Keating survives pressure packed jump off to earn pole vault
All to gain and all to lose. That’s the stakes of a pole vault jump-off. And before the State Meet of Champions, Keating had never felt that pressure.
“I was starting to get really worried every single jump, which also added to the fact that I had to jump first. Every time I missed, I just had to watch and hope I was still in it,” Keating said.
He entered the Meet of Champions facing a field that included five other vaulters who had cleared 15 feet or more this season. And Keating had just recorded his worst performance this spring with a vault of 14-0 at the Group 1 championship.
“My last jumping practice on Monday, we had two cameras set up to try and figure out what was going wrong. We pretty much nailed it,” Keating said. “I was able to come out and get on some decently big poles.”
Six failed attempts by Keating and Cinnaminson’s Ed Frey at 16-0 moved proceedings to a jump-off. Legs turned into jelly. Recent history turned into folklore. Most importantly, 16-0 looked like a world record height. Keating went first. No dice. With the chance for a first state title in sight, Frey followed. Agonizingly close. A three inch decrease didn’t separate the two as nerves grew.
Keating and Frey have cleared 15-0 or better eight times this season. At at the Meet of Champions, a height both cleared in one try an hour earlier, 15-6, saw both miss, then 15-3 and even 15-0 passed with no clearances. What Keating called the most stressful part of the sport had become almost bizarre.
Keating, a Binghamton signee hadn’t even entered the field until the height was 15-0. Now, the state title would go to whoever cleared 14-9.
First again, Keating rose to his inverted position for the ninth time and hooked himself over the bar as it bobbed and weaved but remained still. The pressure to clear the bar or lose finally fell on Frey. The senior, who finished fifth in the event last year, fell short. The title was finally Keating’s.
“It’s a cool experience and very stressful. I was over there shaking, but it was an interesting way to round up the season,” Keating said.
