If we gave an award for "Most Improved," the Ledford senior would be a strong candidate.
Tristian Shaver cleared 14 feet once last year, but it came at a good time: his PR at the time was achieved at the 3A state meet in the spring. Before that, he had vaulted 13' 6" only twice, so when he opened his 2015 indoor season with another 13' 6" it seemed to outsiders like a pretty good start. To him, though, it must have been frustrating, because he knew something that we didn't: he had worked very hard during the fall, and was jumping much better in practice. He proved that a week later, clearing 15 feet, and he has since improved to 15' 6". Like many vaulters, he has a small team of coaches that have helped him get there, and he credits two of them in particular during this interview. You can also tell two things about his current mindset - he is not yet comfortable with the attention he is getting for his success, and yet he is quite confident that he still has more to ac...
