WP vaulters set bar
- Updated: July 16, 2016
White Plains’ Yates, Moore set personal bests in Mobile pole vault event
By East Alabama Sports Today
MOBILE – White Plains pole vaulters Savannah Yates and Matthew Moore took it to the streets Saturday and hit their personal bests.
Yates, a rising eighth grader, cleared 8 feet and Moore, a rising junior, cleared 12 feet during the sixth annual Dauphin Street Vault. Although they were jumping in the togs of the Georgia Pole Vault Club, both vaults could be recognized as White Plains school records.
“Both of them have been working really hard, even in the offseason, traveling to Georgia twice a week,” White Plains coach John Moore said. “Pole vault is something you don’t see big gains in a month or so; it takes time. This gives me hope that when indoor comes around they’ll get even better.”
The event is staged right on the city street. Two blocked are closed off, tracks and pits are erected, and the athletes of all ages and skill levels jump in at whatever height they can make.
It was Yates’ first appearance at the event and Moore’s second. He jumped 9-0 last year.
Yates jumped 8-feet in a meet earlier this season and matched the height Saturday on her third attempt. Moore’s previous best was 11-feet, 6-inches, set at the Calhoun County Meet.
“When I first started I was thrilled to clear 8 feet,” Moore said. “In practice I’d been jumping 13, 13 and a half, but that’s practice. I had been struggling, doing a couple things wrong and getting them right, and today they all seemed to click. It all seemed amazing in that 12-foot jump.”
Yates made three attempts at 9 feet. Moore made three attempts at 12-6. Both hit the bar on two of their attempts.
“She’ll be at 13 by the time she’s a senior,” John Moore said of Yates. “Savannah is young, but you until the 12th grade you’ll see her name everywhere.”
Visit the East Alabama Sports Today Facebook page to watch Yates and Moore clear the bar.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login