It would be safe to say that the pole vault fortunes for the Del Oro High track team this season are in good hands.
Del Oro, with a pair of state meet qualifiers last season in Jake Bowler and Melissa Maneatis, and young up and coming Lance Huber all returning, was well-represented at the recent Pole Vault Summit, which brought competitors from all over the world to Reno.
Vaulting indoors at the Reno Livestock Events Center, the three Del Oro athletes, competing for Curt Roth’s “Get Over It” pole vault club, all checked in with standout efforts.
Bowler, a junior at Del Oro, who has competed in two CIF state meets, posted two personal bests on his way to finishing in first place in the junior age group with a final effort of 16 feet, 5.5 inches.
“It was pretty exciting for all of us to do well up there,” Bowler said.
Bowler noted that one of his goals this season is to close in and go over the 17-foot mark.
“That would be nice,” said Bowler. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”
In addition to Bowler’s strong showing, Huber, a sophomore at Del Oro, also registered personal bests in the sophomore division by going over the bar at 13-8, 14-0, 14-4 and finally 14-8 for a second place finish.
Huber’s effort enables the Golden Eagle vault athlete to push himself into the No. 2 national ranking for sophomores.
Maneatis, who went 12-4 in finishing in second place at last year’s CIF state meet, also had a good weekend. She cleared 11-10 and settled for sixth place. However, the big news for the Del Oro pole vault standout was that she has verbally committed to UCLA.
The hghlight of the Summit event was 2012 London Olympic Games gold medal winner Renaud Lavillenie of France also competing. Lavillenie, who is the world record holder at 20 feet 2.5 inches, easily cleared 19-5 in Reno. He stopped to take photos with local participants.
“It was amazing,” Bowler said. “He made it look so easy.”
From: http://www.theloomisnews.com/article/1/30/15/raising-bar-del-oro-vaulters-shine-reno-pole-vault-summit
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