6A Boys
It
should be a very competitive 6A boys pole vault this year and it would not be a
surprise to see both State representatives come from the area. Sutton Davis of
Clemens has the best outdoor returning jump of 14-6 but he will be challenged
by Reagan's Samuel Abati and Johnson's Thomas Bucks. Bucks is the one to really
take a look at because he has been improving at an incredible rate. Last year,
he cleared 12-6 as a freshman, but then he jumped 14-0 in the summer and has
already cleared 14-6 during the indoor season.
The
next group of vaulters includes a pair of 13-foot jumpers in Zach Goyt of
Brandeis and Cameron Gerald from Steele. After that there are five more jumpers
who have cleared 12-feet.
6A Girls
New
Braunfels consistently has a good group of vaulters and this year is no
different. They return five girls who have all jumped over 10-feet, including
Caressa Vajdos who was the bronze medalist at the State meet last year and had
a top clearance of 13-3.5. Teammates Hallie Leinneweber (11-0) and Lauryn Leitgen
(10-9) each rank among the top five returners in the area.
After
the crew from New Braunfels, Johnson has a pair of excellent vaulters in
Daniell Cantu and Lauren Taylor Fuentespina. Cantu has jumped 12-0 while
Fuentespina has cleared 11-0. There are a total of five other vaulters who have
cleared at least 10-feet.
5A Boys
Boerne
Champion, Canyon and Smithson Valley always seem to have good pole vaulters and
it is no exception this year. Champion's Luke Rossi is the only returner in the
area who cleared a height at the Regional meet last year and he is the top overall
returner with a 14-6 clearance. Rossi has a pair of teammates who have cleared
13-feet, Brooks Jones and Brock Lewis. Lewis has only pole vaulted at summer
track meets and has never jumped during the Spring season in his career.
Canyon's
Gideon Skolaut checks in as the second-best returner with a 13-9 best from last
year while Leo Bowen from Alamo Heights is the final 13-footer in the group.
Smithson Valley has three jumpers around 12-feet and Canyon has a second
vaulter, Jacob Salmeron, at the same height.
5A Girls
Smithson
Valley's Ella Pickron finished fourth in the Region at the 6A level last year
and heads to 5A as the top choice in the area. She cleared 12-0 as a sophomore
and will be one of the favorites to make it to State this year. A few others
who have endured the pressure of the Regional meet are Madalyn Aldridge of
Medina Valley and Victoria Baker of Alamo Heights. Aldridge finished ahead of
Baker, but Baker has the higher season best from last year.
There
are six vaulters who have cleared between 9-0 and 9-7 with three of them
hailing from Boerne Champion. Canyon's Cassidy Henderson only jumped once last year
but cleared 9-7. Another one to watch is Smithson Valley's Sammy Carroll. She plays
on the basketball team and started vaulting in the Spring for the first time.
She was clearing 9-0 by the end of the season.
4A Boys
There
is a strong group of vaulters at the 4A level this year. The boys are led by
Pleasanton's Preston Pilgrim who was the State Runner-Up and has jumped 15-7. Canyon
Lake's Coby Mickey and Boerne's Bruce McCoy are the next contenders with each
having cleared at least 13-feet.
Fredericksburg
and Wimberley each boast four vaulters who have cleared at least 10-feet. Luke Rizzo of Fredericksburg and Logan Wilkinson of Wimberley are the best of the
group with 12-6 marks. Will Keller of Fredericksburg is the final 12-foot
vaulter in 4A this year, but I would expect no less than 10 athletes in the
area to clear that height this year.
4A Girls
Canyon
Lake's Alencia Lentz is committed to Baylor and is the top returner regardless
of classification. She was the State Champion last year and cleared 13-6. She
has already jumped 13-11.75 at an indoor meet this year so it will be exciting
to see how high she can fly in 2023. She will likely only have real competition
at the Texas Relays and the State meet this year.
There
are four girls who have cleared 9-6 including a pair from La Vernia, Kailey McCloskey and Zoe Breitsprecher. The other two to have cleared the height are
Kayuki Warren of Boerne and Peyton Celotto of Fredericksburg.
3A Boys
There
are a minimal number of returning pole vaulters at the 3A boys level this year.
Marshall Homeyer of Karnes City is the top returner. He has jumped 12-0, but
did not even compete at the District meet last year. Natalia's Austin Sutton is
the only other returner who has cleared at least 10-feet.
3A Girls
The
3A girls are similar to the 3A boys in that there are not many returning
vaulters. Marion's Maggie Rudisaile is a good one to watch and should be one of
the top contenders for a State berth in the Region. She jumped 11-0 last year
and had nearly a foot of improvement over her freshman year in 2021. Cotulla's
Jasmine De La Garza cleared 9-0 and Poth's Kenli Luna went 8-0 last year.
Other Boys
I
am combining the private schools, smaller public schools and home school
athletes into one group. There is no superstar in the group this year. Utopia's
Dustin Rhodes is the top returner overall and is the favorite in Region IV-1A
after jumping 11-6 last year. There are three other vaulters who cleared
11-feet last year: Elijah Chandler of Cornerstone Christian, Adam Fore of D'Hanis
and Nicholas Zavala from St. Mary's Hall. There is another group of jumpers
that have cleared 9-0 or 9-6.
Other Girls
There
is a returning State Champion in this group. Madison Brantley of Fredericksburg
Heritage was the TAPPS 1A champion last year after jumping 8-6, but is not the
top overall returner. The best vaulter coming back this year is Antonian's Emma Pruitt. She cleared 10-1 last year. Ria Mehta of St. Mary's Hall jumped 8-6 and
Elaina Craven of Fredericksburg Heritage went 8-0. Craven is also one of the
best high jumpers around.
* Please note that all times are
taken from the MileSplit website. There is always a possibility that someone I
mentioned no longer competes for the school they did last year or that they are
even competing in track and field anymore. These articles are just a very early
preview of the upcoming season.
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