California State Championships - Freshman National Record?

[vaultguru6]

Frehsman Ryan Shuler of Granite Bay High School won the California State Championships today with a vault of 16'. If I am not mistaken, that ties Tommy Skipper's Freshman National Record. Expect big things from this kid in the future.

The rest of the results I have are as follows:


1. Ryan Shuler 9 Granite Bay - 16'
2. Ryan McClain 12 Escondido - 15'8"
3. Graham Bockmiller 12 Miramonte - 15'4"

[pvjackex]

i heard about this kid. FRESHMEN jumping 16ft... even if hes been vaulting since he was little, this kid has skills.

[tim hutzley]

I saw somewhere that he is like 16 or 17 years old but Im not sure.

[rainbowgirl28]

I saw somewhere that he is like 16 or 17 years old but Im not sure.

He is 16... but he looks pretty little. Tommy looked a whole lot bigger as a freshman!



http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/st ... 3326c.html

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At 16, he's up and coming




Pole vaulter Ryan Shuler is a section champion who is aiming higher.

By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Tuesday, June 3, 2003
People his age don't make history.

They play video games, dye their hair for fun, avoid the wrath of bigger, older high school students.

Wednesday at the Sac-Joaquin Section Track and Field Finals at UC Davis, Granite Bay's Ryan Shuler was doing what 16-year-olds don't.

Before a curious crowd at Toomey Field, the freshman pole-vaulted 15 feet, 5 inches, becoming the first underclassman in the section's 59-year history to win the title and earning a spot in this weekend's State Championships at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

"He's super-rare," said Anthony Curran, the UCLA pole vault coach and one-time holder of the high school national record.

Curran would know. Twenty four years ago, he was a freshman at Crespi High in Encino, sparking the same sense of wonder and amazement when he vaulted 14-8 1/2 as a freshman, a monstrous mark for that age at that time. Three years later, he set a state-meet mark of 17-0 1/2, which still stands.

In January 2001 at a meet in Reno, Curran came across a younger version of himself: Shuler. Then a seventh-grader, Shuler was one year into his new endeavor, with most of his practice time coming in the back yard of his like-aged friend, Scott Roth.

Shuler had taken lessons from his father, Tom, a former pole vaulter at Los Gatos High and West Valley College in Saratoga.

Looking at a bar set at 13 feet, Curran challenged the young stranger to clear it, to which Shuler responded, "I already did," and issued a self-challenge of his own. He knew of Curran's state-meet record and said he planned on breaking it.

"I told him, 'Good luck. I'd like to see you come down and beat it,' " Curran said. "He was joking, but I think he was partly serious."

History comes in baby steps, though, and Shuler is still a ways from Curran's mark. Still, he has a realistic chance to become the area's sixth state pole vault champion this weekend.

Sacramento High's Vance Wilbur was the first, his mark of 11-0 winning it in 1917. Christian Brothers' Clarence Phelps was the last, the senior clearing 16-0 in 1992.

Shuler's personal record of 15-6 ranks fourth in the state. But he has cleared 16 feet in practice and nearly did at the section meet. His mark of 15-5 is tied for first in the state-meet field of 29.

"He has the potential to break the national record," said Clay Taft, the Bella Vista pole vault coach for nine years who occasionally works with Shuler. "He's mature beyond his years. He's not a freshman. He doesn't act like a freshman. He doesn't respond like a freshman."

He does, however, look like a freshman. His hair is the shade of a poppy flower, blinding blond sitting atop a hairless face. While his body is fit, there is much room for muscles.

Shuler is doing most of this with his mind. He's fearless without being stupid, intelligently crazy and meticulous with his technique.

"He's not afraid to get on a really powerful bend over 90 degrees, ride it to vertical and extend past vertical," Taft said. "A lot of vaulters get spooked, but he doesn't care. He just goes."

He's gone hard since 1999, when former Sacramento State pole vaulter Curt Roth built the professional style runway and pit behind his spacious home. Shuler took part to be with his friend, Scott, and to do what his father had done well so many years before.

"Dad used to always say I was built like a pole vaulter," Shuler said. "It was always a fun thing to do. It wasn't serious, but it wasn't not serious."

Serious progress came quickly.

In the 2001 Junior Olympics at Sac State, Shuler fell 6 3/4 inches short of breaking a national youth (ages 13-14) boys record, winning with a 13-6 effort. While he continued to improve, Granite Bay coach Mike Valentine waited impatiently for Shuler and Roth, himself a budding vaulter.

"I knew about these guys two years ago," Valentine said. "The only bad part was it took them two years to get here."

Shuler was unstoppable this season. He broke four invitational records, winning all but one meet and helping Granite Bay take the section team title. What's more, he matched dad's personal best, 15-6.

And as high as he flew, Shuler stayed grounded. A humble, quiet type, he continued to play competitive soccer, and he's waiting to spend the summer wakeboarding in Folsom Lake.

Shuler even passed on an invite to the Arcadia meet, opting to join his church members in building houses for the poor in Mexico in April.

"Ryan doesn't have to brag," Valentine said. "He doesn't have to because everybody knows how good he is."

Granite Bay senior Billy White, a sprinter who will compete in the 400-meter relay and 200 at the state meet, has been impressed by his teammate.

"What he does is something special," White said. "Anyone who can be that dominating in anything is amazing."

With three years left to improve, Shuler hasn't convinced everyone of his potential. Eddie Seese, for one, says Shuler's early success is no guarantee for the future.

Seese, a Vallejo resident, is a USA Track & Field Developmental coach and masters-level official. He's seen young talents fizzle, like Eric Eshbach. The current national high school record holder at 18-2 1/4, Eshbach improved by only two inches in four years at Nebraska, Seese said.

And, Seese points out, some vaulters are late bloomers, such as U.S. indoor record holder Jeff Hartwig. He never got higher than 14-4 in high school before hitting his best of 19-9 last year at the age of 34.

"He's had a unique situation," Seese said, referring to Shuler's coaching and training facilities. "That doesn't always yield good results forever."

Shuler cares only about the present, about winning among the state's best Friday. He'll take a monthlong break from the pits when he's done, play around and act like a freshman for once.

"This is just the beginning," he said.
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[pvjackex]

eh who cares, hes #1 vaulter in state lol

[vaultguru6]

Girls Results:

1 Costa, Kira 12 San Joaquin Memo 13-05.00 10
2 Walker, Cara 12 Marina/ss 12-08.00 8
2 Pacas, Monica 11 Atascdro./ss 12-08.00 6
4 Dormanen, Kristen 10 Temecula Val 12-04.00 4
4 Loftin, Kirsten 12 Aptos/cc 12-04.00 2
4 Woepse, Elizabeth 11 Mater Dei/ss 12-04.00 1
7 Jamerson, Megan 11 S Margrta/ss 12-00.00
7 Navidi, Amatece 12 Rncho Brn/sd 12-00.00
9 Johnson, Whitney 11 M Viejo/ss 11-08.00


Kira had big clearance over 13-5 and supposedly just ticked 13'8.5" off on the way down. GWI should be fun with Bailey over 13-6 and Costa over 13-5. Should take an NR to win.

[wayupthere]

16 is pretty old for a frosh because most people dont turn 16 till summer after freshman year like late summer and most a lot later than that. You can't always go by class record, more like age record. Im a freshman(goin 2 be a soph) and i turned 15 may 28.

[theflyingkorean]

16 feet is 16 feet! more power to him! even though im "in competition" with him. blast!

[pvjackex]

whats your pr and class flying korean?

[theflyingkorean]

i just finished up sophomore year with a pr at 13'3". I was over 13'71/2 at sections, but i kniccked it =(

[OAKPV2004]

wow. He probably failed a grade or is a year behind, because I didnt turn 16 until late in my 10th grade year. 16' for a 16 year old is still good, but it ain't no record.

[tim hutzley]

I just turned 16 a little bit ago and my 10th grade year will be over in a couple days. on vaultstuff.com it says the boys 15-16 record is 16'9" set by jacob Davis in 1994.