Big heights are nothing new to Justin Rogers.
But now the Hershey senior can say he's gone higher than any other Pennsylvania boy in the pole vault. Rogers cleared 17 feet, 0.25 inches at the VA Showcase on Saturday to break the all-time PA state record and claim the win at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
With the win already in hand, Rogers cleared 16-8.25 on his third and final attempt to break the indoor state record by a quarter inch, which stood at 16-8 by Hickory's Andrew Rademacher. He wasn't done there, though.
He then moved the bar up to 17-0.25, which would break the overall state record -- indoors or outdoors. He took that down on his first attempt at the bar, eclipsing the previous best of 17-0, which was set in 2018 by Charles Dever of West Chester Rustin. That vault puts him at US No. 3 on the season, trailing Gerogia's Alon Rogow (17-5.75) and Alabama's Maddox Hamm (17-4).
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | H# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Rogers | 12 | Hershey | 17-00.25 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Walker Van Kirk | 12 | Jamestown | 14-06.00 | 1 | ||
| 3 | Matthew Klous | 11 | Salesianum School | 12-06.00 | 1 | ||
| 4 | Adam Dodd | 12 | Cuthbertson High School | 12-06.00 | 1 | ||
| 5 | Isaac Meadows | 12 | Asheville | 12-00.00 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Andrew Riley | 9 | Mount Tabor | 12-00.00 | 1 | ||
| 7 | Walt Bannerman | 12 | Woodberry Forest | 11-06.00 | 1 | ||
Rogers has been getting better ever since his freshman year. He broke through in a big way last spring, putting down an outdoor PA No. 2 all-time vault of 16-6.25. He followed that up a few weeks later with a PIAA Class AAA state title in Shippensburg. His senior season started with a 16-0 and 16-1 performances, leading up to his big pop at the Showcase.
It has all led up to his record-setting day in Virginia, which also happen to be the state where Rogers will head to in the fall when he starts at the University of Virginia. But he still has a semester of high school to go. And likely, some even greater heights to soar to.