Jack Whitt, Norman North

"I always make sure to think the bar is about two feet higher than it really is,'' says Jack. "That way it just makes me try even harder.'' Jack fell in love with the pole vault as a 7th grader and hasn't changed his outlook since. "Start with a low grip and be as a tall as possible when you are running. Drive your chest as if you were going up for a dunk. From there, you just try to take off and try and get upside down. The first time you clear that bar, it's amazing.'' He makes it sound easy. Well, so far it's hard to argue after Whitt cleared 15 feet last year and won the state title as a sophomore.