In the first Plainfield Central Hunt Invite featuring just the four Plainfield schools, the night will be most remembered for the accomplishment one person had.
Central senior Luke Winder, the defending state champion in the pole vault, set a state outdoor record with a vault of 17-feet, 3-inches, besting the previous record of 17-2 set by Logan Pflibsen of Streator in 2010, according to the IHSA website.
“I made almost all my jumps on the first attempt until 16-9,” Winder said. “When 17-3 came up, I did the exact same jump I did when I cleared 16-9. It was the first time I cleared it outdoors. I knew this outdoor mark was going to be harder than the indoor one and I am just really happy I was able to do that today.”
If pressure of being the defending state champ isn’t enough, now he has to follow up the record vault. However, he isn’t worried about that.
“You have to try to keep the consistency up and hitting the numbers to give you chances like that,” Winder said. “Every time I come out here it is like I am attacking a new beast. Training up this point has gotten me to be able to withstand weather like this.”
By the end of the year, Winder hopes to be on the top of his game and accomplish what neither of his brothers before him did, win two state pole vault championships.
“Hopefully I will be able to get the numbers to qualify for state and then at state, you have to compete,” Winder stated. “It is not about heights at that point, it is about placing. It is about getting over the first couple bars and going from there. My brothers both told me they wanted me to win two straight titles this year so we can say someone in our family has won two straight titles.” more
