Maira bent on reaching new heights

Sergey Bubka sprints along the runway, pole held upright in both hands, plants, and vaults over the bar, clearing 19 feet, 81/2 inches.

Almost every night at bedtime, the last thing Mike Maira sees before closing his eyes is Bubka clearing that bar.

A Ukrainian, Bubka was 33 years old in that YouTube video from the 1997 world championships, when he won his sixth world title in a career in which he broke the world record 35 times, going as high as 20-2.

Maira, a Seneca senior who has visions of winning the pole vault at sectionals and states, is awed and inspired by Bubka.

"Bubka revolutionized the sport with his form," said Maira, who is headed to the University of Tennessee in the fall. "He is super-aggressive onto and off the pole. He ran the 100 in 10.5 [seconds]. He was an average-size guy."

Maira stands 6-foot-1, runs the 100 in 11.4 seconds, and has the upper-body strength necessary to push himself over an ever-rising bar.

As a 10th grader, Maira cleared 13-6 to break the school record of 13-0, set by Dave Fernholtz in 2006. As a junior, Maira won the Group 3 state indoor and outdoor championships by vaulting 14-6.

On May 1, he shattered the 1998 Burlington County indoor record of 14-6 set by Shawnee's Mike Yurcho at the 38th annual South Jersey Relays at Buena. Maira cleared a personal-best 14-7, then 15-0. Yurcho now helps train him.

"I was ecstatic," Maira said. "I'd been working all winter and spring knowing that I could clear 15, and I finally did it. Now I feel like I can jump higher."

Maira's vaulting coach, Gerry Sherlock, said his star pupil can clear 15-5, which should be more than enough to win the sectional and state competitions.

"You want to be tall, fast, and strong, and he [Maira] has all of that," said Sherlock, a former Cherry Hill West pole-vaulter. "He [also] rebounds from disappointing performances, although he rarely has one.

"The biggest thing about Mike is that he's just out there, enjoying it. He's competitive, but that's not the main reason why he does it."

Maira recalls that when he was a child, his father, Sam Maira, the Seneca boys' soccer coach, would take him to Princeton track meets, where Mike would drift toward the pole-vaulters.

"Pole vaulting is not quite track and not quite gymnastics. It's a unique sport," said the 18-year-old honors student, who lives with his parents and younger sister in Indian Mills.

During Maira's junior season, he also sprinted on the varsity track team, and played junior varsity soccer. His father was looking forward to his joining the varsity squad.

"He was very fast, and he would have helped us," Sam Maira said. "I wished him well. I just want him to be happy and healthy."

Maira's pole-vaulting rivals include Haddonfield's Mike Rivard and Toms River North's Jordan Subai, both of whom have also cleared 15 feet. Rivard said that he, Maira, and Subai help each other during meets.