Tony Shirk article (PA)

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http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/site/ne ... 914&rfi=15

Memorable, record-setting trip to Nevada for Phantoms' Shirk
By BARRY SANKEY, bsankey@phoenixvillenews.com
02/01/2007
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Memories of his pole vaulting trip to Reno, Nev., two weeks ago are still vivid in Phoenixville junior Tony Shirk's mind.
Shirk was one of 325 pole vaulters from across the nation who gathered for an indoor competition. Shirk cleared 14 feet, 6 inches to establish a new Phoenixville Area High School record that he previously held at 14-2.
"I was ecstatic," said Shirk in a telephone interview Saturday afternoon. "I made it on my first attempt, too. I didn't hit at all. It feels pretty good."
The top height cleared was 17 feet, but 14-15 feet is considered elite for high school track and field athletes.
"These were the best kids from all over the country," Shirk said. "The majority were from out West."
The competition was held inside a hotel with two ballrooms.
"They had raised runways and six pole vault pits in each ballroom," Shirk said. "There was a total of 12 in the whole place."
The vaulters were grouped by performance height from 11 feet high, 12, 13, 14-15, 15 and up and 16. Shirk finished first among vaulters at his pit.
Shirk has been pole vaulting for four seasons, starting in the spring of his freshman year. He feels he can continue climbing the ladder.
"I think I can still go higher, definitely," Shirk said. "My goal this winter is to go over 15 feet, maybe at indoor states. That would be a good height for me. I would like to be in the 15s or over 15 this year."
Shirk currently takes lessons from two coaches at an Allentown pole vaulting club known as Vertical Assaults. He attends the sessions once a week at the indoor facility. He started there in the fall after former Phoenixville track and field coach Talen Singer, a pole vault specialist, left the Phantoms to accept a volunteer pole vaulting position as an assistant coach at Villanova University.
Shirk uses a long pole that is 14 feet, 6 inches in length. He anticipates switching to a longer one of 15 feet soon, either by the end of this winter or in the spring when track moves outdoors.
Shirk will continue to dedicate himself to the event in hopes of landing a spot at the collegiate level.
The flight and trip to Reno was special in itself for a high school junior.
"The hotel was in the middle of the city," Shirk said. "I could see the city from my hotel window. The weather was colder there than here. It was dry and nice but different. It is a huge mountain region and desert."