OBU season Starter

Well today we had a little meet a OBU and it went about a expected I won with a 16' jump, not bad for this early. I love jumping at OBU indoor and Outdoor I always jump good there. Indoor is a little short but I can squeeze my run in . Next week is K state me and Joel are going to drive up together and hopefully have some good results.

Halloween Vault

Well Thursday we had our Halloween vault and a ton of people showed up. I dressed up like Joe Dial and even jumped a little like him. Jack (superman), Joel (J Diesel) And I all jumped good all 3 of us jumped at 17' and had great attempts. Tim videoed some so hopefully I will get some of that up here soon. But it was a great time and good food.

On The Rise

Had a great session tonight. I had one jump Tim thought was awesome it felt good too. I seem to be on the rise right now and really fine tuning things I never thought about in my vault. Things seem to just be flowing together well and i am really exploding off the top. I am really looking forward to jumping in some meets and of course our Halloween vault on Thursday. Maybe I'll get some video up soon. Well too every out there you know. good luck

Fall Training

Well i have had 2 weeks of training and jumping on the smoking fast runway Joel and I built at Tim's. I had 2 good jump sessions this week and had a few good jumps at both sessions. Tim is pretty excited about the way things are coming around. I have really found my speed again and been hitting the box hard. We are planning a Halloween Vault and i hope to jump a decent bar for a fall PR. The group at Tim's is getting big and the emerging elite we have there are going to be good. Joel has something big coming up and Tracy is putting a few good things together. See ya at the next one.........

Well Time To Get it Rollin Again

Well its time for fall training me and Joel Plan on tearing it up. I had a great end to my summer except that my last planned comp. was rained out. I been jumping really well in practice and learned a ton here lately. I know God has alot more in store for me and I am ready to see what it is. I have to say this year has been a real challenge but i feel I have made it so far. Last jump session I broke a 14' 180 from 4 lefts and it banged me up pretty good but i got up and planted again. I think me and Joel have decided this is the year that maybe a god one and we are planning to jump high early and try to make a run at some big meets. Stay tuned.

Pole Vault Academy

Thursday night Tom and I drove over to Shawnee to work at Coach Mark Heard's Pole Vault Academy. Tom spoke to the kids about training and jumped in a exhibition for them. I had some great jumps I jumped over 17' a couple times and over 18' once. OBU has a great facility to jump and Coach Heard wants me to come over to train and jump there whenever I can.

Sooner State Games

Well once again I claimed a State Games Championship. I cleared 4.75 on my first attempt to win it all. Conditions weren't the best so i went right after the State games record and blew through my pole and didn't claim the record. But I am looking forward to the future, Joel and I talked and I have an 18' jump just waiting to happen. My practices have been awesome and I am just waiting for that right situation to pop one. Tim has helped me get my plant timing lined out and jumping on some huge poles. Stay tuned for THE BIG ONE.

Great Jumps Again

Well for the first time in a while I am happy and fired up about jumping. Joel and I have been going to Tim's on Tuesdays nights and Last Tuesday was a huge break through for me. I mean I was jumping close to 18' and on the biggest poles of my life. My run was perfect no energy was lost at take-off and i was flying. If only I did this a month ago. I can't wait till the next meet everyone says I will jump 18' again I sure hope so.

Its all Good

Well we love it here in Yukon, we have great friends here and a great training environment. I had a great practice session monday with Joel and workouts are going great too. I ordered new poles monday and I am looking forward to going with Joel, Wes and maybe Tom to Chanute in about a week. I think we will have a great time hope to see some of you this summer.

The End is Near

Well our time here in Arkansas is coming to an end. Tomorrow we are packing for the move to Yukon. I will try to jump in the Arkansas Twilight tomorrow, then we are hitting the road Saturday morning. Oklahoma has great things in store for us, such as great Friends like Joel and Wes, I will be going back to school, a good church In Life Church and closer to family. Arkansas was a learning experience and was good for us. But Arkansas wasn't for us. Well wish us luck and hope to see some of you around.

Meet Today

Well I had a solid week of training and jumping and I am looking forward to jumping tonight. I must say I do need some more poles but I will just have to wait. I feel as good as I ever have jumping and think some big things are going to happen when I get these new sticks. My push off is in the 40" range every jump and if I maintain that and get on these new poles that puts me over 18' which will make me happy for this year.
I want to thank some of the people helping me out this year.
Joel
Wes
Tim
Tom
Naps
Joe
Greg
Thanks Guys you helped me tons.

Weekend Off

Well decided to take the weekend off, to do a little training and a little packing. I will jump next weekend here in Arkansas my last meet before we move. I am looking forward to getting my new poles and jumping even higher. I recently jumped over 17' gripping 14'8" in practice. If I had a couple more poles I think i could easily be over 17' in a meet, dang adrenalin. So far I have made 9 attempts at 17' or higher Outdoors . My outdoor average is 5.o3 meters not bad for such a crappy indoor season. Joel and I have plans for a big summer and if we can get Wes rollin we are going to have a ton of fun this summer.

Another Seasons Best 5.09

Well I went back to Coffeyville this weekend to defend my title and try to beat my meet record. I didn't have great warm ups but, I had a great meet I made everything on the first attempt clearing a seasonal best of 5.09m 16'8.75" on first attempt to win my second meet in a row and had 2 really solid attempts at 5.25 17'2.5" but was running out of poles. I have been jumping on my biggest 4.75 Spirit and have some more 4.90 Spirits on order. Also my good buddy and soon to be training partner Joel cleared 17' at OCU this weekend. Good job Joel.

MenPoleVault
Name Year School Finals Points==================================

1 Hull, Jeremy Jeremy Hull 5.09m
2 Bowen, Justin Johnson Coun 4.69m
3 Pote, Jordan Cowley Colle 4.39m
4 Starnes, David Cowley Colle J4.39m
5 Leutzinger, Billy Johnson Coun 4.24m
6 Shiota, Hitoshi Johnson Coun 4.09m
7 Butler, Mark Cowley Colle 3.94m
8 Lucero, Willy Cowley Colle J3.94m
9 Golay, Steven Bacone Colle 3.79m
9 Cooper, Andrew Allen 3.79m

Another Fairly Successful Weekend

I traveled to OKC this weekend and found a job and maybe a place to live. Then I competed at OBU and won with a huge clearance of 4.95 then had 3 really good attempts at 5.25 but blew through my biggest pole on all three. But i got the confidence now to get back over 17' and make some attempts eventually at 18'. I need about 3 more poles so if anyone is inerested in sponsoring me give me a holler.

Season best and nearly 17'

Great Weekend, Well Wes brought me my new poles and they rocked. I felt great on them and timed up really well. I jumped 5.05m and nearly made 5.20. My old buddy Tyson Smith jumped a PR of 5.20 to beat me. Overall a great weekend looking forward to the rest of outdoor now.

Getting Ready

Well I took a week of just hardcore training, I did plyos, sprints and gymnastics. I am waiting on my new poles to get here so I can get ready for the outdoor seasons. I have a great schedule planned and looking forward to jumping against and with some people. I plan to open outdoors next week at Tulsa, the family and I are going to meet Joel and his family for a fun day of jumping and play. Its always good to hang out with Joel. He is going to bring the new poles I ordered from Wes and hopefully I can pull together a 16 stride run. Overall indoor was sub par but what do you expect from short the whole season. I'll get back to jumpin next week after I will sit down with Joe this weekend and talk over my plans. He always knows how to make me jump high. Can't wait to get this started. hope to see you there.

Been A While

Well I haven't jumped real well since I got sick, till this week. I had 2 count them 2 good jump days this week. My speed strength and patience seem to be back. I jumped really well Monday from 8 strides and was make a 17' bungee, today I had an even better day from 6 and 8 strides. I had 5 jump over 16' from 6 and 5 good jumps in a row from 8 strides. Everyone seemed to have a good day to April and Spencer also looked pretty good.

If it's not working CHANGE IT

Well Fridays meet was a big let down, I had a goal of 17' and failed badly. I only managed 15'9" my only bar. So after that i went back to the drawing board talked some things over with coach and well changed it all. No more 8 strides for now just 6 or 7, no more 16' poles for now just 15' or my new 15'6"ers. Well Monday I got things rolling right away from 6 strides i was on a 15' 165 gripping 14'6" and taking off at 12'. I am really working on increasing my angle and hold higher then the sail piece. From 7 lefts which is a run I have never had I was taking off at 13' on a 15' 18.1 then transitioned to a new pole of mine 15' 17.4. Things were definitely changing, my take off was free and i was finishing every vault. Till the end were I was getting tired. I made a 16'6"bungee cleanly gripping 14'8"ish. So for the rest of indoor my goal is to work on my take- off angle and finish every vault. I will jump at OU this weekend and use my new run and 15' poles. Hope to see ya there.
"I STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO AND BIG THINGS TO COME"

Moving It Up

Well Monday was another day of working on the finer points of my vault, i also moved my grip up about 5-6 inches. Spence and I ended our sessions with a little comp. which i ended up winning in unimpressive fashion. I managed to clear 5.70, and 5.80 on first attempt then blowing through pretty bad at 4.90. Spencer's leg are bothering him a little bit but he looked pretty solid off the ground. Overall my take-off was out where it needed to be and poles seem to move really good for such a high grip. I ended up gripping 15'3" on my 4.90 22.4 that's the pole i finished the first meet on. One more jump session Wednesday and the the razorback invite Friday.

Changes

After watching video of Last Friday and Monday's vault sessions, I took some notes and went to make some changes.I forced myself to keep the pole on my hip thus making my last three strides really fast. Once I figured this out man what a difference, my pole drop was fast and smooth and I moved poles really good. I was easily flying over a bungee at 5.30m and on a really big stick for practice. Working with Spencer is great, for a young guy he has alot to offer. Our vault styles are alot alike and we can help each other out alot. Friday is going to be a mini meet and maybe I will find the cord and get some video up.

Back At It

Well with some light training over the weekend I decided to go back and work on some of my off the ground technique today. I had about 6 really good jumps from 6 lefts that I kept my leg straight on my swing and got on my back really well. Then Spencer, Chad and I had a little Bungee comp. we started a 15' and I ended up making 15' 15'6" 16' cleanly from my 8 step run but my timing and swing are still a bit off. I need to get my long run together and raise my grip some. hopefully this week of having no meets will help me put something together. But right now i feel like my short is tons better then my long.

First Meet 2008

Well first meet is under my belt, it didn't go like I wanted. I reverted back to some bad habits in my technique and it cost me. I let the pole get off my hip before I planted I also was gripping a little too wide again and I didn't keep top hand pressure to well thus making me get off the pole to early. I did manage to make 4.75 by a mile but nudged off 4.90 all 3 times. I plan on getting 3 sessions in next week and skip any comps. next weekend. Overall my run is great and really fast now I need to really work on my off the ground technique.

Another Good vault Session

I had another good day of jumping today. I warmed up from 6 lefts then got busy working on my 8 left approach. It seemed like I had a break through today, I was hitting my mid every run and really attacking the box I got on my 4.90 23.2 and was really get some good fly away. My take off felt some good and coach Compton helped me to drop the pole a little better then just placing it in the box. I feel like this was a great set up for Fridays meet.

First Day from Long Run

Well today I had a vault session at the U 0f A, I moved back to 6 strides then to 8. All my jumps from 8 went really good. I got on my 4.90 160 and turned up 10 jumps in a row. Right now my focus was on a solid take off and good technique. All jumps went well and overall I feel good about today's practice. I will try to get one more session on Wednesday then compete Friday night.

Tomarrow I will have a jump session @ the UofA and see how well long run goes haven't been on long run since August. I will let everyone Know how it goes.

New Year New Chance at my Goal

I am starting this blog to keep all my friends up to date with my progress on making my goal of making 2008 Olympic trials. 2008 is a renewal for me in manys ways. I split from a bad training partner, training situation, and redeveloped my focus on my goals. I started from the bottom and been working my way up. I also have a new sponsor/team in vaultiletics, Thanks Wes. I also have a great family supporting me, Chantelle, Madi, and Cooper. I have jumped at 2 meets in Dec. and NH'd at KSU and jumped 15'9" at ORU from 5 lefts. I had an MRI in late Dec. and found out my knee is ok and training is back @ 100%. My next meet is Jan. 11 @ Arkansas hope to see some of you there. Eventually I will post some training pics and video.