Mike Vani, a senior from Merritt Island High School, lived out a dream on Friday, May 8th, 2009. Vani not only acheived his goal of winning a state pole vault championship, but raised a state record, that many people thought would stand for decades. Vani brought the state meet crowd together, both the spectator side of the stadium and the athlete side, as they rhythmically clapped their hands to will the young athlete over some very steep obstacles. After clearing bars at 13′, 13’6″, 14′, 14’6″, and 15′ all on his first attempt and all from 10 steps, 5 lefts, it was time to get serious.
Mike was methodical all year and knew the plan, win the meet then worry about vaulting high. The blue collar task of winning the state championship was complete, it was his chance to shine. As the bar was raised to 15’7″, Mike moved his run back to 12 steps, 6 lefts, which is the approach length that helped him clear 16’0.5″ at the district meet earlier in the year. At this point, there were no other events taking place. There was an intermission between prelims and finals, and all the other field events were complete. Mikecame down the runway and easily made 15’7″. The next bar chosen was 16’1″ to try and better his own personal mark. After a first attempt miss, the crowd came alive and started “THE CLAP”. For those who have never experienced it, this is probably the most incredible form of motivation. Down the runway comes Vani, almost in stride with the rhythm of the clapping, and up and over he goes. The next bar would be the moment Vani had been waiting almost 4 years to arrive. A shot at the state record. He instructed the officials that the next bar would be 16’8″ and out came the tape measure. All state recordjumps must be measured and verified. After all the measuring, it was time to see if Vani had what it took. On his first attempt, Vani appeared to have enough height, but came down on the bar. His second vaultwould be etched into the memory of all who saw it. As Vani came off the pole, his body seemed to just keep rising. He didn’t make it by an inch or two, he smoked it. This record jump would better the mark of 16’7″ set just one year earlier by Riley Egan, now at UCLA. It was an amazing vault and a treat for the crowd to witness. Vani, with a grip height of 14’8″ on his pole, had just vaulted 32″ over his top handhold. Although one of his attempts at 17′ was close, it was obvious that the day had taken it’s toll on Vani. His final vault occurred at about 6:45 p.m. and he began warming up at 3:00 p.m. Congratulations Mike, you earned it!
In another chapter of the 3A state pole vault championship, Trent Wiseman, a senior from Freedom High School in Tampa, overcame adversity and received the award for 4th place at 14′. Trent almost didn’t get to compete in the state meet as a senior due to a Swine Flu scare at Freedom High School earlier in the week. Freedom High School had shut its doors to the public and there were meetings of athletic directors and FHSAA executives to decide what course of action to take. This was a national headline, it was on the news, it was in all the papers. In the end, the Freedom athletes were allowed to participate at the state meet with the other athletes. I can’t imagine how hard this situation was on Trent psychologically throughout the week, but we are all proud of him for his achievement at the state meet.
As the hits keep coming, Brandon Bassett, a senior from Chiles High School, and David Shepherd, a junior from St. Thomas Aquinas also had unique stories. Brandon, competing in his third pole vault state championship, sported 3 individual medals at the end of the day. He earned 3rd place in the high jump with a jump of 6’8″, 7th in the triple jump with a jump of 44’4.25″, and 2nd in the pole vault with a vault of 14’6″. What a stud! This guy is going to make a great decathlete at USF in the years to come. David Shepherd, son of Cardinal Gibbons Hall of Fame athlete, David Shepherd, accomplished a personal best of 14’6″ and almost made 15′ at a meet that almost got away. Earlier in the track season, Shep broke the thumb on his right hand. I would love to report that he was saving a baby from a burning building, but he simply tripped and fell off the pole vault pit at a meet. Shep spent most of the season in a cast. Fortunately, the cast was removed a couple of weeks before the district meet and he was allowed to compete. David’s third place finish helped St. Thomas Aquinas win a second consecutive boys teamtitle. What a great comeback story.
Official Results:
- 1st Place – Mike Vani, Senior, Merritt Island High, 16’8″ – A new state record
- 2nd Place – Brandon Bassett, Senior, Chiles High, 14’6″
- 3rd Place – David Shepherd, Junior, St. Thomas Aquinas High, 14’6″
- 4th Place – Trent Wiseman, Senior, Freedom High, 14′
- 5th Place – Harrison Stierwalt, Senior, Chiles High, 14′
- 6th Place – James Ort, Junior, Belleview High, 13’6″
- 7th Place – Steven Shifke, Plant High, 13’6″
- 8th Place – Buddy Austin, Lincoln High, 13’6″
- 8th Place – Codi Cooper, Freshman, Satellite High 13’6″
