Adams wins Valley League pole vault championship

Parker Adams won the Valley League boys pole vault championship May 12 at Valley Center High School.

The Fallbrook senior cleared 12 feet 0 inches at the Valley League track and field meet. Ramona junior Joe Lowery had the second-highest distance at 11-6.

“He did really well,” Fallbrook head coach Marco Arias said of Adams.

Adams was a pole vaulter for Fallbrook as a freshman but did not participate in track and field as a sophomore or junior.

“Had that not happened, he probably would have been in the top three in the county,” Arias said.

The league meet has no bearing on the final league standings which are based solely on dual meet results. Fallbrook placed third among the league’s five teams.

“We had two very tough teams ahead of us. Both of them were at a little bit of an advantage because they were deeper than us,” Arias said of Valley Center and San Pasqual. “We were right there with them every single meet.”

A school may enter up to four competitors in each of the 14 individual events where first place is worth five team points, second place provides three points and third place adds one point. The two relay races give all five points to the winner.

“We were very good at the top,” Arias said. “We were very competitive, but our lack of depth really hurt us in certain events.”

Two Fallbrook seniors had second-place marks at the league meet. Dylan Howell completed the 800-meter race in 2:00.99 behind the 1:51.72 posted by San Pasqual sophomore Noah Tellez-Velazquez and immediately ahead of the 2:01.51 time of Ramona sophomore Jack Clough. Josh Winkleblech cleared 5 feet 7 inches in the high jump with Valley Center sophomore Chishawn Gordon winning that event at 5-10 and Ramona senior Hunter Gurrola and Fallbrook sophomore Ethan Martin each clearing 5-5. Gurrola was awarded third place due to fewer missed jumps.

Winkleblech was also third in the 400-meter race with a time of 52.65 seconds. San Pasqual junior Kodiak Ketcham won that race in 51.55 seconds, and Escondido sophomore Chris Landry completed his lap in 51.92 seconds. The third-place long jump of 19 feet 7 inches was achieved by Fallbrook sophomore Caiden Metts.