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Boys Pole Vault - Michael Morrison conquers winds and meet record at 17-3
Results - Mark Davis Video - SteveU's Story - Pete Cava's Story
Open Photo
By SteveU
One of the absolute highlights of Nike Indoor Nationals in March was the boys pole vault. With an unparalleled field of 16- and 17-footers, the event was hyped as the greatest indoor vault of all-time and lived up to the hype, with Granite Bay CA sr Scott Roth winning a jump-off with the infamous 4th attempt (officials error on 3rd) at 17-04.
Nearly the same field, even an improved field, came to the track Saturday in Greensboro for another historically deep competition. For whatever reason, though – the higher quality of the concurrent races, the fact that there wasn’t as much record hype due to a much tougher standard, or the debilitating headwind – there just wasn’t as much energy behind it. The headwind was enough of an issue that there was an attempt to get the direction of the runway changed, but it was turned down.
The defending champ and meet-record-holder Roth, as it turned out, was one of the first casualties, of the wind or whatever else; he missed at 16-03.25, finishing 8th at 15-11.25. Surprise Golden West winner Jared Jodon went 16-03 there and no-heighted at 15-01.50 here.
When the bar reached 16-07.25, there were just six vaulters left: 17-foot regulars Michael Morrison VA and Jordan Scott GA; Spencer McCorkel AR, a 17-foot pro looking to shed his big meet problems; 17-foot neophytes Nick Frawley TX and Phil Hanson IL; and Casey Roche CA.
Roche and Frawley both went out here, but Roche – who had missed five times earlier, but cleared his first at 16-03.25 – was fifth. That left four, with Morrison and a surprising McCorkel having a perfect record to that point.
At 16-11, though, Scott made it on his first attempt, atoning for three earlier misses, while Hanson and McCorkel both went out. By getting third, however, McCorkel got the monkey at least partly off his back.
Morrison needed two attempts to get over, so Scott had the lead – temporarily. At a meet record 17-03, the Great Bridge VA sr cleared on his second and Scott, trying for a PR there, could not.
Having secured the win, Morrison, who had jumped a US#1 17-6 at his state meet, upped the ante to 17-08.50, a mark that could have put him = #8 on the all-time list. But the pole looked heavy, or too big in his hands (to the untrained observer), and he wasn’t able to do much on any of his attempts. Still, he was the new national champ and meet record-holder.
Later, wearing a champion’s smile, Morrison indicated that what actually happened on his final attempts was that a blister he had on his thumb had broken, preventing him from getting a good grip on the pole. The pole was actually smaller, as had been the case throughout the competition, which was one of his adjustments to the headwind. He also said he moved his handgrip down and the standards a bit closer.
“I’m really glad I was able to adapt,” he said.
While he has won at NSIC and last year’s USATF juniors, this was Morrison’s first Nike meet title after a series of runner-up finishes. “It’s awesome; it just feels great,” he said. “It seems like I’ve been runner-up so long … I can’t ask for a better way to go out.
“And it’s always great competing against the best guys,” he added. “We always have a great time when we get together.”
The Fourth of July doesn't come around for another seventeen
days, but this event provided plenty of fireworks . . . and surprises.
Mike Morrison, a future Florida Gator from Chesapeake, Va., who took second at
the 2005 Nike Outdoors, set a meet record with a winning vault of 17-3.
Jordan Scott (Watkinsville, GA) and junior Spencer McCorkel (Bryant, AR), both
with previous 17-foot clearances, took second and third. Scott cleared 16-11
while McCorkel went 16-7.25.
Defending champ Scott Roth (Granite Bay, CA) never got untracked. The
Washington signee wound up eighth with a 15-11.25 clearance. The old meet
record, 17-2.25, was set by Roth a year ago.
“I’ve been second place the last three years at Nike, so I came in today wanting
finally get over that hump,” said Morrison. “And I’m so glad I finally did it.
It’s great to come into a meet with the greatest pole vaulters in the country
and be able to compete well and win it."
Morrison blamed weather conditions for the low heights by much of the field. “I
think today everyone had a tough time adjusting,” he said. “I think the wind may
have kept the heights down a little bit. I’ve been consistent at 17 feet. I hit
17-feet indoors, and kept improving until I hit 17-6 ½ three weeks ago at a
regional meet. That was a huge confidence booster for me.”
Licensed to C.F.P.I. Timing & Data Hy-Tek's Meet Manager
Nike Outdoor Nationals - 6/15/2006 to 6/17/2006
North Carolina A+T University, Greensboro, NC
Results
Boys Pole Vault
==========================================================================
Flight 1 at 2:30pm: Opening Height: 14-1.5 then 14-7.5
15-1.5 15-7.25 15-11.25 16-3.25 16-7.25 16-11 17-3 17-7
Flight 2 at 5:30pm: Opening Height: 14-7.5 then 15-1.5
with same progressions as above plus 17-11
National: $ 18-03 6/15/2003 Tommy Skipper, Sandy, OR
Meet: # 17-02.25 6/18/2005 Scott Roth, Granite Bay, CA
Freshman: 16-03.25 1987 Jayson Lavender, Wichita Falls, TX
Sophomore: 17-06 1994 Jacob Davis, Orangefield, TX
Junior: 17-07.25 6/2/2002 Tommy Skipper, Sandy, OR
Senior: 18-03 6/15/2003 Tommy Skipper, Sandy, OR
Name Year School Finals
==========================================================================
Flight 1
9 Chad Faulkner 06 Arkansas Vault C,Fa 4.76m 15-07.25
10 Cameron Cheek 07 Mill Creek HS,Bufor 4.61m 15-01.50
13 Logan Lynch 07 Bedford HS,Lambertv 4.61m 15-01.50
14 Eric Foran 06 Pole Vault City,For 4.46m 14-07.50
15 Bryan Curley 06 Branford HS,Branfor 4.46m 14-07.50
16 Kevin Brinkley 06 Freeman HS,Richmond 4.46m 14-07.50
17 Roy Glass 07 Lone Star Pole V,Go 4.31m 14-01.75
17 Bryan Keck 07 Stevens HS,Rapid Ci 4.31m 14-01.75
19 Devon Purves 06 Haddonfield HS,Hadd 4.31m 14-01.75
19 Robert Womack 06 Arkansas Vault C,Na 4.31m 14-01.75
19 Joe Wesley 08 Marine City HS,Mari 4.31m 14-01.75
19 Eric Hughes 06 Waverly HS,Sayre, P 4.31m 14-01.75
-- Jason Inzana 06 Daniel Boone HS,Bir NH
-- Heath Morphew 06 Arkansas Vault C,Gi NH
-- Andrew Lindberg 06 Southwest HS,Green NH
-- Jay Lucas 06 Jaybirds,Florence, NH
Flight 2
1 Mike Morrison 06 Chesapeake Edge,Che 5.26m 17-03.00
2 Jordan Scott 06 Spirit TC,Watkinsvi 5.16m 16-11.00
3 Spencer McCorkel 08 Arkansas Vault C,Br 5.06m 16-07.25
4 Phil Hanson 06 Flying Dragon's,Pon 5.06m 16-07.25
5 Casey Roche 07 St. Francis Hs-C,Mo 4.96m 16-03.25
6 Nick Frawley 06 Midlothian Hs-Tx,Mi 4.96m 16-03.25
7 Josh Dominguez 06 Ponchatoula HS,Ponc 4.86m 15-11.25
8 Scott Roth 06 Granite Bay HS,Gran 4.86m 15-11.25
10 Jake Winder 06 Stix-N-Stonz Vau,Jo 4.61m 15-01.50
10 Joseph Farley 07 Aledo HS,Aledo, TX 4.61m 15-01.50
-- Jared Jodon 06 Unat-PA-Uniontow,Un NH
-- Sean Gil 07 North Allegheny,Pit NH