Hatboro-Horsham’s Marino reaches new heights at PIAA Championships

SHIPPENSBURG >> By the end, he was exhausted, light-headed.

He battled for four hours. In 90-degree heat, 10 trips over the bar.

“It’s worth it,” Nicholas Marino said with a big grin afterwards. “It was worth it.”

The Hatters’ standout pole vaulted to a silver medal Friday afternoon at Shippensburg University, his vault of 15 feet, 9 inches earning him the No. 2 spot in the state in Class AAA.

That height of 15-9 was so outstanding, it was the highest vault of Marino’s career and it earned the junior a spot at Championship Nationals.

No longer having to battle through an earlier-season ankle injury, Marino was healthy, driven and determined.

“I had my legs back, so I was running pretty good,” he said, his seventh vault of the afternoon clearing the 15-9.

“I was able to get on my bigger poles, which I hadn’t been able to get on for a while.”

With the pole vault competition going on front-and-center, right in front of the stands, crowd participation is vocal and substantial.

Once Marino cleared the bar on his finest vault of the day, the crowd erupted, the junior pumping his fist in the air as he got off the mat.

And he may not be finished.

“It’s very satisfying,” Marino said, “knowing that I have next year to maybe come back and get a state title.”

The competition was one of the most entertaining of the weekend, with Griffin Thompson of State College making it over at 16-3, not far from the state record of 16-6, set by Strath Haven’s Chris Williams in 2012.

Marino out-performed fellow medalists Hayden Fox of Hempfield (15-9, number of misses), Caleb Sanford of McDowell (15-3), Payton Morris of East Pennsboro (14-9), Gregory Potter of Red Lion (14-9), Dave Johnston of Baldwin (14-9) and David Kelly of Pine-Richland (14-9).

Asked if he enjoyed time at Shipp, Marino said happily: “Both times I’ve been here, I’ve PR’d, so I like it here.”