Jordan Yamoah 17-1 (NY)

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http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/arti ... ult-record


Arlington's Yamoah breaks own state pole vault record
JANUARY 15, 2011

Arlington High School senior Jordan Yamoah broke his own New York state indoor pole vault record with a height of 17 feet, 1 inch, at the Molly Stanner Games held at the Armory Track and Field Center in New York on Saturday.



Yamoah previously held the mark at 17 feet, and originally took the record with a vault of 16-6. The Admiral also holds the outdoor pole vault mark at 16-6.

For more on Yamoah's feat, read Sunday's Poughkeepsie Journal or visit www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/sports

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Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbMuGIFK7hs

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http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/arti ... ew-heights



High school track: Yamoah vaulting to new heights
PHIL STRUM • POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 2, 2011

Jordan Yamoah can remember wanting to fly even when he was a little boy.


"It always appealed to me," said Yamoah, a senior at Arlington High School. "When I was a little kid, I was fascinated with being up there. I always had a little fantasy of me being up in the air."

These days, Yamoah, one of the best pole vaulters in the country, gets to live that fantasy, reaching heights never reached before by anyone in track and field on the East Coast.

Yamoah has broken the New York State pole vault record three times this season. He opened his indoor season on Dec. 17, vaulting 16 feet, 6 inches at the Jim Mitchell Invitational at the Armory in New York. He bested that mark at Section 1 Kickoff No. 2, also at the Armory on Dec. 19, becoming the first athlete in state history to clear 17 feet. On Jan. 15, he reached another milestone, vaulting 17-1 at the Molloy Stanner Games at the Armory.

At 17-1, Yamoah has the indoor pole vault record for the entire Eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida. He also holds the state outdoor pole vault record at 16-6, which he set at last year's state meet.

"It's nothing short of amazing," Arlington track and field coach Steve Arnett said. "The pole vault has been around as long as track and field has been around. I really don't think people realize that this may be the best high school athlete the Hudson Valley has seen.

"It's not a ball sport. It's not even running. It's a field event. It's a little exotic. When you think of it in statistical terms: the all-time Eastern seaboard indoor vault record, that's incredible. I'm not even sure his teammates fully appreciate it."

Yamoah was not always a record-setting athlete at Arlington. An unassuming and unimposing young man according to his coach, Yamoah was cut three times from other team sports at Arlington — first modified baseball, then freshman basketball and, finally, JV basketball.

"I wasn't really much of a track person. I didn't even really know what it was," Yamoah said. "I spoke to the baseball coach and he told me stuff that I needed to work on. He also showed me that I did one thing better than any other guy. There was a drill where you ran from home plate to first base and he showed me my time: 4.1 seconds. So he asked me about doing track."


Yamoah joined the track team, initially doing some sprinting and hurdling, then he started doing some field events like the high jump, until one day he watched the pole vault and figured he might want to give it a whirl.

"It seemed pretty fun," Yamoah said. "Next thing, I know I'm vaulting 8-6 in my first varsity meet."

Yamoah, who has been heavily recruited by colleges like Texas A&M and South Carolina, has goals that he wants to reach before his time with Arlington is done. He's noticed that his vaults have improved by two to three feet a year. He'd like to vault 18-6 by the end of his senior year, which would shatter the national record of 17-6 ÿ.

"What I've been told mostly is to have fun," Yamoah said. "Even in competition, just love what you do. If you make the height, great. If not, that's OK. You can vault another day. It's been really fun actually. I was not expecting to break the state record three times in a row."

Yamoah has had a few setbacks in his track and field career. During his sophomore year, he had a brush with serious injury as he fell straight down from 13 feet in the air off the pole vault and then-teammate and fellow pole vaulter, Tom Brace, pushed his body in midair toward the pit which he would have missed entirely.

Yamoah missed three weeks with a badly bruised back from landing on a metal pit, but returned and started vaulting 14 feet.

"I thought my sports career was over. It was a massive freak-out session," Yamoah said. "Tom is basically a brother to me. He's done a lot for me."

Brace's senior year was riddled with injuries, so Yamoah is helping him look at colleges while Brace attends Dutchess Community College.

"I'm trying to repay him," Yamoah said.

Yamoah, who trains at Hudson Valley Flying Circus in Warwick, also had surgery to repair a torn meniscus this past offseason, but came back stronger than ever this winter with his record-breaking season.

Yamoah, who also competes on the 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams, said it means a lot to him to be part of a team.

"The team and the coaches are very supportive. I want our team to be the best too," Yamoah said. "Some people stop and ask me, 'aren't you that kid with the stick? Dude, you're a beast!' "

"I don't mind. I'm not used to the attention and in a way, the popularity. Not that I'm popular or anything, but I'm getting used to it. I need to keep a level head and remain humble."

Arnett said Yamoah sets a good example for his teammates.

"When you say the sky's the limit or anything's possible," Arnett said, "it actually gives you a teammate who proves that. Here, we have a teammate kids have known since they're freshmen, and they remember dropping the baton on the relay or doing some very ordinary things. And here he is now, doing the things that were once thought as untouchable."