FREEDOM VAULT
Lake Hamilton graduate Haze Farmer clears the bar at 17 feet at the 4th of July Freedom Vault at Arkansas Vault Club in Black Springs. Farmer, who just finished his freshman season at Georgia, finished second in the competition.
BLACK SPRINGS — Austin Miller started his day about four hours away from Arkansas Vault Club, nestled near the center of Montgomery County, but the Herndon, Va., native is far from his regular training facility in North Carolina.
The High Point University graduate has taken time during the pandemic to train with National Track Hall of Fame pole vaulter Earl Bell at Bell Athletics in Jonesboro, but Saturday’s 13th annual
4th of July Freedom Vault was “a fun day” for him. “I came all the way from Jonesboro,” he said. “It’s about a three and a half hour drive or so, and initially, I was thinking, ‘Well, I want to be there when the runway opens up for warm ups, so I’ll try to get there by like 9:30 or 9 (a.m.). Shoot, I’m gonna have to get up at like 5:30 (a.m.) or so. Or I’ll just work the extra hour of sleep.’
“Once (meet organizer) Morry (Sanders) told me that it was gonna start pretty low and there’s gonna be a bunch of people, I figured I’ll just bring a couple extra poles and just warm up as I’m jumping in the competition. Come in at a low height I know I can make, dial in everything as I’m jumping, and have some fun.”
The strategy clearly worked for him as he vaulted to the top of the competition with a height of 18 feet, 0.5 inches with just three misses before the winning height. Miller entered the competition at
15 feet before recording his first miss of the day at
17 feet.
Three others competed in the Open Men’s division of the Freedom Vault — Jake Sauls, Matthew Standridge and Haze Farmer.
Sauls, a McKinney, Texas, product who just finished his freshman season at Texas-San Antonio, finished fourth (14 feet) with Caddo Hills graduate Matthew Standridge, who just completed his sophomore season at Louisiana-Lafayette, taking third (16 feet). Lake Hamilton graduate Haze Farmer entered the competition at 17 feet after Sauls and Standridge were eliminated.
Farmer, who just finished his freshman season at Georgia, said that after warmups Saturday his legs were not feeling ready.
“The main thing (Sanders) asked me after warmups ended was whether I wanted to come in at 16-6 or 17 (feet). (My) legs just weren’t feeling particularly great, so I decided to come in at 17, try to save some energy for later bars. The first two jumps at 17, I just didn’t hit it for anything. I had the height on all of them, just coming down. I squeaked out, even the third attempt, it was barely made. (I) went up, went up the pole as well and just came down on it.”
Farmer could not make his way across the bar at 17 feet, 6.5 inches, bringing it down with him on all three attempts. While Farmer has competed in a few meets since the pandemic shut down the sports world in March, his last true competition was at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships Feb. 28-29, where he finished second with a height of 5.36 meters (17 feet, 7 inches).
Both Farmer and Miller are aiming for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Ore., next June.
“It’s been a big dream,” Farmer explained. “It’s a goal. After SECs, I kind of took some time off after we got released back home, just trying to take some time to chill and just relax. But here in the past month or so, especially after that last meet because the height made me really mad, too. I’ve been trying to kick it into overdrive and start training
harder, getting in the weight room and more on the track, too. But yeah, that’d be a huge goal. I’ve just got to stop jumping these crappy heights and put some jumps together.”
Miller said that with USA Track and Field announcing on
July 1 that the body will accept marks from all USATF sanctioned events from April 6 forward, he is trying even harder to earn his entry into the trials.
“USA Track and Field just announced that they’ve reopened their qualification window for the
Olympic Trials next year,” Miller said. “Initially they had closed it down until December, but they just announced that they’re reopening it. So I’m trying. Now I’m kind of planning out some meets. … So I’ll have a few meets in North Carolina and in the Atlanta area coming up later this summer to try and get that mark — try and get that 19-foot bar.”
Lake Hamilton rising senior Hunter Johnson finished third in the Boys 1 division with a height of 16 feet, a new personal record, while Lake Hamilton rising junior
Sutton Manatt finished ninth in the Boys 2 division. Vilonia rising senior Carson Lenser won the Boys 1 division with a clearance of 16 feet on his first attempt, and Cherokee (Okla.) High School rising senior Jade Jantzen won the Boys 2 division with a clearance of 13 feet.
Lake Hamilton rising freshman Sheyla Praetzel won the Girls 3 division with a clearance of 9 feet while Lakeside rising junior Emilee Bates finished fifth in the Girls 2 division (9-6), and Lake Hamilton rising senior Mahayla Swayze was eighth (9-0).