Jefferson’s Mason Hamrick, who is only a sophomore, is aiming for his second Class AA pole vaulting title. Jefferson is hosting the state meet Thursday through Saturday.
High aspirations: Jefferson’s Hamrick seeks second title, Howard hopes for big first impression at state meet
IT HASN’T been Mason Hamrick’s dream season, yet here he is again flying high in the state pole-vaulting ranks.
The sophomore, who captured the Class AA state pole-vaulting title as a freshman, is coming off a career-best 14-foot vault and first-place finish last weekend at the Class AA East Sectionals. He did it all on a surgically-repaired foot that doesn’t yet feel great.
But that most-recent vault did.
“It felt really good because here lately, I’ve been have like second-place finishes, third-place finishes,” said Hamrick, who vaulted last year on a broken foot. “I hadn’t been jumping good at all, so given that and placing first, it was a big morale boost.”
Hamrick will shoot for his second consecutive title this week and be joined by teammate James Howard, an up-and-coming sophomore who qualified for state with a vault of 13 feet and a second-place finish at sectionals.
The pole vaulting finals are Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Jefferson as the Dragons host the boys’ state track meet this week for the 41st consecutive year.
Hamrick — who is trying to continue a Jefferson streak of five consecutive pole-vaulting state champions — described the recovery this year from his offseason surgery as “rough.”
For starters, Hamrick got a late start training for the season. When he did begin training and competing again, he had to wear a brace, one that didn’t come off until last Wednesday. That affected his run and kept him from using bigger poles, which in turn, limited the heights of his vaults.
But the mental rigors proved tougher than the physical ones.
“Really the most difficult part was, mentally, it messed me up,” he said. “I was just thinking how bad it was going to affect me and what it was going to do. But not being able to train, that was rough.”
But through it all, Hamrick did progress.
Hamrick posted what was then a career-best 13-9 at the county championships March 28. After some April struggles, he reemerged with his personal-best 14-foot vault last weekend — the highest of any vaulter at either of the Class AA sectionals.
Now, Hamrick has a specific height in mind for this week.
“I should probably be able to jump 14-6 at state,” Hamrick said.
That said, Hamrick points out that Class AA is chock full of vaulters capable of 13 and 14-foot heights, so this year’s state meet promises to be ultra competitive.
Jefferson pole-vaulting coach Gary Porter — father of three-time state pole-vaulting champion Tyler Porter — said this year’s pole-vaulting competition should be much more intriguing.
“It’s going to be a lot more strategic, too, because you can’t have any misses,” Porter said. “It’s going to put more pressure on the kids and we’re going to see how these kids react under pressure. Because if you have a miss, you’re behind right off the bat.”
One of those vaulters in that 13-foot mix is Howard.
Howard finished third at region but rose to second at sectionals, which were added to Class AA track this year. He explains his improvement this season.
“I’m still growing into my body, so it’s just knowing where my body is and everything,” said Howard, who is now 6-4. “Hopefully it will all turn out good at the end.”
Howard — who is aiming for a 14-foot vault at state — is something of a jack-of-all trades. In a given meet, he could compete in the long jump, 400 meters, triple jump, hurdles or the pole vault. But the pole vault remains his favorite.
“Because it’s just different,” Howard said. “No one else pole vaults. You’re one percent of the population.”
There’s also something about getting 13 feet off the ground that he likes.
“I’m a daredevil, so it’s fun to get up there,” he said.
Porter points to Howard’s potential.
“James has got a few tactical issues,” Porter said. “And once he figures those out, James has got the capability of jumping really high, and so does Mason. But James’ height is kind of an advantage in this event.”
Hamrick is happy that Howard is joining him this year, noting that he’ll “have someone to talk to” this year after being the Dragons’ lone representative last year.
“I’m pretty proud of him,” he said. “He did a lot better than he did last year, getting on bigger poles and everything — giving me a little bit of competition.”
Howard said he picks up a lot of pointers from practicing with a state champion.
“It’s nice because I have somebody to watch,” Howard said of Hamrick. “Other people are like, ‘what does that look like?’ but I can see ‘oh, that’s exactly what that’s supposed to look like.’ It makes me push harder trying to get him. It makes it fun.”
With Hamrick and Howard as a duo, Jefferson — which boasts 18 state pole-vaulting champions in its history — is hoping for a 1-2 finish at state in the event.
“It would be unbelievable,” Porter said. “It might be the first time in history if we finished one-and-two.”
Howard said it’s his goal to finish second at state. For Hamrick, nothing less than a first-place finish will do.
If he is to be a four-time champion, this year’s crown would be the toughest in that cycle, he said, noting that much of the competition will move up next year with reclassification.
“It will probably mean more than it did last year because the competition is so much more stiff,” Hamrick said. “The next two years, everybody else is moving up, so we won’t have any competition.”
So in a year of obstacles, this is his final challenge. He feels the pressure. Hamrick is ready to respond.
“Oh, yeah, there’s been pressure for a year,” he said. “When I get this one off my shoulders, it will just be a breeze.”
But that most-recent vault did.
“It felt really good because here lately, I’ve been have like second-place finishes, third-place finishes,” said Hamrick, who vaulted last year on a broken foot. “I hadn’t been jumping good at all, so given that and placing first, it was a big morale boost.”
Hamrick will shoot for his second consecutive title this week and be joined by teammate James Howard, an up-and-coming sophomore who qualified for state with a vault of 13 feet and a second-place finish at sectionals.
Jefferson sophomore James Howard finished second in the pole vault at the state sectionals behind Hamrick, to qualify for this week’s state meet.
The pole vaulting finals are Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Jefferson as the Dragons host the boys’ state track meet this week for the 41st consecutive year.
Hamrick — who is trying to continue a Jefferson streak of five consecutive pole-vaulting state champions — described the recovery this year from his offseason surgery as “rough.”
For starters, Hamrick got a late start training for the season. When he did begin training and competing again, he had to wear a brace, one that didn’t come off until last Wednesday. That affected his run and kept him from using bigger poles, which in turn, limited the heights of his vaults.
But the mental rigors proved tougher than the physical ones.
“Really the most difficult part was, mentally, it messed me up,” he said. “I was just thinking how bad it was going to affect me and what it was going to do. But not being able to train, that was rough.”
But through it all, Hamrick did progress.
Hamrick posted what was then a career-best 13-9 at the county championships March 28. After some April struggles, he reemerged with his personal-best 14-foot vault last weekend — the highest of any vaulter at either of the Class AA sectionals.
Now, Hamrick has a specific height in mind for this week.
“I should probably be able to jump 14-6 at state,” Hamrick said.
That said, Hamrick points out that Class AA is chock full of vaulters capable of 13 and 14-foot heights, so this year’s state meet promises to be ultra competitive.
Jefferson pole-vaulting coach Gary Porter — father of three-time state pole-vaulting champion Tyler Porter — said this year’s pole-vaulting competition should be much more intriguing.
“It’s going to be a lot more strategic, too, because you can’t have any misses,” Porter said. “It’s going to put more pressure on the kids and we’re going to see how these kids react under pressure. Because if you have a miss, you’re behind right off the bat.”
One of those vaulters in that 13-foot mix is Howard.
Howard finished third at region but rose to second at sectionals, which were added to Class AA track this year. He explains his improvement this season.
“I’m still growing into my body, so it’s just knowing where my body is and everything,” said Howard, who is now 6-4. “Hopefully it will all turn out good at the end.”
Howard — who is aiming for a 14-foot vault at state — is something of a jack-of-all trades. In a given meet, he could compete in the long jump, 400 meters, triple jump, hurdles or the pole vault. But the pole vault remains his favorite.
“Because it’s just different,” Howard said. “No one else pole vaults. You’re one percent of the population.”
There’s also something about getting 13 feet off the ground that he likes.
“I’m a daredevil, so it’s fun to get up there,” he said.
Porter points to Howard’s potential.
“James has got a few tactical issues,” Porter said. “And once he figures those out, James has got the capability of jumping really high, and so does Mason. But James’ height is kind of an advantage in this event.”
Hamrick is happy that Howard is joining him this year, noting that he’ll “have someone to talk to” this year after being the Dragons’ lone representative last year.
“I’m pretty proud of him,” he said. “He did a lot better than he did last year, getting on bigger poles and everything — giving me a little bit of competition.”
Howard said he picks up a lot of pointers from practicing with a state champion.
“It’s nice because I have somebody to watch,” Howard said of Hamrick. “Other people are like, ‘what does that look like?’ but I can see ‘oh, that’s exactly what that’s supposed to look like.’ It makes me push harder trying to get him. It makes it fun.”
With Hamrick and Howard as a duo, Jefferson — which boasts 18 state pole-vaulting champions in its history — is hoping for a 1-2 finish at state in the event.
“It would be unbelievable,” Porter said. “It might be the first time in history if we finished one-and-two.”
Howard said it’s his goal to finish second at state. For Hamrick, nothing less than a first-place finish will do.
If he is to be a four-time champion, this year’s crown would be the toughest in that cycle, he said, noting that much of the competition will move up next year with reclassification.
“It will probably mean more than it did last year because the competition is so much more stiff,” Hamrick said. “The next two years, everybody else is moving up, so we won’t have any competition.”
So in a year of obstacles, this is his final challenge. He feels the pressure. Hamrick is ready to respond.
“Oh, yeah, there’s been pressure for a year,” he said. “When I get this one off my shoulders, it will just be a breeze.”
Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks