Racey of Ravena breaks Section II pole vault mark again
Albany
Shane Racey rocked forward, stared down the runway and then calmly leaned back. The Ravena senior tucked his pole vault on his right shoulder before speeding away Sunday morning.
A few seconds later at 10:47 a.m., Racey cleared the bar at the height of 16 feet, six inches — pumping his fist and exulting before setting down on the landing pad as the crowd at University at Albany applauded its approval — to provide a thrilling standout performance at the Section II state qualifier.
Several of the area's premier stars secured a trip March 7 to the State Championships to be held at Staten Island's Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex.
Racey established a new Section II standard Feb. 17 at UAlbany by winning the Section II Division III boys' indoor track title with a winning effort of 16 feet.
Six days later, Racey outdid himself again.
"It felt good," Racey said regarding his latest record-setting effort. "When I hit my steps, I just know it is going to be a good jump. Right from the first step on the back of the runway, I felt that was a good one."
Racey cleared the bar with ease at 16-6. He took three cracks with the bar placed at 16-10, but was unsuccessful.
Racey clipped the bar going upward on his first attempt at 16-10 just eight minutes after breaking his own record. He rushed a bit to take his second crack at 16-10.
"My adrenaline kicked in. I felt good. My brain said, 'yes', but my legs said, 'no,'" Racey said.
Racey's third opportunity attempting to clear 16-10 nearly netted another record. However, the senior's arm hit the bar on the way down.
"I was close on that one," Racey said. "I knew on my 16-6 vault, I had room to spare. On that (last) one, I got over the bar, but I just didn't get my arms up-and-away in time."
Racey certainly showed once again...