Audubon’s Leo Davis on Saturday became the first South Jersey sophomore in over 35 years to win an outdoor state pole vaut championship.
State results before the late 1980s did not include class information, so there’s no way to tell exactly when – or if – a South Jersey sophomore won a state title in the vault at any point, but it hasn’t happened since 1988.
The last South Jersey underclassman to win a state pole vault title was Matthew McMahon of Sacred Heart, who won the 2010 Parochial B title at 12-0 at Egg Harbor.
Davis won the competition Saturday at Franklin Township at 13-6, which tied his PR, then had the bar moved up to a PR 13-8 – presumably a school record – which he also cleared. Davis won the indoor state Group 1 title at 13-0.
The official results don’t show height progression, so don’t know where Davis entered the competition, how many misses he had (if any) at earlier heights and whether or not he continued on after clearing 13-8 or called it a day.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 
Hey Reuben, Leo opened at 12-0 with a miss. Cleared on his second attempt. Then clean at 12-6 and 13-0. Can’t remember if 13-6 was on first or second (it was a looong day). He got the school record 13-8 on his second. He had three great attempts at 14-0 but just rubbed the bar on each. Thanks for noticing!!! And our frosh girl that you wrote about, Riley Fayer, went 11:03.78 in 3200 to lower her own school record. She was 2nd to a Walkill Valley soph by .38. She then anchored our 4×800 to a win in 9:43.76, bettering the school record by 8 seconds. She split 2:20 on the anchor. Hope all else is well with you. And thanks again for all you do for the kids!! Coach Pugliese, Audubon HS
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