Savidge sets best mark

It is one of those once in a lifetime moments and it's happened in the state of Nevada - well never.

Smith Valley's Jordan Savidge set an all-time best mark in Nevada when he cleared 16 feet, 3 inches in the pole vault on Wednesday at the Lyon County Relays in Yerington. Savidge became only one of a handful of vaulters ever to clear 16 feet in Nevada and became the first since Douglas High's Chris Chappell did it several years ago. Chappell is now a senior at the University of Arizona.

Savidge also broke the all-time best mark of 16-2 1/4 that was believed to be set more than 30 years ago. While official state records are only recognized at state meets, Savidge has the best mark in Nevada history.

"That's awesome," said Savidge about holding the new mark. "When I found out that it was the new Nevada all-time mark it hit home."

While Savidge said his name is next to the all-time mark, he said there "should be 10 other people" next to it as well.

Among the people that Savidge credited was pole vault coach Paul Heggler, who's also Galena's pole vault coach.

Savidge hopes to continue his success this weekend when he competes against the nation's best vaulters at the Mt. SAC Relays on Saturday in Southern California. The nation's top high school mark this year is 16-8 and Savidge ranks among the nation's best.

Sixteen feet was a long time in coming for Savidge. "That was kind of a monkey off of my back," he said.

Now 16 feet may not be as daunting of a height. "I would not surprise myself to be up there consistently," said Savidge about clearing 16 feet.

Savidge said Wednesday's meet was no different than any other. "There was nothing special," he said. "I went into the meet with the mind set just to have fun. It was the right environment. I wasn't stressed, I wasn't real tense."

At first, Savidge didn't know he had cleared 16-3. "I didn't think I had it," he said. "I thought I missed it." But once he knew he had cleared 16-3, Savidge said, "I went crazy."

Anytime a vaulter does something special, that vaulter feeds off the crowd and Savidge said the crowd was a key.

"They were about as loud and as supportive as they could be," he said. "That was nice."

Smith Valley track coach Jim Gleason said Savidge is a pleasure to coach. "Jordan's a great kid," he said. "He's definitely full of life. He's got a lot of spirit.

"He's willing to work with the other kids. He has a great work ethic, a drive and a huge heart. It's great having him on the team."

Savidge carries a 3.94 grade point average. Among the schools recruiting him include Oregon and Kansas, with Oregon looking at him to possibly compete in the decathlon as well.

At the Lyon County meet, Savidge's teammate Sam Marshek took second at 14-6. Savidge and Carson's Tilor Smith also have the top two marks in the long jump in the state as both set the marks last Saturday at the Reed Invitational. Savidge won with a leap of 21-11 to beat Smith by one-half inch as Smith finished at 21-10 1/2. Savidge also set a personal best in placing second at Reed in the 100 meters at 11.13 seconds.