USATF Men's PV

[polevaulter08nw]

you are lucky brian, i wish i could have just been there to watch, im glad to hear that about them, cause thats what i think most would expect for good elite example setters.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml ... LID=306195

Skipper Skies to Third in USA Championships
06/24/2006 - GoDucks.com

Junior Tommy Skipper took third overall Saturday in his third appearnce in the U.S. pole vault finale.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Junior Tommy Skipper paced the University of Oregon in fourth day action Saturday in the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and Finish Line USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held at the IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium on the IUPUI campus.

In the senior men’s pole vault, Skipper tied for third place (18-4 1/2) with American record holder Jeff Hartwig and 2005 World Championships silver medalist Brad Walker who also converted the same height on their first attempts.

Skipper and Hartwig missed subsequent attempts at 18-8 1/4 (5.70m), while Walker passed to 18-10 1/4 (5.75m) and also missed his three tries.

In prior USA Championships, Skipper tied for ninth in 2005 (17-8 1/2) and 14th in the 2004 Olympic Trials prelims (17-8 1/2), and was the youngest competitor in the latter event.

Asics post-collegiate vaulter Russ Buller won Saturday’s event with a final clearance of 19-0 1/4 (5.80m) over 2004 Olympic silver medalist Toby Stevenson who also cleared 19-0 1/4 but on his second attempt, while Buller made his first try.

As the top finishers in their event, Buller and Stevenson earned spots on the U.S. team for the 2006 IAAF World Cup, Sept. 16-17 in Athens, Greece, while the top junior championships finishers earned invites to the 2006 World Junior Championships, August 15-20 in Beijing, China.

During the collegiate season, Skipper won his second outdoor NCAA title with a clearance of 18-8 1/4 two weeks ago, while in May he won his second Pac-10 title (18-0 1/2) and finished second in the West Regional (18-1). The Sandy, Ore., native opened the campaign with a school and Pac-10 record on his first and only attempt of the Oregon Preview (19-0) in mid-March.

Skipper also won the pole vault title in the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships in early March (18-6 1/2), after he led the regular season rankings (18-8 3/4) with his winning mark from the Mountain Pacific Championships in late February.

Overall in ’06, he has competed in 10 meets and has cleared 18 feet in seven of them, including three in which he has topped 18-6.