Not even a slow clap provided the extra adrenaline for a shot at a state record, but a state championship will do for Ravenwood’s Justin Lankes. The junior is the 2013 TSSAA Class AAA boys pole vault champion after clearing 15 feet with ease Thursday and missing on three tries at a personal best, 15-8 during the BlueCross Spring Fling track and field events at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro. “It feels awesome, I’m just so happy,” Lankes said, who earned the top seed after clearing 15-7 during sectionals. “I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen.” Lankes had to stay loose through most of the competition, entering at 14 feet when the majority of other jumpers had faded. Down to three competitors, he cleared 15 feet and watched as the pair of other pole vaulters missed attempts. Juniors Jackson Elmore of Bearden and Hank Mary of West finished second and third. After the final miss, Lankes had the opportunity to raise the bar. At first he and personal head coach Brandon Grass of Axis Athletics, planned to set the bar at 15-4 and work their way up. “You got the height,” Grass said after thinking it over aloud. “Hey Justin, let’s go to 15-8.” With the title in hand, why not? Lankes nodded his head in approval. By now the sun was dipping below the horizon and the pole vault competition was more than three hours old. “My PR was 15-7, so we decided to try for 15-8 so we could leap frog for the state record if I could get it,” Lankes said. Using a bigger 14-6 pole and changing up his grip a bit to compensate for the height, Lankes made three runs to better his own record for a shot to top the state record of 16-feet. His first attempt had the height, but his knee clipped the bar on the way down. The crowd signed in unison. “Oh, that was a real good attempt,” Grass said, shaking his head. “So close.”
The first attempt replayed the next two tries.
On his final attempt, Grass asked the relatively new pole vaulter if he wanted a slow clap from the gathered crowd.
Maybe that would help? Another clipped bar.
“You have the height,” Grass said. “It’s there … 16 is not far away.”
Lankes didn’t quite have enough push at the top of his vault to take a stab at the state record, but he will be competing in the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C. next month for another shot at a PR, plus he’ll be back next year.
This season is only Lankes second full season pole vaulting. After another summer and fall of training, Lankes said he’ll be back next year — the slow clap, too.
“Next time,” he said.
Teammate Zach Gilroy, who finished as runner-up in the decathlon earlier this week, collected another medal in the pole vault as well. The senior was a step slow and missed at 14-feet but managed to place fifth overall.
“I’m just a little bit tired I guess,” Gilroy said. “I thought I was doing fine, but even my coach said I looked like I was a little bit slow. I wish I could have done better, but it’s fine.”
It’s the second year in a row a pole vaulter from District 11 has claimed the pole vault title. Brentwood’s Eric Hoff, who broke a bone in his foot several weeks ago and missed the state tournament, won last year clearing the same height as Lankes’ personal-best, 15-7, as a sophomore.
In attendance throughout the day was former pole vaulting world record holder, Timothy Mack, who won a gold medal for the U.S. in the 2004 Olympics in Athens with a 19-8.25 vault. Mack, who also competed for the University of Tennessee in the mid 1990s, handed out medals to pole vault competitors Thursday. more
