Marino vaults Hatboro-Horsham back to the top
The senior won the pole vault at the state track championships
SHIPPENSBURG - Here's the plan: run as fast as you can, stick a 15-foot pole in the ground and use it to fling yourself over a bar 16 feet in the air.
Ready, set, go!
If the premise alone scares you, the pole vault isn't for you.
It is, however, for Hatboro-Horsham senior Nicholas Marino, who, after winning gold at the Penn Relays, also took gold in the PIAA track and field championships Friday afternoon at Shippensburg University.
"It's too fast to be scared of it, to be completely honest," said Marino, who will compete at Bucknell next season. "It's just over and done and you're like, 'Ah, I cleared it!' "
Fearlessly, Marino flew over the winning height of 16 feet. He then went right after a new state record of 16 feet, 7 inches on the biggest, heaviest pole he's ever used.
The PIAA record (16-6) was set by Chris Williams of Strath Haven in 2012. Former Hatboro-Horsham star Joe Berry previously set the record of 16-3 in 2007. Berry also won the pole vault at the Penn Relays that year.
Marino's vault coach, Brian Mondschein, said Marino's three jumps were the best he has ever attempted, though he fell just short of the record despite the blustery conditions.
"It's a big boy, and it's carbon," Marino said of the pole, which was 15-6. "That thing flings you."
On his final attempt, Marino's feet cleared the pole, but his body couldn't quite avoid it during his dismount.
"I was right there, but I just couldn't get out of its way," Marino said, punctuating his sentence with a playful growl of frustration.
As it turns out, fearless flight comes with the territory.
"I definitely agree with Nick on that," said Berry, 28, who now competes in Washington. "I have absolutely no fear. I'm only concerned about hitting that box as hard as I can and running down the runway with reckless abandon."
After he starred at Hatboro-Horsham, Berry won five Southeastern Conference pole vault championships at Tennessee, second in school history only to the six by U.S. Olympic silver medalist Lawrence Johnson.
Berry graduated in 2012 and still competes for independent sponsors via Club Northwest in the Pacific Northwest.
Marino said he met Berry briefly the summer before his freshman year and had his eye on Berry's record, which seems just fine with the former Hatboro-Horsham star.
"For me personally, I didn't think it would come so soon," Berry joked. "I put that bar up pretty high. It's awesome to see. Records are set to be broken, so I always love to see people succeed in the pole vault, especially at Hatboro-Horsham. The only way the sport improves is if everyone is pushing everyone else. And the fact that he's at Hatboro-Horsham makes it that much sweeter and defines the school as almost a power house."
Clapping for adrenaline
Perhaps Wissahickon track coach Floyd Garis sensed his junior triple jumper, Ahmir Johnson, was a tad nervous. After all, his first jump was a foul, and Johnson is a naturally quiet, reserved young man.
Quite frequently during individual events, an unabashed competitor will clap his or her hands slowly, rhythmically and then be joined by the crowd in hopes the support will conjure adrenaline.
Johnson, however, had never tried something so bold.
"I would be scared that no one would clap with me, and I'd look dumb on the runway," said Johnson, who finished second with a distance of 46-113/4 inches.
The event was early Friday morning at Shippensburg, so there weren't too many fans in the stands, but Johnson said his competitors and a few teammates joined in the clapping.
"It gave me a lot of adrenaline," he said. "I had a big rush. I guess it helped my second phase and made me more explosive and led to a better jump."
Treyvon Ferguson from Milton Hershey took first at 47-51/2.
Johnson wasn't exactly thrilled when he was thrust into the triple jump as a freshman. He had grown up watching his twin older brothers Aquande and Kyuande, both 2015 Wissahickon graduates, compete in various events for the Trojans.
"I thought it was weird, and I was kind of mad I had to do it because I wanted to focus on the long jump," he said. But I started liking it after a while because I started winning."
Johnson will also compete in the long jump on Saturday.
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