During the annual Dale Collier Invitational, which took place at Kirkwood High School on April 30, senior pole vaulter Joe Michaels was a key contributor to the varsity boys track team’s fourth place finish among 17 competing squads.

Aside from that, the transfer from Herculaneum was able to clear a striking 14 foot vault, shattering his previous personal record of 13 feet in the process.

“I was pretty pumped because I was not vaulting real good early on in the day and I was not even sure if I would clear 12,” he said.

As a sophomore, Michaels had been second among the leaders in the Jefferson County Conference and since then has continued to improve.

With this new mark, he is now tied for first among area rankings according to stlhighschoolsports.com.

“I think it shows that I am a serious contender to see at the state meet. I plan to keep progressing; at Conference this weekend I’m hoping to go 15 [and] I got a couple new poles to work with. I cleared 14 by a lot and now that I’m on a bigger pole the sky is the limit,” Michaels said.