Russellville High School is a special place for Morry Sanders, a champion pole vaulter before becoming vault coach to the stars.
As a Lake Hamilton senior in 1988, Sanders won the Meet of Champions clearing 16 feet, 7 inches at Cyclone Stadium. He went on to a successful career at Arkansas State, then left his legacy on the sport through the achievements of vaulters he coached.
Either directly at Lake Hamilton or at his Arkansas Vault Club in Black Springs (Montgomery County), Sanders trained the three athletes whose vault records are at stake today when the Meet of Champs returns to Russellville.
Current University of Arkansas sophomore Lexi Weeks, one of his AVC students, set the Arkansas' girls overall and MOC record of 14 feet, 2 inches as a Cabot senior in 2015. Nick Johnson, then a Lake Hamilton senior, cleared 17 feet, 3 inches, the Arkansas boys overall record, at the 2016 Class 6A meet. Andrew Irwin, who like Weeks went on to stardom at UA, has held the boys MOC standard of 17-1 since 2011, his senior year at Mount Ida.
None of the records appears in immediate danger today although Springdale Har-Ber senior Zach McWhorter set a Class 7A record of 16-10 last week. McWhorter outdueled Johnson (16-10 to 16-6) in last year's MOC. Lake Hamilton's Michael Harris (6A) and Caddo Hills' Michael Standridge enter as state champions, Standridge setting a 2A record of 15-2, while fellow Sanders trainee Rhett Nelson raised the 1A standard to 15-4 for Trinity Christian last week.
"Michael had been in a slump about three weeks in a row and wasn't vaulting very well," Sanders said. "I was excited for him last week but also a little bit surprised. Now, it seems like he's snapped out of it."
Also capable of a big performance is Lake Hamilton sophomore Haze Farmer, fifth-leading qualifier at 15-2 last week when overshadowed by classmate Harris after three 16-foot vaults this spring. Standridge finished third while Harris tied for fifth and Farmer for seventh behind McWhorter and Johnson at last year's MOC.
Sanders counts McWhorter (a BYU signee) and the two Lake Hamilton vaulters among four who could battle for top honors. "Whichever one handles (an expected head wind) the best and is mentally tough will win it," he said.
Lake Hamilton sophomore Edie Murray is leading qualifier in the girls' vault with 12-8 after wresting the 6A title from teammate Madison Shinn (12-4).
"Edie had to clear 12-8 to win," Sanders said. "Madison would have won (with fewer misses) if they had tied at 12-4.
"Madison is starting to figure some things out, and Edie is looking good."
Lady Wolf vaulters Grace Cole and Farren Simon also qualified as did Class 2A champion Kayla Torbett of Caddo Hills and Class 1A winner Kirsten Gibbs of Mount Ida. Shinn, a recent Southern Arkansas signee, placed fifth at 11-6 and Murray (11-0) seventh behind winner Sarah Michael of Sheridan (12-4) at last year's MOC.
"Of the 32 kids vaulting tomorrow, 16 are kids I've coached," Sanders said proudly on Friday despite numbness from an afternoon in a dentist's chair.
In other events, Lake Hamilton's William Burgess is No. 2 qualifier in the boys' shot put at 51 feet, 5.50 inches, placing fourth behind since-graduated teammate Eli Jackson last year. And, in what could be a marquee running event, Hot Springs' Joe Sartini and Harrison's Seth Waters resume their duel in the boys' 800 meters.
Sartini, a second-year student at Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, qualified second in 1:56.96 as 5A runner-up to Waters, who also won a head-to-head battle in last year's MOC and state meet. Lake Hamilton's Colby Swecker, the 6A champion in 1:58.68, is the fifth-leading qualifier.
Other Lake Hamilton boys in the field are Zach Kalas in the discus, Knowledge Hood in the 200 and 400 meters, Omar Ramos in the 3,200 and two relay teams (both including Mckree Martin and Hunter Tucker, joined by Hood and Farmer on the 4x400 and Swecker and Cody Weldon on the 4x800). Jessieville is represented by 3A 1,600 and 3,200 champion Noah Eskew, Fountain Lake by 300-meter hurdler Ahman Johnson and Hot Springs also by long jumper Neamiah Dangerfield.
Lake Hamilton junior Josie Carson, who like Eskew is a three-time state cross country champion, goes in the girls' 800 and 1,600. Alina Homan represents Jessieville in the girls' 3,200.
Sports on 05/13/2017