Mansfield’s reputation as a pole vault school is gaining momentum. For the second consecutive season an MHS Tiger topped the field to win the high flying event. Home school senior Ashton Hinkle was the latest to do so.
Hinkle took control of the class 2A state competition in Quitman on May 2 in the early stages of the event. His build up was flawless as he and the closest vaulter next to him each cleared 11’ 10”. That proved to be the difference as Payton Talbert of Quitman failed on earlier attempts to break the tie.
“Ashton broke his pole just days before the district,” explained Tiger head coach Ethan Bowman. “I drove to the Arkansas Vault Club on a Saturday to get a new one. He practiced on it Sunday and nearly every day since to get comfortable. Obviously it worked.”
Hinkle was looking for a personal record that started with a 12. He had been flirting with the elusive number for a few weeks.
State meet officials took the bar to 11’ 10” when only two competitors remained. With clearance by both, the cross bar was elevated to 12’ 2” on the next try. Neither vaulter could clear the elevated height, reducing the winning mark to the earlier distance.
“Ashton was an up and coming vaulter in the ninth grade,” said Coach John Mackey who oversaw all track programs at that time. “We really felt like he was going to set our junior high record before the pandemic shut down sports. He hadn’t jumped since that time until this season. What a happy return this is.”
Hinkle follows 2022 indoor state champion Ryan Hayslip as Mansfield’s newest vertical champion.
Hayslip cleared 11’ 6” at the ATCA indoor state finals for the win and All-State status. The recent MHS graduate finished in second place in 2021 at the Gurdon hosted outdoor state finals for his highest outdoor finish. That too was an 11’ 6” clearance.
Sophomore Austin Ruiz showed the future of Tiger vaulting remains headed in the right direction. Last season’s junior high district champion covered 10’ 10” at the 2023 state finals to take fourth place points at the Quitman track complex.
As a group, Mansfield’s overall men’s team was very young. Other than Hinkle, the entire squad was freshmen and sophomores.
Sophomore Trey Powell was the busiest of the bunch with six events. His best mark came in the triple jump where he scored a sixth place measurement of 39’ 6.75”.
Powell anchored the eighth place 4x100m relay team as his other point getter. That unit was cobbled together by all freshman runners other than Powell.
Dawson Robinson, Braxton Bartlett, and Dominic Shorers joined the sophomore district high point winner for the sprint relay.
Hinkle and Ruiz assembled with freshmen Joseph Carter and Joey Williams as part of Mansfield’s 4x800m relay. That cast of characters picked up a point as the eighth place finishers.
Shores was the only other Tiger to score in a state event. That came by way of the men’s 110m hurdles. His time of 18.72 set a new personal record while landing him into sixth place. He also ran his best 300m hurdle mark by 1.10 seconds with a finish time of 50.34.
Bartlett was Mansfield’s best 200m sprinter on the day at 24.52. Williams was the group's best distance racer covering the 1600m run in 5:30.54. Neither cracked the top eight for points.
As a team, Mansfield finished eleventh in the men’s standings with 24 points. Quitman repeated as champions with 102 points. Greenland took runner-up with 62.
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