Illinois phenom holds world record for 13-year-olds; Merritt sets national frosh record.
Adam Coulon hasn't even made it to high school competition but has already cleared 15 feet in the pole vault.
Photo courtesy of Greg Johnson
Adam Coulon is a young pole vaulter who literally is on the rise.
The 14-year-old eighth grader from
Tri-Valley (Downs, Ill.) already has cleared an amazing 15 feet this spring. Last year he set a world record for 13-year-olds when he vaulted 14 feet, 6 inches.
Adam Coulon
Photo courtesy of Greg Johnson
The world record for age 14 is 15-7, shared by two foreign vaulters from the late 1980s. The American record for age 14 is 15-6 by Kelly Stephens of Houston, in 2000. Stephens was a freshman at the time. The record for an eighth grader, according to national track expert Jack Shepard, is 15-5 by Tommy Skipper of Sandy, Ore., in 1998. Skipper went on to set the national high school record which still stands at 18-3.
Coulon, who has been vaulting since fifth grade, told MaxPreps, "I'd like to get 15-8 (this year)."
Competing for the Flying Dragons Pole Vault Club of Normal, Ill., and his junior high, Coulon admitted that when he reached 15 feet, "I couldn't believe I made it. It was a cold day and I was sick."
The 5-foot-9, 143-pounder had hoped to reach or top 15 feet on Saturday during the 81st Illinois Elementary School Association Class AA state track meet in East Peoria, Ill. However, he strained his hamstring while running the 110-meter low hurdles during Friday's preliminaries.
"It felt good in warmups," Coulon related. "But I just couldn't get the speed. I'm satisfied and surprised that I even made 14-6."
His effort still was good enough to shatter his own state record of 13-2 which he set as a seventh grader.
National pole vault expert Greg Duplantis, who watched Coulon at the annual Reno, Nev., Pole Vault Summit, says he "certainly looks really good. He's got a good build for it. I was really impressed with him at Reno."
* The Illinois Class 3A state girls meet produced two national season bests. The 4x800 relay was won by
Wheaton-Warrenville South (Wheaton, Ill.) in a state-record 8 minutes, 59.03 seconds.
Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) was right on the heels with a 9:00.72 clocking in a brilliant race. The other No. 1 effort was 41.11 in the 300-meter hurdles by Margaret Bamgbose of
Evanston (Ill.).
* On the boys side, new leaders emerged in the 1,600 and the shot put. Izaic Yorks of
Lakes (Lakewood, Wash.) won the 1,600 in 4:04 during the Class 3A District III-IV championships, while Tyler Schultz of
Custer (S.D.) fired the shot put 70-6 during the Class A Region 8 meet and broke his own state record.
* The CIF Southern Section final produced its usual outstanding efforts, including a national freshman girls pole record of 13-3 by Kaitlyn Merritt of
Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.).
* Junior Jacob Thomson of
Holy Cross (Louisville, Ky.) dominated Kentucky's Class 1A state meet. He won the
1,600 in an all-class state-record 4:10.80. He also captured the 800 in 1:57.38 and the 3,200 in 9:44.58.
* Jacob Burcham, a junior from
Cabell Midland (Ona, W. Va.), broke three of his own state records during West Virginia's Class 3A state meet. He won the 800 in 1:54.01, the 1,600 in 4:08.7 and the 3,200 in 8:57.73.
* Sophomore Kenzo Cotton of
Papillion-LaVista (Papillion, Neb.) broke a 51-year-old state record when he won the 200 in 21.31 seconds during the Class A state meet.
* Raymond Bozmans, a senior from
Fort Collins (Colo.), won the 100 (10.51), 200 (21.42) and 400 (47.19) during the Class 5A state meet.
* Sophomore Ashlie Blake of
Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) broke a 17-year-old state shot put record - also No. 2 in the nation this spring - with a throw of 50 feet, 6 inches during the Class 4A state meet.
* The
Bishop Feehan (Attleboro, Mass.) boys track team defeated Martha's Vineyard Regional (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) 88-48 for its 100th consecutive dual-meet victory. The Shamrocks' last loss was in 1999.
