CHARLESTON — Prior to Saturday, Adam Coulon had pole vaulted in rainy conditions once this season and made 10 feet, 6 inches.
The Tri-Valley High School freshman did a lot better in the rain-plagued Class 1A state track meet at O’Brien Stadium, clearing a winning 15-9.
“It (the rain) kind of made it fun,” said Coulon, whose career best of 16-2 is the second best among freshmen in U.S. history. “It made it interesting.”
Coulon, who topped runner-up Riley Smith of Casey-Westfield by six inches, was going to attempt a 1A meet record 16-2½ when it started to rain harder.
“My coaches said it was too rainy,” he said. “They didn’t want me to get hurt. I wanted to (try).”
Coulon put a sticky substance on his hands to improve his grip. It helped him clear bars at eight different heights. He only need more than one attempt at 14-6, 14-9 and 15-0.
“The rain didn’t really bother me too much,” he said. “Every bar I made was exciting.”
From: http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/high-school/track-and-field/state-track-tri-valley-freshman-vaults-to-a-crown/article_134363d0-c599-11e2-a43e-001a4bcf887a.html
