Pole Vault

The pole vault is unlike most other track and field events, and the reason goes beyond the obvious - the poles that are more than twice as tall as the athletes. As a contest based on clearing heights, just like the high jump, the vault doesn't often begin with all the competitors participating. The better ones pass on what they consider pedestrian heights and wait until the bar gets raised to more serious levels. That routine was taken to a bit of an extreme Saturday at the Central Bucks West Relays.

Using a series of damaged poles, American Derek Miles was one of 16 pole vaulters to clear the required height of 18 feet, 8 1/4 inches yesterday in the preliminary round. Miles got the qualifying score on his last attempt. Miles will be joined in tomorrow's final by Tim Mack of Knoxville, Tenn., and Toby Stevenson of Chula Vista, Calif. "I was pretty relieved to get through, because our goal was to make it to the finals," Miles said. "It was a little shaky getting things figured out. But I think now that we made it to the finals, we're a little relaxed.

No one thought it would be 32 years between gold medals in pole vaulting for the United States. The pole vault used to be as American as tail fins on a Cadillac. At every Olympics from the London Games of 1908 to the Mexico City Games of 1968, the gold went to the United States. In 1952, 1956 and 1960, Americans finished 1-2. It ended with Bob Seagren's gold in 1968. No American had won it since then - until Nick Hysong and Lawrence Johnson came through on a muggy night in Sydney.

Since 1970, Pat Hurley has been a fixture at the Southern Chester County League championship meet. Stopwatch in hand and yelling louder than just about anyone else, Hurley has joined his wife, Verna, in cheering on seven sons, five of whom have won individual league championships for Octorara. Pat Jr. was the first Hurley to compete for Octorara. A 1973 graduate, he won the mile and 2-mile races at the league championship meet four consecutive years. Next came Mike, Steve, Bill, Dan, Matt and finally Luke, the youngest son and currently a junior.

Defending world champion Brad Walker broke an 8-year-old American record in the pole vault yesterday at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., clearing 19 feet, 9 3/4 inches on the same field where he'll try to make his first U.S. Olympic team in only 3 weeks. "The track's good, we'll say that," Walker said. "Eugene, when the weather's nice, is probably one of the best places to jump. The American record's here for me now. I know that it's a great place to jump. I know I'm confident that I can jump high here, so it just adds to my confidence for the trials.

Downingtown's Chris Watson and Coatesville's Clint Seace won individual events to highlight area performances in Saturday's 17th annual Father Judge Track Relay Carnival. Watson cleared 14 feet, winning the pole vault and continuing his string of outstanding performances this spring. This is the second time he has cleared 14-0, which ties the school record. "I did pretty well, considering the weather," Watson said of the cold conditions Saturday. "The runway here is pretty quick, and everything seemed to click.

The NJSIAA avoided a potential lawsuit after its executive committee approved a plan last week to include girls' pole vault as a standard spring track event by 2004. Officials from Hunterdon Central, a Group 4 school from Central Jersey, had said they would sue if the NJSIAA kept girls from the sport at all regular-season events. Until last week's approval, only boys' pole vault was recognized as a standard spring track event by the NJSIAA. "This is what we wanted three years ago, but I'm glad they finally decided a plan of action needed to be in place," Hunterdon Central athletic director Bob Rossi said.

In a meet dominated by Penn Wood and Penncrest, Haverford High's Nick Gargiule was the only area athlete to have a good meet at the Delaware County Relay Championships on Saturday at Springfield. The Fords' senior combined with teammate Rob Letofsky to win the pole-vault relay and anchored the 800-meter relay team (Steve Coren, Darrin Harris, Dave Ocenas and Gargiule) to a third-place finish behind Penn Wood and St. James. Penn Wood won four events and Penncrest three. In the pole vault, Gargiule cleared 12 feet, 6 inches, and Letofsky 9-0 for a total of 21-6.

Lack of practice hasn't limited Villa Maria Academy's Amy Carroll in the pole vault. Although the weather has not been conducive to outdoor pole-vault workouts, Carroll still tied for third in her speciality at Saturday's Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association Carnival. She cleared 7 feet, 6 inches at Lehigh University. "That was real good for her," Villa Maria coach Phil Genther said. "It was a little warmer last week, and she was able to vault. She's only been able to practice three days all year because of the weather.

Jess Kloss was running scared. Cruising down the runway of what was her biggest pole vault event thus far in the outdoor season, the Moorestown senior had things on her mind. It had nothing to do with her attempted clearance height of 12 feet. The nationally ranked vaulter had already cleared that height six times at meets and many more times at practice. What scared her was the slippery runway due to the rain as she competed yesterday in the high school girls' pole vault championship.

The top six in the boys' pole vault at the South Jersey Group 4 track and field championships were incorrectly listed Sunday. Here are the top finishers. Pole vault: 1 Reuben Pagan, Triton, 12-6; 2 Tyler Valeo, Toms River North, 12-6; 3 William Poley, Millville, 12-0; 4 Sherman King, Williamstown, 12-0; 5 Jon Malpass, Shawnee, 12-0; 6 Kevin Bucceroni, Triton, 12-0.

Nike, which helped build Lance Armstrong's Livestrong cancer charity into a global brand and introduced its familiar yellow wristband, is cutting ties with the foundation. The breakup was announced Tuesday by Livestrong officials. Nike will stop making Livestrong apparel after 2013, but will honor the financial terms of their deal until it expires in 2014. The breakup is the latest fallout from the former cyclist's doping scandal. BASEBALL: Gloucester County College beat Waubonsee (Ill.)

The pole vault is unlike most other track and field events, and the reason goes beyond the obvious - the poles that are more than twice as tall as the athletes. As a contest based on clearing heights, just like the high jump, the vault doesn't often begin with all the competitors participating. The better ones pass on what they consider pedestrian heights and wait until the bar gets raised to more serious levels. That routine was taken to a bit of an extreme Saturday at the Central Bucks West Relays.

As twins, Alison and Shannon Taub already have plenty in common. They added a couple of more things Saturday. The Council Rock South sophomores each cleared 5 feet, 2 inches in the high jump, combining to set a meet record at the Central Bucks West Relays. Council Rock South also set a meet record in the pole vault. Amanda Benninghoff vaulted 12 feet, combining with teammate Kate Hirthler to vault 22 feet and establish a new meet standard. Those were just two of the records to fall Saturday.

For the Simon Gratz boys' track team, Saturday's Great Valley R. Joseph Kellerman Relays were the final rehearsal before the Penn Relays. If the Bulldogs can carry over their momentum, this coming week could be filled with a good amount of success. Despite below-average temperatures and a gusty wind, Gratz won the 4x200-meter relay in 1 minute, 31.58 seconds and finished third in the 4x100. "The more confident you are, the better you run," Bulldogs coach Robert Massie said.

LONDON - Jenn Suhr walked with a purpose over to the stands to see her husband, who gingerly wrapped an American flag around her shoulders while she sobbed into his chest. Yes, they've come a long way together. From training in a pair of huts connected together to form a jumping pit - to winning an Olympic gold medal on her sport's grandest stage. Suhr, who won the silver medal in Beijing and has since fought through an Achilles injury and a long, mysterious, sometimes-debilitating illness that turned out to be a gluten allergy, got the Olympic gold she needed to round out her resume.

Katie Johnston said she always has been good at throwing things. That's why she played baseball instead of softball as a youngster. "I threw too hard for the girls," Johnston said. Johnston still was on the diamond in the spring of her freshman year at Haddonfield, playing softball. She almost played softball as a sophomore, too. "I was really on the fence about it," Johnston said. "I had run winter track and liked it, and my track friends were telling me, 'Do spring track.

Katie Johnston said she always has been good at throwing things. That's why she played baseball instead of softball as a youngster. "I threw too hard for the girls," Johnston said. Johnston still was on the diamond in the spring of her freshman year at Haddonfield, playing softball. She almost played softball as a sophomore, too. "I was really on the fence about it," Johnston said. "I had run winter track and liked it, and my track friends were telling me, 'Do spring track.

Distance standouts Maria Seykora of Notre Dame and Dustin Wilson of Chestnut Hill Academy took advantage of Saturday's warm weather to turn in some hot times at the Inter-Ac League track and field championships at Germantown Academy. Seykora set girls' meet records in winning the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs with times of 4 minutes, 57.30 seconds and 11:34.48, led off the winning 4x400 relay, and captured the girls' athlete of the meet award. In the boys' meet, Wilson set a meet record of 4:18.17 in the 1,600 and won the 3,200 by a margin of 30 seconds with a time of 9:36.46.

Malvern Prep's Tom Pitt set a meet record in the high jump by just a quarter of an inch to highlight the West Chester Henderson Invitational, which finished on Saturday because of inclement weather. The event began Friday before it was postponed after strong rain and lightning. Pitt captured the high jump with a mark of 6-81/4. He bettered the previous meet record of 6-8 set in 2010 by Ryan Brumfield of Owen J. Roberts. Ryan Hart of Downingtown East shattered the meet record in the discus and created a gap from the field.