JERRY WOLKOWITZ Claire Inskeep of Sayreville ended her high school career by taking seventh at the Meet of Champions in South Brunswick last week.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — In the end, David Saul rose to the occasion. All year the Sayreville High School senior was a solid performer in the pole vault, but at the Meet of Champions last Wednesday Saul was the top finisher among area athletes by soaring to a school record 14-0 to take sixth place in the event.
"I used a new carbon fiber pole today," Saul said. "I just got it. I jumped with it at school, then brought it straight here."
The new pole paid off with his record setting mark that also bettered his previous best effort of 13-6, set just one week earlier at the state group meet.
He noted that the short time he had to practice with the new pole before bringing it to the meet made it difficult to do much more than he had. His third attempt at 14-6, which won the meet, was just off. One more chance, or a week to practice could have made a big difference, but Saul will take his medal nonetheless.
He was in a group of four vaulters who cleared 14-0, taking sixth based on misses.
Saul was not the only member of the Bombers to close out his career at the Meet of Champions.
Shot putter Claire Inskeep closed out a solid high school throwing career with a 38-7 best effort that was good enough for seventh in the event.
The top eight finishers in each event received a medal and Old Bridge’s Sarah Convery and her teammate Kim Henry were the only other area competitors to bring one home.
Convery, a sophomore, was eighth in the javelin with a 123-6 toss and Henry, a freshman, finished eighth in the 400 meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 64.71.
Henry also was ninth in the 100 high hurdles with a time of 15.2. She was the only area athlete competing in two events.
Niki Banack of Monroe just missed bringing home a medal, she finished ninth in the discus with a throw of 111-4.
Banack’s teammate, freshman Ashley Maguire came up short in her first trip to the Meet of Champions, but her time of 59.91 in the 400 was her best of the season and it may not be her last trip to the meet.
South River also had a pair of athletes at the meet in sprinter Ali Hill and distance runner Iuri Pinti.
In her final high school race Hill took 24th in the 200 meters with a time of 26.54 while the freshman Pinti was 25th in the 3,200 with a time of 10:18.62. He went to the front early in the race but setting the early pace took a toll.