Devin King over 18 feet in Mobile street vault!

Devin King, the US high school national record holder indoors in the pole vault, achieved a height on Saturday night that he had been searching ever since the indoor season when he started clearing heights well over 17 feet. That goal would be of course that next foot up in 18 foot clearance would a be a dream come true for the recent graduate of Sumner High School in Louisiana. Before traveling to Eugene, Oregon this week to represent the United States in the World Junior Championships, King traveled down to Mobile, Alabama on Saturday night for a unique event outdoors at night on the streets of the city of Mobile for the Dauphin Street Vault.

With a crowd of spectators in the downtown location vault runway setup, King used that energy and atmopshere to propel himself up and over 18 feet for the first time to take over the national leaderboard n the event and move up to US #7 high school all-time in the event outdoors (Note: We will need to check if Track & Field News recognizes performances from street vaults as the same as outdoor performances).

Nonetheless, an outstanding achievement for King and his coach Erica Bartolina (pictured above) to build momentum into the World Junior Championships this week as King hopes to carry the high from Saturday night in Mobile into a potential top 3 medal finish against the best junior pole vaulters on the planet.