Savage soars to victory

Jordan Savidge of Smith Valley High School soared to victory with a personal record performance in the pole vault Saturday night during the Simplot Games indoor track and field meet in Pocatello, Idaho.

Savidge, a junior at Smith Valley who competed for the Lake Tahoe Pole Vault Club, cleared 15-feet, 3-inches to win the boys vault during a three-day meet that stands as one of the most prestigious in the nation. He won the event at 15-3 without a miss, then made three strong attempts at 16 feet, according to coach Paul Heglar.

"He had three really close attempts, and the last one, he was over the bar by about six inches, he just grazed it with his chest on his way down," Heglar said.

To put the achievement into perspective, Savidge's mark ranks him among the top 12 prep indoor pole vaulters in the nation, according to Heglar. A 16-foot clearance would have put him among the top three, and at the same time, he would have become only the third high school pole vaulter in Nevada history to clear that height.

"He's coming along like gangbusters," Heglar said of the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Savidge. "His goal for this season is to go 17 feet."

Sam Marshek, also a junior at Smith Valley High, competed in the meet and cleared a lifetime best height of 13-3.

Reed High's Analisa Serrano, placed sixth in the girls triple jump with a distance of 34-6.