AAA Boys' Pole Vault Preview
One of the weekend's "must-watch" matchups comes in the AAA pole vault, as West Chester Rustin's Charles Dever takes on East Pennsboro's Payton Morris. Dever is the state record holder, but Morris is the indoor state champion. They'll go head-to-head at Shippensburg.
Dever jumped 17-00 earlier this season at a dual meet to break a long-standing state record. He jumped 16-04 to break the District 1 meet record this past Sunday. He'll be looking to translate that into a state title at Ship. Last year, he was third in AAA and in the winter, he took fourth at indoor states.
Morris, meanwhile, has had a very consistent senior year. He's been undefeated on the season, winning at Penn Relays, and jumping a best of 16-06 to win the Mid-Penn title. He vaulted to the indoor state title and has been aiming for that 17 foot mark, too.
The state title will go to who has the best day when it matters most. Let's see how high these two can push each other to.
A number of boys will be shooting for 15 feet in AAA, and with it, high spots on the podium. William Tennent's Randy Showmaker has hit 15 feet this season. He did so at his home invite and placed second to Dever in District 1. Three boys in this field have vaulted 14-09 this spring. They include District 11 champ Ryan Fox of Nazareth Area, District 6 champ Tyler Delozier of Altoona Area, and WPIAL champ Jono Pelusi of North Allegheny.
Expect some big bars before a big crowd this weekend.
ENTRIES:
Event 713 Boys Pole Vault AAA (23)
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NFHS Record: 18-04.75 2016 Chris Nilsen, Park Hill HS, MO
PIAA Record: 16-06 2012 Chris Williams, Strath Haven 1
NFHS Hnr Rol: 16-00
14-03.00 SQS
Name Year School Seed Mark Finals
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1 Dever, Charles 12 WC Rustin 01 16-04.00 SQS
2 Morris, Payton 12 E Pennsboro 03 16-03.00 SQS
3 Pelusi, Jono 12 No Allegheny 07 14-09.00 SQS
4 Delozier, Tyler 12 Altoona Area 06 14-09.00 SQS
5 Fox, Ryan 12 Nazareth Area 11 14-03.00 SQS
6 Perinotti, Franco 12 Parkland 11 14-03.00 SQS
7 Carter, Ryan 12 Manheim Cntrl 03 14-03.00 SQS
8 Ginder, Michael 11 Northern 03 14-03.00 SQS
9 Shoemaker, Randy 12 Wm Tennent 01 14-03.00 SQS
10 Durant, Bryant 12 North Penn 01 14-03.00 SQS
11 Puz, Andrew 12 Bish Shanahan 01 14-03.00 SQS
12 Ruggiero, Ryan 11 CB South 01 14-03.00 SQS
13 Knipe, Luke 11 State College 06 14-03.00 SQS
14 Codispot, Jack 11 Butler 07 14-03.00 SQS
15 Burnham, Dalton 12 Hershey 03 14-03.00 SQS
16 Sattiaux, Zach 11 Hempfield 07 13-09.00
17 Shaw, Tanner 12 Shikellamy 04 13-09.00
18 Lachut, Nick 12 Baldwin 07 13-09.00
19 Pecaitis, Joseph 12 Gettysburg 03 13-09.00
20 Weaver, Jared 12 Elco 03 13-09.00
21 Angelo, Jason 12 Harbor Creek 10 13-03.00
22 Yeust, Dalton 10 Tunkhannock 02 13-00.00
23 Kellam, Steven 9 Bradford Area 09 12-03.00