Jack Whitt Hits Auto

[kev44000]

Freshman Jack Whitt of Oral Roberts University vaulted 5.50 18.0050 friday at Wichita State for an automatic berth into the NCAA indoor National Championships. That is an indoor PR of 10 1/2 inches and an overal PR also. Thanks Coach Dial.

[KirkB]

Very nice! With Colwick going 5.62 yesterday, this a a great start for both of them in the 2010 NCAA indoor season.

Kirk

[VTechVaulter]

Freshman Jack Whitt of Oral Roberts University vaulted 5.50 18.0050 friday at Wichita State for an automatic berth into the NCAA indoor National Championships. That is an indoor PR of 10 1/2 inches and an overal PR also. Thanks Coach Dial.

congrats dad.. your son is def. a stud. with more to come

[KirkB]

Washington

Men Pole Vault Select
===================================================================================
NCAA Auto: A 5.50m
NCAA Prov: P 5.20m
Name Year School Seed Finals
===================================================================================
1 Roth, Scott Washington 5.60m 5.66mA 18-06.75

Yeh, I jumped the gun on the weekend, with Roth going even higher than Whitt and Colwick today! Go U-Dub ... Go Scott!!! Woot woot!

Kirk

[KirkB]

That is an indoor PR of 10 1/2 inches and an overal PR also.

Jack's progress continues to be PHENOMENAL. A year ago he was just barely over 17-0 at the Summit in Reno ... and we thought THAT was phenomenal for a HS Sr! Just look at him now! What's next ... 19-0?

Sometimes it takes a year for a vaulter to make the adjustment from HS to college ... with a new coach and all. But in Jack's case, Joe Dial has picked up right where Tim McMichael has left off!

Here's some vid of Jack's jumps in Wichita at WSU. The first one is his easy clearance of 17-7, and the second one is his 18-0.5 ... where he rattled the bar a bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-9Kv0aDYzA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsivT1a4l_Q

I noticed that he dropped the lead knee more on his 18-0.5 jump. In both jumps, notice how his hips are always moving ... never stuck in the "flat back". I think he lets his trail leg bend at the knee a bit too much before he whips it ... stretching it longer would give him more "elastic" to whip with.

Kirk

[kev44000]

He seems to jump higher when he drops the lead knee. Earl Bell did the same thing long ago. Thanks for all the support Kirk.

[Tim McMichael]

I'm not at all unhappy with that low knee. It will be interesting to see how his jump continues to develop. Joe has him on a roll early.

[KirkB]

My comment about dropping the lead knee was just an observation. I have no idea what his intent was, or what's best for him. On the "Dropping the lead knee - time for a retrospective?" thread, I think my conclusion was that dropping the lead knee can be good ... if you do it for the right reasons. For HS male vaulters under 4.50 or 5.00, I don't think they should drop it, becuz I don't think they're experienced enough to know WHY to drop it ... so they drop it "inadvertently". That's clearly not Jack's situation.

My comment about straightening the trail leg was a serious "constructive criticism", as I think it would be better if it was straighter. However, I know he's in good hands.

Kirk

[Tim McMichael]

I didn't take your comments as anything other than positive observations. No worries.