Jordan Scott Article (GA)

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Top of the pole
Jordan Scott's junior year vaults him into elite status in state, world


By John Kaltefleiter


Oconee County has spent more than $2,000 on two sets of vertical pole vaulting standards since Jordan Scott's sophomore year.

At the rate Scott is going, Warriors track coach Josh Mize is expecting to shell out another grand and change.

"He keeps going higher," Mize said. "The standards we have now go up to 18 feet, and I'm scared they're not going to be high enough next year. If my standards only go to 18 and he can jump 18 feet, 4 inches and break the national record, I'm going to be really bummed out."

Scott's junior season was reason enough to give Mize shopping fever.

Following his first full season of competition, a sophomore year in which he captured the Billy Weeks Trophy for the top jump (15-2) at the state track meet, Scott emerged as one of the top under-18 pole vaulters in America and the third-ranked youth in the world, according to the latest rankings from the International Association Athletics Federation.

He's cleared 16 feet eight times, including a then-personal record of 16-7 in March. Scott sailed into the state meet as the region champion and broke Chris Keen's 17-year-old all-classification record of 15-8 when he posted a 16-6.

For his efforts, Scott is the Banner-Herald Track Athlete of the Year.

Scott's primary goal coming into this past season was to reach 17 feet, a height that few high school vaulters even sniff. After his state title-clinching jump, he attempted to clear it three times but clipped the bar each time.

Three weeks later at the 29th annual Golden South Classic in Orlando, he slipped over the bar at 17 feet. His goal, albeit after the high school season, was finally reached.

"It went as I wanted it to, except I wanted to get 17 feet during the school season," Scott said. "But I got it now, so I'm OK with that."

How quickly his goals have changed.

Now in his crosshairs is Eric Eshbach, a current pole vaulter at the University of Nebraska who is the national high school record holder. Eshbach cleared 18-2 1/4 in 1999 while at Orangefield High near Austin, Texas.

"Jordan has a good chance of doing something like that," Mize said. "He's progressed a lot faster than I've ever seen a pole vaulter progress. His height (6-foot-2) is a big factor. Height, at his level of pole vaulting, is a big advantage. The taller you are and the longer your arms and legs are, the higher you're able to plant that pole.

"I think he's still growing," Mize said. "If I don't see him for a couple of weeks, he looks taller. Either that or I'm shrinking."

Mize has nothing to worry about. From his sophomore season to his junior year, Scott sprouted 4 additional inches. With that and his strong work ethic, he's hoping to reach Eshbach's record and eclipse it.

"My main goal is getting 18-4 before the next state meet or at the state meet," he said. "I've been jumping a lot better lately and I believe I can do it. But yeah, it will probably have to be a perfect vault."

Scott wasn't completely perfect at the state meet - he just had perfect timing. After Franklin County's Casey Herndon broke Keen's record on his first attempt at 15-11 1/2, Scott scratched on his first two attempts.

With the all-classification gold medal, not to mention the state record at stake, Scott paused before his third run down the runway.

"I wasn't sure how he was going to respond with two misses like that," Mize said. "A lot of times, if guys are struggling at a height that third attempt is not going to be the one where it happens. There's a lot to overcome on a third-attempt vault, especially at a place like that and a pressure situation like that."

Scott relieved the tension, however, streaking down the rubberized track and soaring over the horizontal bar.

He won gold on his next attempt with his vault of 16-6.

"That last jump could've blown away my goal of getting three state championships," he said. "It was about to, but it didn't."