Regional Non Qualifiers

[smokinvaulter1]

Very true gotta love third attempt headwinds. but geoff was looking good and should jump 5.50 at the big dance.

[VTechVaulter]

hey vaultguru6 - how high do u jump? Cuz until your vaulting higher than hartwig, i dont think you have room to talk about his "choke". Almost every solid vaulter has NH'd at one meet or the other. Bubka no heighted at the freakin olympics, is he a choke artist to? LoJo, Hysong, Tarasov, Markov, all have had bad meets at one point or another. ANd to have on at the end of season that for most people started 7 months ago, in crappy conditions, with enormously large fields of people, is not that hard to believe. So give em a break, no ones perfect. except maybe you

[Decamouse]

Testy - true that almost everyone who has jumped long enough and at meets that have higher caliber starting hgts can nh - I nh'd at Nc's my senior year - choke - maybe - circumstances leading up to the nh - yep - you could just say sh## happens - could you say Dan O' choked in the deca vault! probably - can you out score him in a deca - doubtful - as for vaultguru - maybe it is the Oregon weather - but this is the good old USA - speak your piece - don't have to agree or like it -

[Cpvault]

It's pretty sickening to listen to some of you guys talk about how good vaulters choaked, and since this 17 foot guy jumped higher than a few better jumpers at regionals than he deserves to be there. Almost anyone who has been to the NCAA Divsion 1 championships or a like competition really believes that the regional system is a joke. The fact is a guy who jumped 17'3" does not deserve to go to NCAA's. That is a low mark; I've said it before and will say it again: The regional system has turned the NCAA's into a glorified-charity case-let's give an OK jumper a chance-regular old invitational meet. Yeah, I'm sure I'll get some backlash from this statement. But, the fact is I jumped my butt off in 1998 and 1999 (when it took a minimum of 17'7" and 17' 8" to get into the competition); so it's hard to watch a 17 foot guy get into a meet for what is supposed to be the top vaulters in the nation. Not number 30 on the list.
--CPvault

[swtvault]

I agree with alot you just said CPvault. The reason I am not too pissed about it is because I was one of those that has not jumped real high yet (5.30) and I wouldnt have gotten in. I feel that everyone who should be at the nationals, will be there. With the at-large bid system it ends up being almost like it used to be (5.40 to lock you in.) As you know several of the 5.40 guys NH'ed at regionals, but they still made the show. So it really isnt that bad. I personally liked the position that I was in, had to come through in a money meet or I was staying home. It makes for great competion! Also, the 5.0-5.20 guys that got in will more than likely be eliminated in the prelims (as will some of the top-seeds I am sure.) This kind of sucks, but like has been said 100 times on this topic, it makes the NCAA meet more of an Olympic/World Champs type of event. I dont here anyone complaining about the regional system used for state federations or the Olympic Trials. Not trying to make an attack, just a statement.

[VTechVaulter]

Agreed. Im not tryin to tell people not to speak their mind. thats what these forums are all about. I just think people jumpin that high deserve a certain amount of respect and understanding in the fact that bad days are a certainty. Just a matter of when.