STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Vaulter fights wind, wins title

ENGLAND -- Wind is as bothersome to pole vaulters as it is golfers, and in some circumstances, perhaps more so.

At least for the vaulters, those circumstances were in place during the Class 2A state track and field meet at Gibbs Field on Monday.

A steady 10-mph wind blew from the north directly into the faces of the vaulting field, with occasional gusts that topped 20 mph. But junior Bracy Owens of Decatur was able to overcome the wind to win with a vault of 12 feet. Murfreesboro's Cameron Snowden finished second at 10 feet, 8 inches on fewer misses. Johnny Wheeler of Mount Ida was third, also at 10-8.

"Whenever you have a head wind, it slows your run down, so it messes up your plant and everything," Owens said. "And it doesn't allow you to get into the pit as much, so you have to adjust everything to go with the wind."

Lafayette County won the boys team championship with 75 points. Decatur finished second with 73 and Junction City was third with 50.

Magnet Cove won the girls team championship with 78.5 points. Clarendon was second with 66, and Gurdon finished third with 65.

The two top seeds in the boys pole vault, Owens, 5-10, 145 pounds, and Wheeler, 6-2, 145, were particularly ill-equipped for the wind.

Decatur Coach Shane Holland said Owens is particularly bothered by wind. "He's not a strong kid, so wind is tough on him," Holland said.

Holland said, wind aside, Owens was bound to feel pressure. Not only was he the top seed with a career best of 12-6, his brother Evan Owens won the Class 2A championship in 2013 when he cleared 13-4.

"When you have all those things, they're bound to create pressure," Holland said.

It showed early. Owens did not begin the competition until the field had worked the bar from 8-0 to 10-4, and he missed his first two attempts.

"I was really nervous," Owens said. "I did not want to no-height, come to state and no-height. So it all came down to one try."

Jarrod Wheeler, Wheeler's father, stood near the pit and used a smartphone to record his son's vaults. When Johnny cleared 11-0, he clipped the bar hard enough that it bounced several inches but hung on.

"You should take that bar out to dinner," Jarrod Wheeler said.

"I really had an off day today," Wheeler said. "Every time I cleared the bar, it seemed like I got lucky. I've been practicing all week, and I've had good practice, it just didn't come through for me today. And this head wind really slowed me down."

A left shoulder injury kept Wheeler away from vaulting as a freshman and sophomore.

"When you miss two years, that'll get you," Wheeler said.

Sports on 05/03/2016

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