Hometown submaster David Lindenburg, 31, won the event, but the story of the Drake Relays masters vault was NH’s by potential record-setters M45 Paul Babits and M55 Jeff Kingstad. I’m unsure of the conditions, but Paul and Jeff apparently passed too often. They opened at 4.77 and 4.01, respectively — 15-7 3/4 and 13-1 3/4. Then they missed three times. M40 Trevor Richards, an assistant coach at Drake, was the first true masters finisher, going 4.46 (14-7 1/2) and M60 John Altendorf  cleared  3.71 (12-2), a foot under his own WR of 4.00. M50 Gary Hunter faired likewise, going 4.46 (14-7 1/2), a foot under his own American record. Event organizer Doug “Bubba” Sparks jumped with a heavy heart, as you’ll see below.

Vault results from Drake:

Event 922  Men Pole Vault Masters
==========================================================================
    Name                    Year School                  Finals          
==========================================================================
Finals                                                                   
  1 David Lindenberg             Unattached               4.77m   15-07.75
     3.56 3.71 3.86 4.01 4.14 4.31 4.46 4.61 4.77 4.91                   
       PP  PPP  PPP  PPP  PPP   XO   XO  XXO  XXO  XXX                   
  2 Trevor Richards              Unattached               4.46m   14-07.50
     3.56 3.71 3.86 4.01 4.14 4.31 4.46 4.61                             
       PP  PPP  PPP  PPP    O    O    O  XXX                             
  3 Gary Hunter                  Unattached               4.46m   14-07.50
     3.56 3.71 3.86 4.01 4.14 4.31 4.46 4.61                             
       PP  PPP  PPP  PPP    O    O   XO  XXX                             
  4 Doug Sparks                  Unattached               3.86m   12-08.00
     3.56 3.71 3.86 4.01                                                 
       PP    O    O  XXX                                                 
  5 John Altendorf               Unattached               3.71m   12-02.00
     3.56 3.71 3.86                                                      
      XXO   XO  XXX                                                      
— Paul Babits                  Unattached                  NH          
     3.56 3.71 3.86 4.01 4.14 4.31 4.46 4.61 4.77                        
       PP  PPP  PPP  PPP  PPP  PPP  PPP  PPP  XXX                        
— Brian Carrel                 Unattached                  NH          
     3.56 3.71 3.86 4.01 4.14                                            
       PP  PPP  PPP  PPP  XXX                                            
— Dan Holton                   Unattached                  NH          
     3.56 3.71 3.86 4.01 4.14                                            
       PP  PPP  PPP  PPP  XXX                                            
— Jeff Kingstad                Unattached                  NH  &
nbsp;       
     3.56 3.71 3.86 4.01                                                 
       PP  PPP  PPP  XXX   

Here’s today’s conditions, according to the Drake Relays notes:

Weather: The decathlon started at 9:30 a.m. with temperature of 63 with winds from southeast at eight miles per hour under partly cloudy skies. Temperature reached a high of 77 degrees at 2 p.m. under partly sunny skies. Attendance: 6,890 which is record for Thursday session which dates back to start in 2001.

It’s worth noting that Bubba Sparks jumped with other things on his mind.

On Wednesday, he sent this remembrance to his friends:                                        

My mother lived the past several years battling a number of breakdowns in our health and finally and mercifully passed at 12:17 AM on April 19, 2009. She was 75. As we get older it is inevitable that we lose friends and family but this lady will be greatly missed by the pole vault family in particular.

Not only did she take the field and clipboard to officiate meets when no one else wanted to, she brought an extra ice chest to every meet so our teammates had drinks too. She sported a long scar on the side of her leg where she slipped climbing a fence on Thanksgiving Day, her 40th birthday, to go video our practice vaults in a locked up high school where the pits were left out.

On summer trips around Texas she climbed in the windows of the car because we had poles strapped to both sides. On Spring Break, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas our house was full of “orphans” from college that had no place to go because she didn’t want them to be alone for the holidays.

She made sure they knew they knew they were a part of our family. My mother’s concern for others was far greater than that for herself and she was always available by phone. Many friends from high school and college still dropped by to see her.

Closer to home she taught me that most issues in life can be fixed with hard work for the right reasons. That life and competition is unfair and th at and your attitude determine your long term success. You weren’t always going to win nor were you going to be the best. Your competition is who you learn from by being friends and helping each other. It’s not how many times you get knocked down but how many you get up.

Barbara Sparks refused to lose the joy of life and learning. She still expects a call and meet T-Shirt from every place I go. She was fascinated by Alan Launder’s, “Beginner to Bubka”, which he so nicely penned a tribute to her in his signing. She spent hours with Jan Johnson’s and Russ Versteeg’s “History of the Pole Vault”.

When I said goodbye to her in the wee hours of this morning, I smiled and thanked God for this wonderful spirit and what she had done her entire life for me and everyone she came in contact with. This is not a sad day but a liberating day for her. She’s now at peace and free of the pain of her long illness and can now sit back and enjoy a great seat for the 100th Drake Relays. I too am ever grateful to get to participate in that event, and she shared my excitement.

If you have a family member or friend who supports our sport in any way, let them know how much you appreciate them. It could be a mother or father who puts up the bar on Saturdays, or brings the treats to the Halloween Vault, or simply sees the value in the brotherhood and sisterhood of the pole vault. Getting the kid to practice regularly is sometimes a monumental feat but produces great rewards. All the best. Bubba

PS – Coach Dueitt, I’ll be at practice with you today. That’s the way she would want it.

“Life’s a lesson, you learn it when you’re through” – Limp Bizkit