Document text
CLOUDY Temp: 56 °F Wind: NW at 6 mph Sunday, June 22, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend June 3, 2003 Prep Notebook Skipper leaves fans in awe at state meet By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Every year at the state track meet, one or two athletes justify the price of admission all by themselves. Last year it was Churchill’s Jordan Kent, who became the first athlete in state meet history to win four individual events. This year it was Sandy’s Tommy Skipper, who left the Hayward Field crowd in awe on Friday when he soared over the pole vault bar at 17 feet, 7 inches to break his own state meet record. Advertisement Skipper then took a couple of cracks at what would have been a national high school record of 18-2½ , coming reasonably close on one of his attempts. What made his feat so remarkable was that Skipper broke his thumb in mid-March at a big meet in Virginia, putting his status in doubt for the rest of the spring. He didn’t pick up a pole again until last Tuesday at the Mount Hood Conference meet when he passed until 14 feet and then needed all three attempts to clear that height and punch his ticket to state. But while Skipper’s time away from the vault left him a little rusty, it helped in other ways. An extraordinary athlete who will become a decathlete in college, Skipper worked on his strength and speed, which came into play Saturday when he won the 100-meter dash (in 10.88 seconds) and was leading the 200 until the final few meters before settling for second. "The injury was really a blessing in disguise," said Skipper, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound package of muscles. "It allowed me to work on other parts of the vault and on my speed and quickness. "My mom told me that out of adversity comes opportunity. There was a silver lining in this (the injury)." Although Skipper will graduate from high school this week, he’ll have until July 31 to break the national prep record of 18-2¼ set by Eric Eshbach of Orangefield, Texas in 1999. Skipper will try to break the record again this weekend at the Oregon-Washington Meet of Champions in Vancouver, Wash. He’ll also compete at the Junior Olympics and a couple of other big meets this summer. As close as Skipper came to the record last week, I’d be surprised if he didn’t break it. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he made 18-6 at some point this summer. He has the skills for such a vault, and some added incentive. His brother, Art, broke the national high school javelin record with a throw of 259-10 in 1988, a record that still stands. Art, who went on to win an NCAA championship at Oregon and was a two-time All-American, was killed in a plane crash in October of 2001. Even though 12 years separated the two brothers, they were close. "I can feel his presence whenever I compete," Tommy Skipper said. "I’d like to get it (the record) as much for him as for me." Skipper gave a verbal commitment to the Ducks earlier this year but hedged about the decision Friday after hearing that UO decathlete coach Bill Lawson might be leaving. The Ducks should do everything in their power to keep this track athlete on their home turf. While Skipper was reveling in the glory of two individual state championships and a team title, North Medford’s David Faaeteete was suffering through a nightmarish experience in the throwing events. Faaeteete, who entered the meet with the state’s third-best discus throw (167-6), scratched on all three of his attempts in the preliminary round and then did the same thing in the shot put. "David learned that track is a sport in which you have to pay attention to detail," North Medford coach Mark Hodges said. "It’s a technical sport and if you don’t train yourself to be mentally focused every time you get in the ring, then some bad things can happen. "The really frustrating thing for David is that he had a 58-foot throw during warm- ups in the shot put and he was really eager to make up for what happened in the discus the day before." Hodges sat next to Faaeteete on the ride back to Medford and said that his junior thrower blamed no one but himself. "I think he’s already motivated for next season," Hodges said. "He’s got some unfinished business." Ryan Nash almost single-handedly led Lakeview to third place in the Class 3A boys meet. The junior scored 32 of the Honkers’ 36 points by winning the long jump and 100, finishing second in the triple jump and anchoring the Honkers’ 4x100 relay team to second. Interestingly, Nash almost never got his chance to win the long jump. He had a subpar performance during the preliminary round and assumed he didn’t advance to the finals. He was sitting in the grandstands when a coach summoned him back to the event. Nash then got off a winning jump of 21-11¼ . Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times