Jimmy Wilson sets the bar high (OH)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs ... 20330/1006

Wilson sets the bar high
Pole-vaulter wins event, sets Lakewood record
By KURT SNYDER
Sports Writer

HEATH -- Lakewood pole-vaulter Jimmy Wilson had three hours to kill from the time the event began to when he finally vaulted.

During that time, Wilson sat in any shade he could find and tried to stay cool while waiting at Saturday's Hank Smith Invitational at Heath High School.

When Wilson took his first official run down the runway about 4 p.m., the long wait was forgotten quickly. Wilson cleared 13-feet-6 to win the event with his first vault.

Then, he took aim at his Lakewood school record and personal record of 14-feet, and he did more than surpass the mark.
He shattered it.

Wilson cleared 14-3, 14-6 and 15-feet in his record-setting run.

"'If you don't get this, you're stupid,' I thought, because I knew I could do it," said Wilson, who needed three vaults to set the standard at 14-3. Then, he cleared the next two heights on his first attempts.

"It relieved me a lot. I didn't have to worry, 'If I miss it a couple times, will I get it?'"

Wilson, however, was the story of a day better suited for Wilson the accomplished jet skier, not the elite pole-vaulter. The pole vault did not begin until after 12:30 p.m. and remained at lower heights much of the afternoon.

Wilson was the only vaulter left when he started competing. During a meet last Tuesday, he cleared 13-0 and attempted 14-6 but just missed. He did not miss Saturday under the watchful eye of area pole-vault coaches, Watkins Memorial's Marty Dahlman and former Licking Valley coach Dave Hoover.

"I have two of Coach Hoover's poles in my bag, and I have two of Coach Dahlman's poles in my bag," Wilson said. "At Lakewood we don't have a pole-vault coach, so they take time out of their lives to help me. I can't thank them enough."

Wilson made two attempts at 15-5 before stopping. The 15-4 mark had been reached in recent Licking County history twice by Valley's Boone Troyer in 2002 and Watkins' Kyle Burns in 2004.