Randall senior pole vaulter Morgan Moore said she did not feel the rush of nerves that typically accompany a record-breaking attempt Friday during the Amarillo Relays in large part because the mark she would soon try to break was already her own.
Moore then won the girls pole vault event in the first day of the relays at Dick Bivins Stadium with a vault of 12 feet, ¼ inch on her second attempt, which surpassed the meet record of 11-7 she set in 2012.
“It felt really good. … I was more calm about it because I knew I was going against myself,” Moore said. “I feel like I’ve improved a little bit more.”
Still, weather conditions that included temperatures in the low 60s and winds around 25 mph created more of a challenge than the warm weather she remembered from two years ago when she first set the record, she said.
Since then, Moore has trained year-round and has attended vaulting camps in places such as Oklahoma and Colorado, Randall track coach Bob Backus said.
“That was one of her goals,” Backus said of her once again setting the Amarillo Relays record. “You like seeing kids perform at their best, and that’s as good as she’s ever done.”
Moore had reached the 12-foot mark before, including the University Interscholastic League state track meet in Austin a year ago, and her goal for later in the season is to reach 13 feet to help her chances to vault for Colorado State, she said.
Backus also said he hopes the 13-foot mark is within her reach, and he is optimistic about her chances because she has yet to vault in optimal, or at least warm, conditions.
“We haven’t really had the warm weather that they really like to vault in,” Backus said. “I think she’s getting where she needs to be.”
The Randall girls team sits fifth in the team standings with 18 points after the first day of the meet. Amarillo High leads with 38 points on the strength of its jumping events.
Tae’lor Hodge was the only Lady Sandie to win an event when she jumped 16-8 in the long jump, but Amarillo High took three of the top four spots in the high jump with Samantha Nolan in second with a jump of 5-6, Nikki Tweet in third at 5-2, which was the same height teammate Shannon Flowers reached to finish fourth.
Tascosa led the boys side of the meet after the first day with 34 points, which was 10 points ahead of second-place Bushland and 11 in front of Amarillo High in third place.
“For the most part, we were happy, especially coming off of spring break,” Tascosa boys coach Jay Belcher said.
The Rebels built their lead on the backs of performances in the throwing events. John Ferrin won the discus event with a throw of 159-2, and Joseph Boyd finished second in shot put with a throw of 52-2. Bushland’s Brett Ponder won the event with a throw of 53-2¼.
“Our throwers are awesome,” Belcher said. “They’ve thrown well all year.”
The final day of the meet is scheduled to begin with the boys and girls 3200-meter runs at 10:30 a.m. today. The boys and girls triple jump events are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., and the running event finals are scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.
Amarillo Relays
Boys
Team scores: 1. Tascosa, 34; 2. Bushland, 24; 3. Amarillo High, 23; 4. Caprock, 16; 5. Palo Duro, 14; 6. (tie) Wellington, 10; Canyon, 10; El Paso Hanks, 10; 9. HCYA Home School, 8; 11. El Paso Chapin, 4; 12. Hereford, 2.
Individual results
Discus: 1. John Ferrin, Tascosa, 159-6; 2. Brett Ponder, Bushland, 152-10; 3. Joseph Boyd, Tascosa, 146-0; 4. Ralph Howard, El Paso Chapin, 141-10; 5. Aeden Bempong, Amarillo High, 140-11; 6. John Gallarza, Tascosa, 140-2.
High jump: 1. Brandon Grove, Canyon, 6-0; 2. Saber Mou, Palo Duro, 5-10; 3. (tie) Aaron Anderson, Amarillo High, 5-8; Suade Fisher, Tascosa, 5-8; 5. Colby Williams, Tascosa, 5-8; 6. Chris Lopez, Amarillo High, 5-8.
Long jump: 1. Terry Gilbreath, Wellington, 21-7; 2. Colby Williamson, HCYA Home School, 21-0; 3. TJ Ledbetter, Caprock, 20-9; 4. Josh Holmes, Palo Duro, 20-8½; 5. Payton Gonzalez, Hereford, 20-7; 6. Darius Polley, Tascosa, 20-5½.
Pole vault: 1. Wiley Saavedra, El Paso Hanks, 14-6; 2. Danzel Davis, Caprock, 14-0; 3. Weston Taylor, Bushland, 13-6; 4. Braden Moses, Amarillo High, 13-6; 5. Josh Killham, Caprock, 13-0; 6. Ivan Gonzales, Tascosa, 12-0.
Shot put: 1. Brett Ponder, Bushland, 53-2¼; 2. Joseph Boyd, Tascosa, 52-2; 3. Ivory Jackson, Amarillo High, 48-9¾; 4. Thomas Britt, Amarillo High, 48-7½; 5. Brayan Chavez, Palo Duro, 47-4; 6. Tate Stavenhagen, Amarillo High, 46-1½.
Girls
Team scores: 1. Amarillo High, 38; 2. El Paso Hanks, 28; 3. Tascosa, 26; 4. Canyon, 23; 5. Randall, 18; 6. Lubbock High, 8; 7. Bushland, 7; 8. Clovis, 6; 9. Hereford, 1.
Discus: 1. Bryanna Estrada, El Paso Hanks, 116-0; 2. Shelby Bartley, Canyon, 106-2; 3. Breasia Hunter, Lubbock High, 103-1; 4. Aridnee Thomas, Clovis, 97-8; 5. Catherine Howk, Tascosa, 95-6; 6. Jazmine Homer, Tascosa, 95-0.
High jump: 1. Margeaux Ozone, El Paso Hanks, 5-6; 2. Samantha Nolan, 5-6; 3. Nikki Tweet, Amarillo High, 5-2; 4. Shannon Flowers, Amarillo High, 5-2; 5. Tynashe Brown, Lubbock High, 5-0; 6. Carmen Sitz, Canyon, 4-10.
Long jump: 1. Tae’lor Hodge, Amarillo High, 16-8; 2. Audrey Sutterfield, Amarillo High, 16-7; 3. Markaaisha Richardson, Tascosa, 16-3½; 4. Lindy Pasley, Canyon, 16-1; 5. Bailey Brown, Tascosa, 16-0½; 6. Loren Lopez, Randall, 16-0.
Pole vault: 1. Morgan Moore, Randall, 12-0¼; 2. Stormie Fuentes, Bushland, 10-6; 3. Kati Culpepper, Randall, 10-6; 4. Jordan Thummel, El Paso Hanks, 9-6; 5. Chase Bentley, Amarillo High, 9-6; 6. Emily Craven, Tascosa, 9-0.
Shot put: 1. Shelby Bartley, Canyon, 35-11; 2. Jacycee Tubman, Tascosa, 35-0½; 3. Jazmine Homer, Tascosa, 32-6; 4. Bryanna Estrada, El Paso Hanks, 32-4; 5. Aridnee Thomas, Clovis, 31-10½; 6. Heather Ybarra, Hereford, 31-10.
From: http://amarillo.com/sports/high-school-sports/2014-03-21/randall-pole-vaulter-breaks-own-amarillo-relays-record
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