Richard Smith
West Valley Preps

When Cole Riddle talked about trying to set a new state pole vault record despite entering the season with a personal best of 16 feet 6 inches, it was easy to praise him for shooting for the moon while deriding his chances.

Turns out, the Valley Vista senior was on to something. He entered the April 26 Desert Vista Last Chance Meet in Phoenix with a personal best of 16 feet 8 inches.



He left with the new Arizona record of 17 feet 5 inches, surpassing his mentor, Tolleson High School alum and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Nick Hysong. Hysong set the state record 17 feet 5 3/4 inches in 1990.

"Yes, we had talked about it… he knew he would break the record — he kept saying that he needed a bigger pole and after he got it he was a man on a mission; not necessarily to break the record but to go higher —he just took off," Valley Vista track coach Willie Walker said.

Riddle will start his quest for the one thing that has eluded him, a first place finish in the state, when the Division I pole vault starts at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 6 at Mesa Community College, 1833 W. Southern Ave.

"It’s a very big deal to Cole, he’s worked very hard to get where he is today. He has vaulted well at Arcadia, Chandler Relays and at the state track meets too," Coach Walker said. "He’s happy to have made his mark in the Arizona Track Record book, it means a lot to Valley Vista, our track program and the young kids who are coming up through the ranks following in Cole's footsteps."

Riddle leads a strong crop of Northwest Valley pole vaulters. Centennial junior Alex Escobar and Deer Valley senior Alyson Schwartz are the favorites in in Division II. Both of those events will start at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Here is a list of the other top track athletes in the area:

Divsion I Girls
100
6. Dorian Nesby (Valley Vista) 12.20
7. Denajah Morris (Valley Vista) 12.20
200
7. Dorian Nesby (Valley Vista) 25.19
12. Denajah Morris (Valley Vista) 25.57
400
12. Dorian Nesby (Valley Vista) 58.01
1600
19. Taylor Mollenhour (Mountain Ridge) 5:19.05
Discus
11. Jasmine Gonzales (Mountain Ridge) 110-7
17. Alyssia Ryan (Mountain Ridge) 107-0
Triple Jump
18. Kailee Sullivan (Mountain Ridge) 35-5.5
19. Devan Slade (Valley Vista) 35-5
High Jump
4. Olivia Magby (Mountain Ridge) 5-3
12. Devan Slade (Valley Vista) 5-0
12. Megan Bird (Valley Vista) 5-0
Pole Vault
12. Brooke Schnepp (Valley Vista) 10-3
1600-Meter Relay
11. Mountain Ridge 4:09.83
3200-Meter Relay
13. Mountain Ridge 10:15.63

Division I Boys
200
10. Damien Jackson (Valley Vista) 22.31
400
1. Damien Jackson (Valley Vista) 48.72
Shot Put
15. James Kulaga (Mountain Ridge) 45-6.5
Discus
19. Daniel Delchev (Mountain Ridge) 137-11
High Jump
14. Elijah Shumate (Valley Vista) 6-0
Pole Vault
1. Cole Riddle (Valley Vista) 17-5 (State Record)
18. Timothy Ellis (Valley Vista) 13-3
Long Jump
5. Jimmy Kenyon (Mountain Ridge) 22-10.5
Triple Jump
2. Ivan Hinson (Valley Vista) 45-11
8. Jimmy Kenyon (Mountain Ridge) 43-9
1600-Meter Relay
12. Valley Vista 3:27.43

Division II Girls
100
1. Jae’Nisa Heckstall (Kellis), 11.95
9. Mary Agube (Liberty), 12.39
12. Alyssa Bishop (Kellis), 12.44
22. Janyah Jasper (Ironwood), 12.68
200
3. Jae’Nisa Heckstall (Kellis) 24.69
5. Asiah Fields (Liberty) 25.21
7. Mary Agube (Liberty) 25.40
8. Alyssa Bishop (Kellis) 25.44
20. Precious Craig (Centennial) 26.16
400
2. Asiah Fields (Liberty) 55.99
18. Maya Lorenzana (Liberty) 60.16
20. Maria Rivera (Centennial) 60.40
800
18. Kassidy Deardorff (Deer Valley) 2:25.57
19. Kristen Curtis (Sunrise Mountain) 2:26.02
20. Alexis Ortega (Willow Canyon), 2:26.03
1600
6. Kassidy Deardorff (Deer Valley) 5:16.26
17. Mikaila Lockhart (Ironwood) 5:28.05
3200
5. Kassidy Deardorff (Deer Valley) 11:36.47
6. Mikaila Lockhart (Ironwood) 11:39.00
12. Jordan Micheels (Sunrise Mountain) 11:55.32
100 Hurdles
1. Jae’Nisa Heckstall (Kellis) 14.10
10. Alyson Schwartz (Deer Valley) 15.95
11. Allison Mooney (Ironwood) 15.98
13. Melissa Rohrer (Sunrise Mountain) 16.18
300 Hurdles
3. Jae’Nisa Heckstall (Kellis) 44.88
13. Alyson Schwartz (Deer Valley) 47.81
Shot Put
7. Kiara Anderson (Dysart) 36-7
12. Cora Kemper (Deer Valley), 35-11
16. Teryl Nathe (Centennial) 35-5
20. Olivia Lentz (Shadow Ridge) 34-9
Discus
5. Cora Kemper (Deer Valley) 118-2
11. Kiara Anderson (Dysart) 111-4
19. Kenedee Pooler (Liberty) 104-1
High Jump
5. Allison Mooney (Ironwood) 5-2
10. Celeste Mayfield (Shadow Ridge) 5-1
10. Mikayla Shaver (Liberty) 5-1
14. Jade Parks (Centennial) 5-0
14. Maddison Clark (Deer Valley) 5-0
14. Hannah Johnson (Sunrise Mountain) 5-0
Pole Vault
1. Alyson Schwartz (Deer Valley) 12-1
8. Madeline Lane (Liberty) 9-10
9. Kiana Newberry (Sunrise Mountain) 9-7
9. Victoria Lane (Liberty) 9-7
18. Renee Vasquez (Deer Valley) 8-10
19. Melody Garland (Ironwood) 8-9
Long Jump
3. Rylee Perkins (Centennial) 17-11.75
6. Precious Craig (Centennial) 17-6.5
8. Lauren Tobias (Shadow Ridge) 17-3
9. Allison Mooney (Ironwood) 17-1
13. Hannah Johnson (Sunrise Mountain) 16-8
14. Ikeah Cuff (Shadow Ridge) 16-5
Triple Jump
5. Alyson Schwartz (Deer Valley) 36-2
6. Melissa Rohrer (Sunrise Mountain) 35-10
11. Hannah Johnson (Sunrise Mountain) 34-11
14. Lauren Tobias (Shadow Ridge) 34-1.5
17. Emily Reyes (Kellis) 33-4
400 Meter relay
4. Liberty, 49.05
6. Raymond Kellis, 49.17
10. Ironwood, 49.96
11. Centennial, 50.33
1600-Meter Relay
2. Liberty, 3:55.53
9. Raymond Kellis, 4:08.46
3200-Meter Relay
6. Sunrise Mountain, 10:06.81
7. Deer Valley, 10:10.14
11. Liberty, 10:18.10
14. Willow Canyon, 10:21.10

Division II Boys
100
5. Ilian Roberts (Deer Valley) 10.93
5. Dominique Hampton (Centennial) 10.93
200
3. Dominique Hampton (Centennial) 21.79
7. Ilian Roberts (Deer Valley) 22.21
18. Charles Proby (Dysart) 22.58
19. Plas Johnson (Kellis) 22.64
400
6. Kyle Kerr (Shadow Ridge) 49.61
11. Antuan Walker (Liberty) 50.38
14. Martay Mayfield (Shadow Ridge) 50.45
18. Charles Proby (Dysart) 50.72
800
1. Kyle Kerr (Shadow Ridge) 1:56.13
2. Joaquin Armatage (Ironwood) 1:56.36
1600
8. Joaquin Armatage (Ironwood) 4:28.21
13. Nick Olson (Deer Valley) 4:30.08
14. Kenn Kobashigawa (Ironwood) 4:32.21
3200
11. Logan Wall-Harris (Deer Valley) 9:59.20
110 Hurdles
1. Brandon McGuire (Kellis) 14.32
6. Ilian Roberts (Deer Valley) 15.03
8. Garry Cole (Centennial) 15.12
14. Tyler Wells (Liberty) 15.57
17. Dez Melton (Deer Valley) 15.63
17. Kieran Clark (Centennial) 15.63
300 Hurdles
1. Brandon McGuire (Kellis) 37.04
3. Ilian Roberts (Deer Valley) 39.67
8. Garry Cole (Centennial) 40.94
13. Derrick Lenhardt (Dysart) 41.10
16. Isaiah Diaz (Kellis) 41.29
Shot Put
8. Andrew Scott (Shadow Ridge) 48-4
13. Brett Elrod (Liberty) 46-9
17. Xavier Robinson (Deer Valley) 45-7
20. Gabe Young (Deer Valley) 45-2.5
Discus
6. Xavier Robinson (Deer Valley) 164-3
8. Brett Elrod (Liberty) 150-8
12. Brendan Kinnee (Willow Canyon) 147-1
15. Andrew Scott (Shadow Ridge) 143-1
High Jump
18. Noah Hillman (Centennial) 6-0
Pole Vault
1. Alex Escobar (Centennial) 15-8
Long Jump
20. Garry Cole (Centennial) 21-3.75
Triple Jump
11. Blake Wojcik (Willow Canyon) 42-10
400-Meter Relay
9. Centennial 43.21
10. Raymond Kellis 43.28
16. Sunrise Mountain 43.52
1600-Meter Relay
7. Independence 3:27.32
14. Shadow Ridge 3:28.72
18. Liberty 3:29.31
3200-Meter Relay
2. Shadow Ridge 8:09.88
Division III Girls
100
5. Hannah Lazere (Peoria) 12.76
17. Amayah Vaugn (Peoria) 13.09
200
13. Amayah Vaugn (Peoria) 27.02
800
8. Maggie Gibbs (Cactus) 2:26.15
1600
3. Maggie Gibbs (Cactus) 5:19.41
3200
6. Maggie Gibbs (Cactus) 11:47.82
100 Hurdles
7. Rachel Day (Peoria) 16.52
15. Kaliyah Taft (Cactus) 16.97
300 Hurdles
12. Kaliyah Taft (Cactus) 49.00
Long Jump
10. Jourdan Chavez (Peoria) 15-11
Triple Jump
15. Jourdan Chavez (Peoria) 33-3
Shot Put
17. Olivia Lee (Cactus) 31-9
400-Meter Relay
5. Peoria 51.22
1600-Meter Relay
12. Cactus 4:18.30
14. Peoria 4:10.15
3200-Meter Relay
5. Cactus 10:16.46

Division III Boys
100
16. Juwaun Price (Peoria) 11.36
400
18. Lahad Adeim (Peoria) 52.09
800
6. Lahad Adeim (Peoria) 2:00.40
1600
17. Brandon Wilson (Cactus) 4:38.50
3200
14. Brandon Wilson (Cactus) 10:08.68
110 Hurdles
2. Abbass Bah (Peoria) 15.36
300 Hurdles
8. Aaron Owsiany (Peoria) 41.62
12. Garrett Monroe (Cactus) 41.96
Triple Jump
18. Dakarai Alberty (Peoria) 40-3.5
Shot Put
20. Robert Duque (Peoria) 43-9.75
400-Meter Relay
8. Peoria 44.09
1600-Meter Relay
10. Peoria 3:33.38
3200-Meter Relay
4. Peoria 8:16.68

Division IV Girls
100
5. Hannah Goble (NW Christian) 13.05
200
1. Hannah Goble (NW Christian) 26.56
100 Hurdles
13. Makenna McClure (NW Christian) 17.16
300 Hurdles
7. Makenna McClure (NW Christian) 49.81
19. Julia Todd (Glendale Prep) 51.83
Long Jump
1. Makenna McClure (NW Christian) 17-1.5
15. Eliza Trimble (Glendale Prep) 15-7
Triple Jump
5. Eliza Trimble (Glendale Prep) 33-4.5
High Jump
3. Eliza Trimble (Glendale Prep) 5-0
7. Makenna McClure (NW Christian) 4-10
400-Meter Relay
9. Northwest Christian 53.21
1600-Meter Relay
12. Northwest Christian 4:31.77
17. Glendale Prep 4:33.82
3200-Meter Relay
14. Northwest Christian 11:11.29

Division IV Boys
400
18. Colton Malone (Glendale Prep) 53.29
800
4. Gavin Hanson (Glendale Prep) 2:03.02
5. Luke Allen (Glendale Prep) 2:03.67
400-Meter Relay
18. Glendale Prep 46.51
1600-Meter Relay
5. Glendale Prep 3:37.71
3200-Meter Relay
1. Glendale Prep 8:27.77