Bryant Butala article (PA)

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http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?news ... 9073&rfi=6

TAMAQUA â€â€

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http://www.tnonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 1484443446

Raider vaulters clear new heights
By JOE PLASKOjplasko@tnonline.com
At Tamaqua, the pole vault bar has clearly been raised this season.Twice in one week, junior Bryant Butala has broken the longstanding school record in the event and has now cleared a personal best 12-10 .Meanwhile, on the girls side, junior Jaime Price and sophomore Gabby Smarr have each cleared eight feet, tying the school mark.At a time when a lot of schools have had difficulty attracting athletes to the vault, the Blue Raiders actually have depth."It's probably the hardest event in track and field, because it requires a lot of technique, but our kids love doing it," Andy Smarr, who volunteers as an assistant coach with the Raiders to teach the event.Smarr himself vaulted at Tamaqua, with his top height 11-10 . He admitted he actually still vaults: "I did 10 feet last week," he noted.Back when he did his scholastic vaulting, receiving individual instruction in the event was a luxury a lot of athletes didn't have. "I learned a lot of it myself on my own," he remarked.Now, the Raiders not only have Smarr, there's also specialty camps such as Mike Lawryk's Vertical Assault in Bath, which is where Easton's record-setting Regan sisters, Courtney and Lindsay, have trained.Butala attends the Vertical Assault Camp, as did Gabby Smarr and Price."It's helped me a lot," said Butala, who has improved from clearing nine feet as a freshman to 11 feet last year and now is closing in on 13 feet. "They teach a lot of technical stuff, such as steps and how to push off the pole."Butala, who also plays football for the Raiders, went to Vertical Assault over the winter and still attends the camp twice a week during the season."I wanted to do an individual event, and pole vaulting seemed like me," he mentioned.Ironically, the Tamaqua record Butala broke, 12-6, was set in 1984 by Mark Comisac, who is Andy Smarr's brother in law. "I really went after that record, and I was so happy when I got it," he said."Bryant's done 13-6 at camp," said Smarr. "State qualifying (for Class AA) is 13-3, and he should make that, depending on the weather."Butala's goal is to clear 14-3 and to qualify for the PIAA State Championships at Shippensburg University Memorial Day weekend.Last season Billy James, now a junior, qualified for the state meet for the Raiders. Junior Jared Beers, who competes in the hurdled and other events, has cleared 12-3 this spring, while junior Tyler Miller has made it over 10-6 and junior Sebastian Riotto had made 8-6.As for the Lady Raiders, Gabby Smarr, who is Andy's daughter, and Price have joined Ang Valentine and Brooke Reed in the record book at eight feet. Amanda Smarr, Andy's niece, has cleared 7-6 this year.Joining that trio are senior Ashlee Niedospial, junior Amy Kupres and soph Danielle Walton.With the depth of vaulters the Raiders have, they should have strong showings in meets such as the Schuylkill Relays. They have demonstrated the ability to rise to the occasion."Our team is doing awesome," said Butala. "We are sweeping a lot of other schools. Some of them don't even have the pole vault anymore."