.”I really want to be an All American. That’s the best goal for me to set for myself right now,” Masterson said. more
Ohio State Championships
Division I Boys Pole Vault
1 Jacob Blankenship 11 Gahanna Lincoln 16-00.00 17-00.00% 10
2 Joey Uhle 12 Powell Olent 15-06.00 16-06.00 8
3 Chris Uhle 12 Powell Olent 15-06.00 16-00.00 6
4 Elliott Tedquist 12 Cuyahoga Falls 14-08.00 15-06.00 5
5 Michael Shiverdecker 11 Huber Heights Wayne 14-06.00 15-00.00 4
6 Vinny Martello 11 Massillon Jackson 14-00.00 14-06.00 3
7 Andrew Silber 12 Cin. LaSalle 13-09.00 14-06.00 2
8 Grant Hammond 12 Pick. Central 14-06.00 14-00.00 0.50
8 Karl Pierce 11 Solon 14-04.00 14-00.00 0.50
10 Clay Densmore 12 Madison 14-00.00 14-00.00
11 Keith Carmichael 11 Cle. St. Ignatius 13-09.00 13-06.00
11 Andrew Russell 11 Huber Heights Wayne 13-06.00 13-06.00
13 Branson Repasy 10 Middleburg H 13-09.00 13-06.00
14 Cody Swisher 10 Findlay 13-09.00 13-00.00
Girls Pole Vault
1 Alex Wasik 12 Medina 12-01.00 12-02.00 10
2 Jennifer Foster 12 Lodi Cloverleaf 12-00.00 12-02.00 8
3 Kyrra Eaton 12 Massillon Perry 11-04.00 11-06.00 6
4 Ellen Silva 12 Fremont Ross 11-06.00 11-06.00 5 Continue reading
Humor: Olympics Scaled Down to Face Debt Crisis Realities
London – The 2012 Olympic Games may be weeks away, but they are already feeling the effects of the European debt crisis.
A long list of austerity measures is being implemented to help the international competition survive in an atmosphere of economic chaos.
Among the biggest changes:
The Olympic torch has been replaced by the Olympic scented candle. “It’s much more energy efficient, and it solves the pollution problem caused by sweaty relay runners,” an Olympic spokesman said. Instead of accepting euros or British pounds as payment for tickets and concession items, the event will have its own unit of currency, the Esperanto. “The Olympic Committee believes that when it comes to cash, we should all be speaking the same language.”
The opening ceremony’s “doves of peace” will be recaptured and added to the Value Meal Menu of the Olympic Village McDonald’s. “International cooperation goes down a lot easier when it has a crispy batter fried crust,” the spokesman said.
Parimutuel betting on all track and field and swimming races will be encouraged. “As long as we get our cut, anything goes,” said the spokesman. “So smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, Michael Phelps.”
The traditional bronze, silver and gold medals will be replaced by $100, $50, and $25 gift cards, redeemable at any Dick’s Sporting Goods outlet. “Give a man a medal, and he’s happy for one day. Give a man a gift card, and he could buy some cool fishing tackle,” said the spokesman.
Closing ceremonies have been canceled to make room for a new international competition that will extend beyond the games. Called “Synchronized Bankruptcy,” the game will use the strength of the world’s top weightlifters to prop up the weakest of Europe’s economies for as long as possible.
“Competition aside, few things in this world are more compelling than the sight of a 450 pound man in a singlit, with the weight of the world on his shoulders,” the spokesman said. more
Steinbugl seeded first in vault
Altoona, PA –As a sophomore, Altoona Area High School’s Ryan Steinbugl finished seventh in the state in the Class AAA pole vault, but he missed out on a chance to improve on that last season when he was overcome by cramping calves at the District 6 championships.Steinbugl is ready to head back to Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium with a vengeance.Based on the 15-foot, 4-inch height he cleared at last week’s 6-AAA meet, Steinbugl is the top seed in the PIAA Track and Field Championships, which will be held on Friday and Saturday. The seedings were announced via the PIAA website on Sunday afternoon and are compiled entirely on performances at the respective district meets; Steinbugl has achieved as high as 15-10 this spring. more
Maiden Voyage a Huge Success for Pole Vault City Vaulters
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” is a quote from Mark Twain that best summarizes the first year in our new indoor facility. October 1st was the day the bowlines were thrown off as we opened that original 12′ garage door to an empty warehouse in Melbourne. Much work was to be done and many helpful hands were needed on deck to create the facility that would proudly train the best that Florida has to offer. 4 state champions, the top male and female vaulter in the state, 24 state medalists, 30 state qualifiers, 127 points for teams that would eventually help 3 teams win overall championships isn’t a bad set of numbers for a once barron warehouse on the back of an industrial signage shop. These are only the numbers for the Florida high school state championships. The warehouse Continue reading
Norwich vaulter goes for record
With their fifth consecutive Eastern Connecticut Conference championship almost guaranteed, the athletes of the Norwich Free Academy girls track team chased some secondary goals Saturday The pole vault competition was still going on and Allison Sullivan was approaching her ECC championship meet record of 12 feet, 1⁄2 inches. The cheer went up when it was announced that she was trying to clear 12-feet-1. She gave three strong efforts, but failed to clear it.“Totally disappointed, but I was really close,” Sullivan said. “On my first two jumps, I could almost taste it. It’s just rough because I haven’t jumped 12 (feet) all season and it just knocks you down when you don’t make it, but I’m still going to make it next meet.”Sullivan is running out of meets, with just the Class LL and State Open competitions left, but she said a good vault requires a combination of factors. For example, on Saturday, the competition was run into a sometimes stiff headwind.“It’s the day, it’s your run, it’s how you’re feeling, if you’re jumping up or holding your drive long enough — there’s just so many components in the pole vault that if one of them is off, it changes your whole jump,” Sullivan said. “(Saturday) I was right there, I was over it, the standards were in the wrong place.” Continue reading
