BOYS WINTER TRACK: Schafer clears 14-3, breaks his own Riverhead record in pole vault

BY BOB LIEPA  |  SPORTS EDITOR

SOUTH HUNTINGTON -- Sasha Schafer's spirits were flying high, along with the rest of him.

Schafer had good cause to feel good, too. He had soared higher than a Riverhead High School pole vaulter had ever flown through the air before.

By clearing a height of 14 feet 3 inches, Schafer set a school record and brought himself first place in the first Long Island Invitational at St. Anthony's High School on Saturday. The senior improved upon the previous Riverhead record of 13-6, which he had set earlier this season.

"What an amazing feeling," Schafer told reporters.

Schafer set new marks twice on Saturday, making his first attempts at 14-0 and 14-3. Schafer actually touched the bar on his attempt at 14-3. Although the bar slightly trembled, it did not fall, and Schafer had another record.

Schafer's new indoor standard is even higher than the Riverhead outdoor record of 14-1 that is held by David Ludlum.

"He is now, since the inception of Riverhead High School, the greatest pole vaulter that we've ever had," Riverhead Coach Sal Loverde said of Schafer. "It's an honor to be in his presence."

It has been a big week for Schafer, who is competing in his first indoor season. Just two days earlier he had qualified for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships by winning a state qualifier at Shoreham-Wading River High School with a height of 13-0. It was on his first attempt in that meet when he slipped on the floor and landed in the box. "My back's a little bruised and a little banged up, but luckily I pulled through," he said.

Although fatigue took its toll on Schafer by the time the bar was raised to 14-6 on Saturday, he sounded charged afterward during interviews.

"It's good to go home with a first place and especially a school record and [beating] my personal best by nine inches," he said. "You can't ask for anything better."

Saturday was a good day for the Riverhead boys at St. Anthony's Student Center, an impressive one-year-old facility that hosted many of Long Island's top track and field athletes. The Blue Waves finished 18th among 32 teams in the team rankings with 32 points. St. Anthony's was first with 52.

Riverhead senior Mike Smith and Riverhead junior Treval Hatcher were both second in their individual events.

Smith, the defending state champion in the shot put, took second place with a throw of 53-3 1/2. Wheatley senior Joshua Haghigi finished first at 61-1.

What was Smith's assessment of how he did?

"I did bad today," he said.

Smith, who was both the state indoor and outdoor champion as a junior, holds the school indoor record of 56-3, which he set Feb. 23 in the Eastern States Championships. He said he has thrown 60 feet in practice.

"That's the thing that's aggravating," he said. "I do it in practice so many times, and then when you get to the meet, it's something different."

Hatcher, meanwhile, was the runner-up in the triple jump. Westbury senior Jair Edwards won that event by covering a distance of 44-10. Hatcher was the next after him at 43-6. Another Riverhead er, sophomore Kevin Williams, came in fourth at 41-10 1/2, behind the 42-1/2 registered by Kyle Howell of Manhasset.

Hatcher, who will join Schafer and Smith in the state meet at Cornell University in Ithaca next Saturday, competed with a right ankle he had tweaked in the state qualifying meet. "It's the leg I jump off of and land on," he explained. "It's a little sore. I'm going to go home and ice it."

Hatcher and Williams both ran for Riverhead 's 4x400-meter relay team along with teammates Ryan Budd and Peter Rodriguez. That foursome was clocked in 3 minutes 34.43 seconds, good enough for fifth place.

Earlier in the meet, Budd ran the 300-meter dash in 37.45 seconds, finishing 14th. Budd, a senior, had set the school record in the 300 earlier this season when he was timed at 37.2.

"I just ran my hardest," Budd said after Saturday's race. "I gave it everything I got."

The Long Island Invitational is the brainchild of St. Anthony's Coach Tim Dearie and Half Hollow Hills West Coach Jim Christian. In December they started talking about putting it together.

"We just immediately put the word out there," Dearie said. "There was immediate interest. We filled out the field, and as you can see, it was a great meet."

bliepa@timesreview.com