Louisiana star soars 14-2 3/4 despite slow recovery from mononucleosis.
Morgann LeLeux is now atop the national leaderboard in the pole vault.
Photo courtesy of Shane LeLeux
Still recovering from a severe case of mononucleosis, Morgann LeLeux, nevertheless, set a national record Wednesday by pole vaulting 14 feet, 2¾ inches during the Class 3A region track meet in Lafayette, La.
Morgann LeLeux is headed to theUniversity of Georgia to compete in thepole vault.
Photo by Bridget LeLeux
The
Catholic (New Iberia, La.) senior eclipsed the record of 14-1¾ set by Tori Anthony of Castilleja (Palo Alto, Calif.) in 2007. LeLeux also surpassed Anthony's national indoor record of 14-2½.
Her father/coach, Shane LeLeux, told MaxPreps, "We finally made it. After setting a national record, emotionally she was done. We went for 14-7 last night, but there was no way she was going to get it."
Asked how her recovery is going, he said she is "probably about 70 percent. She's at the doctor's right now doing blood work. If she was 100 percent, there's no telling (how high she could go). She jumped 14-6 and 14-9 in practice recently."
The University of Georgia signee told the Baton Rouge Advocate, "It turned out to be a perfect day for me. The strong (tail) wind really worked to my advantage and I backed up to a 14-foot approach to give me a longer runway. I've been struggling with that pole recently, but today it all worked well."
National pole vault expert Greg Duplantis calls LeLeux's effort "huge. Especially considering that she has battled Mono all year. I really believe she would have been the first high school girl to jump 15 if not for that. I am also very excited about the incredible pole vaulting coming out of Louisiana.
"This year alone we have a national high school record girl at 14-2 3/4, two boys over 17 feet and another over 16-6. That's all from one little southern state. And that's the second 14-foot high school girl coming out of Louisiana. Rachel Laurent of Houma was the first."
