Shelton McLean Leaps to State Lead and Athlete of the Week

Shelton McLean has come a long way since I first met him back in 2007 at a camp at St. Thomas Aquinas in Ft. Lauderdale.  After vaulting 8′ at the camp he never gave up on being a great vaulter.  Even as a backup to Mikey Vani and then behind Sam  Adams, this wirey, spunk-laden youth from Merritt Island High School continued to progress and get better each year.  Last year at the state meet, Shelton PR’d by 9″ at 13’3″ and still missed the podium by a miss.  He used that desire to fuel him through the off season and the Winter to become the state leading vaulter at 14’6″, a personal best achieved at the Mustang Invitational on Friday, March 16th.  This vault was a personal best by a foot and was acheived at a run of only 12 steps.  Shelton is the leader in class 2A but is being tightly contested at each meet by Aaron Crowley, the top returning 2A vaulter from 2011.  Shelton’s progression throughout the years has been 9’6″ as a freshman, 11′ as a sophomore, 13’3″ as a junior, and now 14’6″ as a senior.  Shelton’s success may be attributed to the McLean bloodline.  Shelton’s cousin, Buster Posey, was the Rookie of the year in the 2010 for Major League Baseball for the World Champion Giants as a catcher.  Shelton’s sister, Sadie, is a scholarship soccer player at the University of North Florida.  Shelton’s mother, Jamie, is in the hall of fame at Georgia Tech for basketball, and Shelton’s father, Jeff,  used to hold the Lake County pole vault record while attending Clermont High School, many years ago.   Shelton’s success this week has earned him the honor of Pole Vault City’s Athlete of the Week.