Jack Whitt, the US indoor leader in the pole vault, kicked off his outdoor season at the Putnam City Invitational with an outstanding personal best clearance of 17'10.75". The Norman High School North senior from Oklahoma had a previous best of 17'2" in the event, so it was a significant improvement as his clearance this weekend ranks US #7 on the high school outdoor all-time list. Whitt then made attempts over at the national record height of 18'3" held by Tommy Skipper, but was unsuccessful at 18'3.25".
However, a great start for Whitt who is skipping both of indoor national meets, but has big goals for this spring as indicated in his recent interview article with MileSplit US.