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It was time to roll out the heavy artillery. Devin King knew it, and so did his coach. Facing a third and possibly final try at a national record, the Kentwood, La., pole vaulter reached for a longer pole to give him the edge in his battle with the crossbar. Already the 2014 national leader at 17 feet, 8 inches, King soared over the bar at 17-10.25 before celebrating the new all-time indoor best. “We have been practicing on bigger poles,” said the winner, who outdistanced the competition by more than 16 inches. “It really takes a lot of speed and strength to get on them. We knew that it was the key to jump 17-10 or 18 feet, so we have been focusing on bigger poles. It worked.” Erica Bertolina, King’s coach and a 2008 Olympian in the pole vault, said the success that the Southeastern Louisiana signee achieved today on a longer pole will come in handy when the outdoor season begins. “That was a big adjustment for him,” Bertolina said of using longer poles. “We tried to do that a few weeks ago, and it was a little bit rough. “Today, he didn’t have a choice. He had to go to a longer pole. It worked pretty well for him today.” When King entered the competition at 16-2, only five other vaulters were still alive. His third consecutive first-try over at 16-10 guaranteed the senior of the indoor national title, and then he turned his attention to breaking records. Prior to surpassing Andrew Irwin’s US indoor record of 17-9.75 from 2011, King raised the meet record to 17-6 with a substantial clearance. “I felt pretty confident in jumping 17-6,” he said. “I cleared on the first attempt. “I’ve jumped 17-8 so that’s old news. 17-10, I was exhausted but happy. I’ve been over it at meets, and I haven’t gotten it. So I feel relief at getting it now. I feel great.” Bertolina noted that minor adjustments in King’s approach, coupled with the longer pole, paid immediate dividends on the record clearance. more at milesplit
