Craig Hunter sets pole vault mark (NJ)

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http://centraljersey.com/articles/2011/ ... 683912.txt


ROBBINSVILLE: Ravens Hunter sets pole vault mark
Girls win sectional track crown
Thursday, February 17, 2011 3:05 AM EST
By Justin Feil, The Packet Group

Craig Hunter hasn’t had many chances to pole vault this winter, but when he has, he has made the most of it.

The Robbinsville High School sophomore broke the sectional record by a full foot when he cleared 13-feet to win the pole vault at the Central Jersey Group I meet Friday in Toms River.

”Throughout this winter, I jumped three times,” Hunter said. “The first meet was 12. Lawrenceville was 12-6. Sectionals was 13-feet.”

Hunter also placed third in the high jump at 5-foot-10 and ran a leg for the 4x400 relay that finished fifth. The Ravens placed second in the team scoring overall, falling four points short of Metuchen, while the Robbinsville girls won their sectional championship.

”It was a pretty good meet,” said Hunter, who accounted for 18 of the Raven boys’ 52 points. “I went into it just kind of looking to get some medals because I was coming off an injury. I had a sprained hamstring. This was the first meet I was pretty much healed. I wasn’t expecting to hit 13. That was a complete surprise to me.”
Hunter benefited from the sectional meet being pushed back. It enabled his hamstring that had limited him to the high jump at the Mercer County Championships to heal, and allowed him to advance to the Group I state meet in three events. The Group I and IV meets will be held Friday at Toms River again. Hunter is in a four-way tie for the second-best pole vault with the top six plus wild cards advancing to the Meet of Champions.

”I’m feeling the competition,” Hunter said. “Last year, I went into states, and I was jumping 10-6. I was a freshman. I think the opening height was 10-6. I knew I wasn’t going to medal. This year, I’m looking at I could go to Meet of Champs for the first time.”


”It wasn’t like we were a power in one field,” Hunter said. “We’re a well-rounded team. We recruit. Our kids go around and talk to other kids about the team and get them to come out.”

Hunter was an easy sell. He’s been doing as much as he can for as long as he can, even doing cross country the last two falls.

”I’m addicted,” he said. “I started in sixth grade with everything. I just kept with it. In high school, since cross country is in the fall, I started it. I love it and I love the team and the coach. It helps a lot to keep me in shape throughout the fall.”

The Ravens value the contributions they can get from Hunter, who has always been a high jumper and has added other events to his repertoire. Pole vault may be his best event in the winter, and he may have even more potential in the triple jump in the spring.

”We tried him practicing some hurdles,” Hutchinson said. “In spring, he does triple jump and long jump. He does cross country. He is really a very versatile individual. It’s helpful for us. For a Group I school to have a kid that versatile, it’s a real positive for us. You could throw him in anything and he’d probably do well.”
Hunter is most comfortable with the high jump, which he’s been doing the longest, but he has finding success in a variety of events, and finding that they help each other.

”Everything has something in common,” Hunter said. “The pole vault approach is similar to triple jump. In pole vault, the way you drive your knee up is similar to high jump. I’ve been doing high jump so long, I can always do that form.

”I see the most potential in triple jump and pole vault. Triple jump, I can do more with better form. And pole vault, I still have a long way to go with my form.”

No one expected Hunter to improve this much in the pole vault this quickly. After seeing Hunter at a track camp in Lenape, Northeastern University pole vault coach Bennett Abbott told him he could be a 14-foot vaulter by the spring, but being at 13-feet is well ahead of that pace.

”It’s a great accomplishment for him,” Hutchinson said. “He loves that event. He bought into track and field 100 percent. He wanted to do the 4x4 and step in for us. He’s a 100 percent committed guy. He was all over the place the other night.”

Hunter has seen great growth in his pole vault. He’s trained with Dan Bertolami in South Jersey privately, and worked out with the team under the tutelage of Tara Cumberland, who believes that Hunter will be a 15-foot vaulter by the end of the spring as his current pace, especially considering how little actual vaulting he’s gotten in this winter.

”Even with the lack of being able to go out on the track, my coach’s training helped a lot,” Hunter said. “We did hard heavy sprint training. That helped with my approach, which is mainly how I’m getting my height.”

Hunter could show considerable improvement when he moves beyond just rowing with the pole to getting fully inverted to go over greater heights. It’s a lot different

”I’m looking forward to the spring, I’m going to be out there a lot,” Hunter said. “I’ll be working on technique daily. I’m hoping that’ll help me get inverted.

”Between winter and spring, I’m planning on getting my whole body in better shape so I can handle the bigger poles better. I still have a long way to go.”

Hunter has shown everyone his potential so far. The next step is proving he can do it over and over as he tries to move up.

”That’s the big jump I noticed between freshman and sophomore year,” Hunter said, “it’s the ability to be consistent. It’s not so much an explosion of talent, it’s the ability to be consistent with what you do.”