PEARCY -- Thirty years after his own crowning at the Meet of Champions, Morry Sanders is the guru of the Arkansas high school pole vault.
Repeat winner Edie Murray and first-time overall champion Haze Farmer, the pre-meet favorites, delivered winning, if not defining, performances Saturday at Lake Hamilton. Both left something on the table for their senior year at Lake Hamilton, where Sanders is vault coach in addition to operating Arkansas Vault Club in Montgomery County.
Murray cleared 13 feet, 1 inch, bettering by one inch her winning height in last year's Meet of Champions but short of her 13-3 1/2-inch effort in the May 3 Class 6A meet in Russellville. Murray stuck her first attempt at 13-1, which Emily Roberts of Springdale Har-Ber could not match, then missed three times for a personal record at 13-4.
"She's all about the pole vault," Sanders said. "She and a lot of other kids practice year around. Pole vault is their sport. That's what they do. They don't just pick up a pole in track season."
Farmer prevailed against Trinity Christian sophomore Rhett Nelson in what could be am ongoing series next year. Farmer won the title at 16 feet, 8 inches, only his second jump of the day after entering at 16-2.
Farmer then missed on three attempts at 17-2, which would have topped the seven-year-old meet record of 17-1 set by future Arkansas Razorback star Andrew Irwin of Mount Ida.
Although outwardly happy, Farmer experienced a tinge of disappointment, one shared by his coach. Boosting his personal record by more than a foot from 16-2 as a sophomore, Farmer set an outdoor personal best of 17-4 this year in the Lake Hamilton Invitational. Helping the Wolves win the overall title on a day that performances count more than records, Farmer cleared 17 feet in the Class 6A meet, making him the leading qualifier Saturday.
Sanders said, "This was a day that the record should have fallen, after clearing 17 feet in his last five meets. He'll feel it (disappointed), but that's the way it goes. That's the pole vault."
A clean-shaven, short-haired muscular athlete who generates tremendous speed down the runway, and in Sanders' words has "gotten a lot stronger" in the last year, Farmer low-keyed his performance.
"I messed up," he said. "I should have broken the record. I thought it would take 17-plus to win it because I thought Rhett would jump 17 feet."
The red-haired Nelson, who attends a private school in Texarkana, made his second appearance in the showcase event and said "I'm just happy to be at the Meet of Champions."
Thomas Hutchison of Vilonia placed third at 15-2, which he cleared after two misses. Lake Hamilton's Michael Harris followed at 14-10 with freshman teammate Hunter Johnson seventh at 13-4.
Johnson's older brother Nick set the overall state record of 17-3 at the 2016 Class 6A meet. The Arkansas Activities Association recognizes a state outdoor record only if set in a state meet or the Meet of Champions.
Other winners Saturday afternoon included Rivercrest's Sydney Lane in the girls' high jump at 5 feet, 8 inches and Gentry's Chastery Fuamutu in the girls' shot put (40-7) and discus (138-6). Fuamatu broke the overall shot-put record with 44-2.50 in the Class 4A meet this month. Winning the Meet of Champs high jump for the third-straight year, Lane made an attempt Saturday to equal the 38-year-old state and meet record of 5-10.
Russellville's Taelon Peter won the boys' high jump (6-8), Magnolia's Tavvis Harris the boys' triple jump (44-5.25) and Nettleton's Torrence Tuberville the boys' long jump (23-2.50). Maumelle outdueled Vilonia to win the boys' 4x800 relay (8:05.24).
Sports on 05/13/2018