USM junior Ben Drummey the defending division three indoor pole vault champion took advantage of the opportunity to repeat as he picked the perfect time to have his best vault day of the season on Friday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Drummey qualified for the national meet with a jump of 16-4 3/4 at the Last Chance at Tufts six days ago and entered as the eleventh highest vaulter in the field. After dealing with hamstring issues and shoulder pain this season the former Biddeford Tiger standout headed into the national meet feeling healthy and on a roll after winning Little East and D3 New England titles.
On Friday Drummey passed the opening height of 4.55m (14-11), he opened at 4.70m (15-5) clearing on his first attempt. He then passed the next height 4.85m (15-11) before clearing 4.90m (16-0 3/4) again on his first attempt. Following the same format he passed 4.95m (16-2 3/4), then cleared 5.00m (16-4 3/4) to match his seasonal best on his first attempt. With the bar raised to 5.05m (16-6 3/4) Drummey once again remained perfect clearing it on his first vault. That proved to be the winning vault giving him the national title, and matching the height he cleared a year ago in winning.
