April 10, 2009

Stuart Kantor
Special to Rivals High

Last Friday, Jack Whitt literally vaulted into the record books at the prestigious Texas Relays in Austin, Texas. The Oklahoma native cleared 18-0.25, the fifth-best mark by a U.S. high schooler.

"The jump didn't feel as good as I wanted it to, and I honestly didn't think I was going to make it," Whitt said. "But, whenever I went over it, I realized that I had cleared the bar. I had no idea I was going to make the bar on that jump, but I did, and it was just an amazing feeling."

The bar was then raised to 18-3.25, which would have surpassed Tommy Skipper's U.S. high school record of 18-3, but Whitt couldn't clear the height on three attempts.

Whitt's record vault took place just a couple of weeks after the Putnam City Invitational in Oklahoma City, the first outdoor meet of the season, where he cleared 17-10.75 and made his first effort at clearing Skipper's height.

"I cleared 17-4 on my first attempt. I cleared 17-10.75 on my second attempt on a new pole; I've never practiced on it," Whitt said.

After 20 minutes, official measurements placed the bar at 18-3.25. Yet after three attempts, of which "I blew through on two," the record remained with Skipper. Whitt's vault of 17-10.25, however, did surpass Joe Dial's state record of 17-9.50.

Ironically, Dial is now the coach at Oral Roberts and will coach Whitt in college. Dial held the American pole vault record for nine years (1985-94) and captured bronze at the 1989 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

"Jack is the best pole vault talent I have seen coming out of high school," Dial said. "I know that Jack will make an immediate impact in the collegiate pole vault ranks as well as a major impact with our team at Oral Roberts University."

The decision to attend Oral Roberts was easy for Whitt.

"Coach Dial's a fun person," Whitt said. "We have the same attitude about vaulting and the outdoors."

For the two Oklahomans, this means swapping fish stories, specifically saugeye (a cross between wall-eye and bass), trout lining and hunting deer and turkey, although "track interferes with turkey," Whitt said.

FAST RISER

As a Norman High School sophomore, Whitt entered the season at 11-6. He closed his 10th-grade campaign as a 15-0 state champion.

"I stopped playing basketball and baseball and dedicated myself to track. I lifted two times per day and gained 20 pounds and grew two inches," Whitt said. "I also got a personal coach [Tim McMichael]."

That summer, Whitt soared to 15-6 and then to 16-0 at AAU Nationals.

In 2008, Whitt's personal best climbed to 16-9 at the prestigious Texas Relays. He finished his junior season with a second consecutive state title, clearing 16-7.

And then he reached the magical plateau. Seventeen feet is considered the Holy Grail for high school male vaulters, and on Jan. 3 at the Reno Pole Vault Summit, Whitt cleared 17 feet.

"Reaching 17 was definitely a goal of mine," Whitt said.

In a short career that has launched rapidly, Whitt's ascent is even more remarkable when one realizes that most of his poles have been borrowed from either his personal coach or a neighboring school.

"There's no doubt I'd still be a 15-foot vaulter if not for Spirit," Whitt said of the track and field company that makes top-flight poles. "When I reached 16-6, we called Spirit, and [Spirit co-owner] Steve Chapel worked with us to make sure I'd have the right poles. I owe a lot to them."

Although Whitt owes quite a bit to his father for camp fees and pole costs, it's Whitt's father, Kevin, who claims credit for directing his son toward the vault.

"I was tall and I don't like running at all," Whitt said, "so the vault was for me."

Ironically, it's the 6-foot-4, 180-pound Whitt's speed that affords him the perfect transfer of horizontal energy into vertical propulsion and subsequently the ability to launch like a rocket.

"Every vaulter possesses his own style," Whitt said. "I have the technique of a short guy on a 6-4 frame.

"And I don't waste a practice. Weights, sprints; even jogging ? there's always something I can do to become better."

Norman North track coach Mike Ramsey agrees.

"Jack is one of the most dedicated athletes I have coached in my 20-plus years of coaching," Ramsey said. "He works extremely hard at every phase of training. He does something pole vault-wise every day, 365 days a year.

"He is very goal-oriented. When he reaches one goal, he sets another, then another, then another. I expect him to be a three-time state champion in Oklahoma, and he should set the national high school record."

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