The University of Tennessee commit was coming off an All-American 4th place in Boston at New Balance Nationals and an Adidas Nationals 1st place finish. “I’ve been feeling good, my confidence is through the roof right now,” said Migas.
At the end of March, Migas traveled south to compete in the 96th annual Texas Clyde Littlefield Relays. “The competition was great. It was with the top five guys in the country which always made the competition more enjoyable by having some great guys to jump against.” said Migas. The game plan was simple for Migas and pole vault coach Dan Jazzo: relax, have fun, enjoy the experience, and of course, jump high.
“I felt good. I had a good week of training leading up to it, which really helped my confidence. The runway was super fast, good weather, good tailwind. There was nothing but positives that were all able to help me perform to my best,” said Migas. All signs pointed to success for Migas this meet.
Migas and many opponents entered the competition at 16 ft. and passed on his first attempt. About half of the competition was eliminated at this level. For his next bar, Migas moved to 16’ 6” ft. and failed his first approach but cleared on his second, with one more opponent getting eliminated.
With five vaulters left, the bar jumped another 6 inches, now standing at 17 feet. Migas cleared on his first attempt. This was the 8th time this year where he has cleared a bar that was 17+ feet. Migas was not the only person to clear on his first attempt, Bryce Barkdull, a Kansas commit and Texas commit, Sam Abati also cleared 17 with ease.
“Paul is so consistent with his vault that the only adjustments are standard placement and reminding him to stay tall and don’t over stride on his last step,” said coach Jazzo.
The competition fell down to those final 3 vaulters and the bar was now set to 17’ 4.5”. This was a PR bar for Migas but all signs were pointing up for him. On only his second attempt he cleared the bar for his newest PR. “I knew that I was gonna jump something high that day because I finally got on my next pole.” said Migas. “I hit the pole and it rolled really well, I knew I was gonna fly over.” Migas was the only vaulter that round to clear 17’ 4.5” and claimed another first place finish as a result.
“[He] jumped great. To me it was obvious that Paul is the #1 high school vaulter in the nation,” said Coach Jazzo.
Migas will be competing in California to round out his nationwide circuit. To continue to compete at his level, Migas will stick to his plan like he always has done, continuing to focus on the technique on his jump and to keep trying to get bigger, faster, stronger, and the big bars will come for Migas.
“I’m looking forward to state. I’m looking forward to qualifying first but state the record is going down, mark my words,” said Migas.
