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Vaulters soar to great heights
Three jumpers from Bayfield finish day with personal bests

April 11, 2006
By Gregory Moore | Herald Sports Writer
Monday was a good day in Bayfield.


JERRY McBRIDE/Herald
Samantha McClure, a 15-year-old freshman from Bayfield, wins the girls pole vault competition Monday at Ignacio High School with a jump of 7’6".

The weather was nicer on Friday in Ignacio, and there were many more people in the stands to cheer on the competitors in the Los Pinos track and field meet at Ignacio High School than the number that turned out at BHS to see Monday's conclusion of the meet. But for a handful of parents, coaches and pole vaulters, nothing that happened on Friday - when the pole vault was canceled due to inadequate facilities and reset for Bayfield - could compare with Monday's action.

Bayfield pole vaulters TJ Ellis, Ryan Wirth and Blake Johnson all cleared personal-best heights in placing first, second and third respectively, and Bayfield's Samantha McClure won the girls portion of the event with a 7-foot, 6-inch vault.

"Both TJ and Ryan have just been stuck this season," said Tim Ellis, the Bayfield pole vault coach who has been working not only with Bayfield students this season, but with Savannah Neely from Durango High School and Trace Richards from Piedra Vista in Farmington.

"TJ has cleared 14 feet in practice, but he's been stuck at 13-6 in competition," Ellis said. "Same with Ryan; he's cleared 13 feet in practice, but he's been stuck on 12-6. For both of them, it's like there's a wall that they just can't get over."

Neely, McClure and Bayfield's Lauren Rodriguez began their battle at 6-6, and both Neely and Rodriguez needed two tries to clear that height.

McClure breezed over the bar at 7 feet on her first attempt, but both Neely and Rodriguez - who both sailed high enough to clear the bar - disrupted the bar and failed to clear the height in three attempts.

McClure then cleared 7-6 on her first attempt, but three missed tries at 8 feet ended her afternoon.

Johnson opened the boys competition by clearing 9 feet by at least 20 inches, and then made 9-6 on his first try and 10-6 on a dramatic second attempt that left the bar bouncing but still in place.

At 11 feet Johnson missed on two attempts, but then cleared on his third attempt. For about two seconds he was the happiest guy in town. But he didn't clear his pole, and it came down on the bar, leaving him with a solid personal-best of 10-6 and the knowledge that he can go higher.

Wirth and Ellis both moved past 12-6, and that left Wirth contemplating what has been for him this season his own version of the glass ceiling.

"I know I can do this," he said before the competition. "I did 12-6 against Farmington (on Saturday). I guess I just have to pretend its just practice, not a real meet."

The strategy paid off. After missing badly on two attempts, Wirth grazed the bar on his third attempt but left it standing, and there was nothing to add but the obvious: "Man, it's about time," he said, grinning.

Six more inches of height tested both Wirth and Ellis, and both had their best tries on the third attempts. Ellis cleared it, but Wirth just missed; like Johnson he's looking forward to Saturday's home meet in Bayfield to have another shot at it.

That left Ellis - who tweaked an ankle in warm-ups and had to tape it heavily before the vaulting began - and a bar sitting uneasily in the gusty afternoon at 14 feet.

That height was his undoing at the state meet in 2005, where he place second, and had eluded him so far this season during competitions in Colorado and New Mexico.

But forget about all that.

Ellis cleared it on his first try, jumped out of the pit with both fists in the air, and marched right back down ramp to have a go at 14-6. He missed on three tries, but that couldn't come close to putting a damper on the day.

"I got a 13-6 in the first meet of the year this season, and I've been stuck," he said as he sat in the infield and worked layers of tape off his ankle.

"But not any more. This is a good day."

gregm@durangoherald.com

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Regional vaulting a family affair
Pole vaulters unite to compete in BHS’ Pine River Invitational

April 14, 2006
By Gregory Moore | Herald Sports Writer
Durango High's Savanna Neeley loves to pole vault.


Savanna Neeley of Durango High School sprints down the runway with the pole in her hands as she tries to clear 7 feet in the pole vault competition at the Los Pinos track and field Invitational on Monday at Bayfield High School. The event, originally scheduled for Ignacio, was moved to Bayfield to accommodate the vaulters’ equipment requirements.

But there are no pole vaulting facilites at DHS.

Trace Richardson of Piedra Vista High School in Farmington can vault at his school, but he finds it hard to improve by himself.

Both athletes will compete on Saturday in Bayfield at the Pine River Invitational track meet, and when they do so they'll feel right at home.

Neely and Richardson make the trip to Bayfield two or three times each week to join the Bayfield vaulters, and thanks to the Bayfield Pole Vault Club, they have the same opportunities to excel at the sport that the Wolverines have enjoyed for years.

A nonprofit organization formed to help relieve the Bayfield school system from the high costs of buying and maintaining pole-vaulting equipment; the club is a big reason Bayfield vaulters TJ Ellis, Ryan Wirth and Blake Johnson were all able to reach personal-best heights in competition on Monday.

It's also partly responsible for the success of girls vaulting at BHS, which includes Samantha McClure, Lauren Rodriguez and Savana Harrington.

"When we started, we had visions of getting $20,000 and buying the school a new pit and new standards and everything," said Tim Ellis, who coaches pole vaulting at BHS alongside Dan McClure, who has produced a long line of top vaulters at the school.

Donations have been more modest - about $2,500 - but this year the club purchased three new poles, and they were put to good use Monday.

The club also traveled to Reno in January for a huge indoor vaulting expo and demonstration, and came back with a training device that has been as effective as it is diabolical.

"That machine is tough, but it's very effective," Ellis said, adding that McClure paid for it out of his own pocket. "When we got it, nobody could do more than about five sets of one on it. Now we're up to five sets of five."

The club's record speaks for itself.

Four different athletes from Colorado and New Mexico have won state championships since 1999, and 10 more have stepped on the podium.

In 2002, Bayfield's Luke Harrington, Matt Brown and Drew McClure finished 1-2-3 at state, and McClure returned as state champion in 2003 and 2004, setting new state records of 14-5 and 15 feet along the way.

With a chance to improve upon Monday's 14-foot effort on Saturday, TJ Ellis is emerging as a favorite for a state title this season.

"The great thing about the club is that we invite students from anywhere to train with us," Tim Ellis said. "We don't care if you're from Durango, Farmington, Ignacio or Pagosa Springs, you're welcome to come out and work with us."

That's where Neely and Richardson come in, and they've not only benefited from the training, but they've felt welcome and supported in Bayfield.

"When I'm here I feel like I'm on the same team," said Neely, who also competes in the 1,600 for the Demons. "At a meet, you're supposed to root for your own team, but I'll definitely root for them on Saturday."

"These guys are great," said Richardson, a senior who will be trying to break his personal best of 12-6 on Saturday. "It's nice to come up here and train. We're like a family."

The annual Pine River Invitational starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Bayfield High School track and field complex.