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Up, Up And Away For Thull
Shatters Pole Vault Record; Wethersfield, Weaver Win
January 8, 2006
By REID L. WALMARK, Courant Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN -- Jordan Thull's record-breaking assault in the pole vault veered slightly off track Saturday at the 63rd Hartford Public Invitational at Wesleyan's Bacon Field House.
Still, the East Lyme senior, who set a New England indoor record Dec. 22 when he cleared 16 feet, broke the meet record..
Thull jumped 15 feet, 6 inches Saturday to win by 3 feet over Weston's Phil Cohen. Peter Fink of Haddam-Killingworth held the previous high of 14-21/2, set in 1998.
But Thull's performance was dominant.
"If you ask him, he'll say he had a bad day," said Russ VerSteeg, an East Lyme assistant who works with pole vaulters. "The consistency Jordan has been having is kind of remarkable for this event."
Thull, likely to decide between Northeastern and North Carolina, was State Open runner-up in the vault last winter at 13-0. Since then he's taken off. He won the New England Championships in June at 14-6. He concentrated in the summer on technique.
Now Thull does a turn at the top of his jump that he says has added close to foot in height.
Thull reached 14-6 in his first vault of the season, then hit 14-8 Dec. 3. He cleared 15-7 to set the state record Dec. 13, then 16-0 in New Haven. He said he expects a period of adjustment once he switches to a new pole that is stiffer and better suited for higher jumps.
"There's a gradual evolution in pole vault, in technique, pole [selection] and height," VerSteeg said. "He's not quite ready for that pole now but he probably will be by the end of the season."
"I'd like to finish the season at 17 feet," Thull said. "With the new pole coming, that should help."
