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4A Top Vaulter Preview by Lindsey Enders

Published by
DyeStatFL.com   May 4th 2013, 12:56am
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Leading the girl’s 4A state vault with a jump of 12’ is junior Erica Sergeant of Lake Mary HS. Following closely behind are four competitors, all of which jumped 11’ to secure their spot. These competitors include Summer Schafers, a freshman of Olympia HS, Madison Schmidt, a senior from Sarasota Riverview HS, Lauren Chabarek, a senior of Douglas HS, and Brianna Thaler, a junior of St. Thomas Aquinas.


Sergeant jumped a PR of 12’8 in her 2012 season, but has jumped a close 12’6 twice this season, with many other close clearances at 12’4 and 12’5. She is consistently over 12’, which should be enough to secure a first place finish. If she clears 12’6, or even her PR, she is pretty much guaranteed a win, as well as some good shots at the current state record of 12’10 (set by me!). Whether it be this year or next year, she has the potential to set the new state record and soar even higher.

 

Behind Sergeant is Schafers, who is only a freshman! Her PR is 11’9, and she has consistently cleared over 10’6 this season, clearing 11’6 four times. Although she is seeded in the meet at 11’, she can easily jump over 11’6 to secure at least a second place finish behind Sergeant. Because she is only a freshman, she has three more state meets, to win herself a gold title, as well as shoot for the record if she continues to improve as a vaulter.

 

Schmidt is also seeded at 11’, but her PR is 11’6. She has jumped 11’6 only once, and has jumped between 10’ and 11’6 this season. If she is able to tie her PR, she can give Schafers a run for her money for a second place finish, if not, placing at least third.

 

Chabarek is seeded at her PR, which is 11’. She has only jumped 11’ once, and has jumped between 9’6 and 11’ this season. If she is able to jump 11’ again, it may be enough for at least a fourth place finish, if not fifth.

 

Finally, Thaler is also seeded at 11’, which is her PR. She has jumped 11’ twice, which is more than Chabarek has. She has jumped between 10’ and 11’ this season. Comparing stats to Chabarek, she seems to be more consistent and has a better chance at clearing 11’ than Chabarek, which would be enough to secure her at least a 4th place finish.

 

On the boy’s side, it is an extremely competitive meet due to the top two vaulters in the state going face to face. The top 3 vaulters of the boys 4A are Matthew Ryan, a senior of St. Thomas Aquinas, Clayton Washburn, a senior of Olympia HS, and Cayman Ellis, a senior at St. Petersburg.

 

Ryan currently leads, seeded at 14’7 for the meet. His PR is 14’7, and he has only jumped it once, but he has consistently jumped at 14’6. He has jumped between 13’6 and 14’7 this season, but he can easily maintain a 14’6 jump. Although he currently leads, he does not have a mark high enough to outperform Washburn or Ellis, who are the leading vaulters in the state. If he clears 14’6, he should be able to secure a third place finish at least.

 

Washburn is currently seeded at 14’6, but his PR is 15’1 from the Brian Jaeger Elite Classic in mid-April, and is the number 2 mark in the state. He has jumped 15’ before, as well as high 14’s. If he is able to clear at least 14’6, he’ll be going against Ryan for a second or third place finish, but if he is able to jump over 15’, he should be able to secure himself a second place finish.

 

Finally, Ellis is seeded at 14’6 too, but his indoor PR is 16’ from Jimmy Carnes in late January and his outdoor PR is 15’7 from the district meet, which is the highest mark in the state. He has jumped between 14’ and 16’ this year. If he jumps over 15’, he can easily secure a first or second place finish, competing with Washburn. But if he jumps close to his PR, or higher, he can easily secure a first place finish.

 

Overall, this preview is based only on observing statistics. These do not account for weather conditions, which are projected to be in the mid 70’s with a 70% chance of rain and thunderstorms, as well as an eastern wind at 15mph. These projected weather conditions could definitely pose a threat to the vault, either by postponing, interrupting, or cancelling it. These guesses also do not take into account misses and opening heights, which can decide winners who jump the same height. Finally, this preview also does not account for any game-day excitement and heat-of-the-moment clutch jumps and PRs. While this is what the statistics say, anyone is capable of a PR and having one of the greatest vaulting days of their career!



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