During the early part of the summer, MileSplit MA will feature what we consider the best performances of the outdoor track & field season. This was an arduous task to undertake as there were an abundance of fine efforts turned in by our Bay Staters throughout this spring campaign. Without further adieu...
Erick Duffy
Pole Vault, New Balance Nationals Outdoor Championships
When you're competing in an event that has Mondo Duplantis, the national indoor and outdoor pole-vault record-holder with unheard heights of more than 19 feet, it's easy to get overlooked. But we never missed the special happenings from this North Andover senior once a pole was in his hand. Duffy won his third straight title at the MIAA All State Meet and second consecutive New England crown. He also proved victorious at the Andover Boosters Invitational, Merrimack Valley Conference Championships and the Eastern Division 2 Meet.
But for Duffy, who was also our top hurdlers, capturing the 110-meter event at the states, his best performance of the season (and his career) occurred the weekend of June 16-18 at the New Balance Nationals. Duffy not only surpassed the 17-foot mark for the first time but earned an individual title, too. The Harvard signee defeated all his competitors down in North Carolina with a six-inch best of 17-1!