Boy's 4A State Meet

LYNCHBURG — Improvement in the pole vault can be a slow and steady process — from the time someone plants their pole in the pit to when they release the pole after vaulting double-digit feet into the air, a lot of things can go wrong.

On Saturday, all of Handley junior Will McKay’s hard work paid off with an unforgettable and history-making achievement.

Three months after his older sister Mary won the Class 4 indoor state title, McKay first set a personal record in the pole vault to win Handley’s first outdoor state title in at least 50 years, then had the bar moved up and broke the Judges’ record that had stood since 1973.

McKay certainly picked the perfect time for a nine-inch improvement. He entered Lynchburg with a PR of 14 feet and left with a 14-9 to break Chip Garber’s record. Garber’s mark is listed as both 14-8 and 14-6.5 from that year.

“I’m really thrilled right now,” said McKay with a laugh after posing for numerous pictures with family members, friends and Handley assistant coach coach Roy Ferri next to the pole vault performance board displaying his 14-9 mark.

Winchester/Frederick County schools produced 12 All-State performances on Saturday, but McKay was the only champion at the Class 4 track & field meet at Liberty University’s Matthes-Hopkins Track at Osborne Stadium.

The Judges had seven All-State performances (top eight) and led all local schools by taking seventh out of 34 scoring teams with 33 points. James Wood tied for 17th with 12 points, and Sherando, which only sent senior shot putter William Fletcher to the meet, tied for 31st with 1 point.

Loudoun Valley won its fourth straight boys’ state title with 86 points, 24 more than Courtland.

Handley coach Mike McKiernan said the Judges knew that McKay was capable of vaulting 14-6 in a meet, because earlier last week he did it multiple times in practice. And it didn’t appear to McKiernan that nerves would be a problem based on his light and relaxed mood prior to the competition.

“He does not let the pressure of the situation get to him,” McKiernan said. “We knew he was ready. It was just a matter of him putting it all together.”

McKay figured he needed to at least match his PR if he was going to have a shot at winning. Three people entered with 14-0 seed marks, including Amherst County senior Nick Moore, who cleared 14-0 to win the Class 4 indoor state title this year while McKay took second with a 13-6.

On Saturday, there was definitely pressure. Moore cleared 14-0 feet on his first attempt, while McKay needed two attempts to do so.

Jamestown’s Walker Van Kirk, who didn’t attempt to begin vaulting until the bar was placed at 14 feet, missed on all three of his attempts. McKiernan said Handley senior Matthew Peete — who was busy competing in the 110-meter hurdles and passed on every height from 12-6 to 13-6 — nearly cleared 14 feet but had to settle for third with a mark of 12-0.

The bar was then moved to 14-6, which neither McKay or Moore had cleared in competition, though Moore had cleared 14-3. McKay cleared it on his second attempt and Moore couldn’t do it all, satisfying McKay’s hunger to win a state title after what happened during the indoor season.

“It was awesome to clear 14-6,” said McKay, who was greeted with loud cheers and applause. “I was probably more thrilled about 14-9, because that broke the Handley record.”

McKay needed just one attempt to do that to prompt another round of cheers. The second-to-last Handley boys’ state champion — McKay’s grandfather Tom Glass — was one of the people contributing to that noise.

Glass won state championships in the pole vault at Handley in 1957 and 1958, once held the school record with a mark of 12-10 that stood for 10 years, and has his name along with 1961 state champ Charlie Polhamus’ displayed on Handley’s pole vaulting pit. That was dedicated in 2016, one year after the Judges started competing in the pole vault again for the first time in more than 30 years.

McKay said he didn’t do anything particularly unique to set himself up for Saturday’s performance.

“I just vault every day, so I can be more consistent,” said McKay, who made three attempts at 15-0 before his day ended. “I think this paves the way for me to work even harder now, because I want to get even higher.”

McKay wasn’t the only Judge with an impressive day.

Handley junior Stephen Daley placed third with a PR of 10.81 in the 100 (10.88 was his previous best), a race that saw Powhatan senior Anthony Greenhow fly to a Class 4 record time of 10.37.

“I felt like I gave it my all,” said the 6-foot-2, 240-pound Daley. “People looking at me, bigger, taller than everyone else, they don’t expect me to go that fast.”

Daley, who also placed fifth in the discus (142-10), ran the second leg on the 4x100 team, which was seeded fourth and placed fifth. Handley did not have the services of senior Jayden Vardaro due to his hamstring injury, but the foursome of sophomore Aaron Lee, Daley, Peete and freshman Christian Metzger actually recorded the Judges’ fastest time of the year with a 43.36.

“We gave it our all,” Daley said. “Christian did the best that he could. I’m proud of him.”

Handley junior Ryan Stickley placed seventh in the 400 in a PR of 51.16. Peete also placed eighth in the 110 hurdles in 16.03.

Overall, there was a lot for McKiernan to be pleased about Saturday.

“There were a lot of PRs and great performances,” McKiernan said. “For the boys and the girls, to be in the top five late in the meet speaks well of them. We came down here and competed, and hopefully, did Handley track proud.”

James Wood was led by junior Nathaniel Woshner (fifth in the 3,200 in 9:30.92, almost 18 seconds better than his seed time). Woshner also helped the 4x800 team of seniors Chris White and Jimmy Burdock and junior Liam McDonald place seventh in the 4x800 relay in 8:16.99. Colonels sophomore Andrew Link placed sixth in both the 110 hurdles (15.89) and 300 hurdles (40.95).

Fletcher recorded a mark of 44-0 in taking eighth in the shot put for Sherando. Millbrook did not have any boys’ state qualifiers.

For full results, go to va.milesplit.com/meets/430925-vhsl-group-4-state-championships-2021/results#.YM9Nb2jYrrc.

For more coverage of Saturday’s meet, see Tuesday’s edition of The Winchester Star.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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