Columbia HS (FL) Record Holders Meet

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.lakecityreporter.com/article ... orts01.txt

CHS pole vault record holders meet

By TIM KIRBY tkirby@lakecityreporter.com

It was a special way to pass the torch.

Terrell "Biddy" Crawford's pole vault of 11 feet, 61/2 inches at Columbia High had been in the record book since 1941 until Ray Bohannon bettered the mark in 2003.

Bohannon, who raised his record vault to 13 feet at the 2004 region competition, was invited by Crawford to visit at his home in November. Crawford was fighting an illness that would eventually take his life on Tuesday.

"We visited for about two hours," Bohannon said.


"He seemed happy, and he wanted to walk around. He was full of life. You could tell he was weak, but you could tell he didn't want to be. He had a real funny sense of humor."

Bohannon got to browse through Crawford's famous scrapbook that contains articles on Crawford's high school career, as well as exploits of his brothers and other Tigers in the early 1940s.

Crawford was a state trooper for many years and served in all three branches of the service. All is chronicled in the scrapbook.

"We talked about the differences back then and now," Bohannon said. "We did a lot of training the same, but the difference now is we use more sophisticated equipment. Back then, they ran on limerock and the landing pit was a pile of dirt or sawdust. Nowadays we have asphalt or rubberized tracks."

One common thread was lack of equipment.

Jimmie Pitman, a CHS teammate of Crawford, remembered, "Biddy always had to use a straight steel pole. Coach (Hobe) Hooser would never buy him one of the flexible poles."

Bohannon had his complaints: "The bad thing is we don't have much equipment. Coach (Dale) Hermann ordered two new poles last year, so we have got four but I can only use one of them."

Bohannon, a senior, tried vaulting as a freshman and enjoyed it.

He attended a University of Florida camp and frequently traveled to Gainesville last year to practice on the UF campus.

"You gradually gain speed," Bohannon said in explaining the vaulting procedure.

"By the time you get to the box, you want to be at full speed. It is all about speed and explosion. The pole throws everything in order and, after you leave the ground, it is all technique, not strength.

"But if you have the wrong technique you can be severely injured."

The wrong grip on the fiberglass pole can cause a whiplash and Bohannon said vaulters have suffered broken ribs. Once when he was tired but still trying to get in a few more reps, he went to invert too early and was thrown back on the track by the recoil of the pole.

Tales such as those have some athletes afraid of the pole vault, but Bohannon said proper technique overcomes the danger. And, there are big benefits.

"When you get up to 12-13 feet and clear the bar, you get one of those 'woo-woos' in your stomach everytime you come down. That's the best part - the rush on the way down."

Bohannon also got a great feeling meeting with a fellow athlete more than 60 years his senior and encourages others to reach out on both ends of the spectrum.

"It gives you a comparison of what it's like now playing at their level," Bohannon said. "It makes you appreciate the equipment and technology we have. I'm probably 90 percent sure I would not have done it back then."