Merrigan and Schroder look to set new marks at State
Hollister – At first thought, hitting the road at 6am on the day of the biggest meet of the year didn’t sound like such a good idea to San Benito pole vault coach Julio Trinidad. But then he remembered just who he was riding with.
Based on the success Todd Merrigan and Josh Schroder have had vaulting on the day of long road trips, Trinidad has reason to expect big things when the trio sets off for Norwalk, Calif. (Los Angeles County) and the CIF State Championships this morning.
“For some reason, they do really well when they’re trapped in the car,” said Trinidad, who recalled strong showing his vaulters have had after recent trips to San Diego and Reno, NV. “They’re liked caged animals – ready to break out of the cage.”
Based on their performances in the past couple of weeks, the ‘Balers could not be more ready to test themselves against California’s best. Schroder, a junior, is a week removed from setting his PR by clearing 14-11 to take third place at the Central Coast Section Finals. And Merrigan, the CCS runner-up at 15-4, broke his own San Benito record the previous two weeks, a mark that now stands at 15-6.
The duo became the first pair of athletes to advance to State in the same event in San Benito history, according to a search performed by current and former ‘Baler coaches.
As a senior, Merrigan looks to make even more San Benito history at his final meet.
Asked his goals heading into State for the second straight year, Merrigan said: “Minimum of 16-0. … I would say I’m going to get 16-0. I’m pretty sure I’m going to get it, too. Biggest meet of the year, I’ve got to get it.”
He hit that mark to set his PR last summer in Clovis, Calif., and, after battling injuries earlier this season, appears to be approaching that sacred mark for the first time in a high school meet.
“Todd’s good to go right now,” Trinidad said when asked about Merrigan’s prospects. “He’s capable of that 15-6 jump easy. He’s capable of 16-0 as long as he stays clean in the air. … Todd’s ready to go big. That guy is just a blood-thirsty animal. That’s how aggressive and hungry he is.”
“I really want to raise the school record and that’s pretty much it,” said Merrigan, who finished 20th at 14-4 in the State meet as a junior. “I want to make it unbeatable.”
His qualifying mark of 15-4 landed him the ninth seed in the preliminaries. The top-nine finishers will advance to Saturday’s finals.
After a successful strategy of starting at a high height at the CCS Finals resulted in his best performance to date, Schroder looks to mimic that approach.
“I’m probably going to have to play it big like I did last week,” said Schroder, who enters the preliminaries seeded 11th. “If I can hit that first height, that first attempt … If I want to make it to Saturday, I’d have to hit 15-6, which is possible, but I haven’t ever hit it at practice. I’d need to pull of good heights. When I need to step it up, I can make it happen.”
After watching his star junior clear the 14-11 bar with room to spare last week, Trinidad said Schroder will need a similar jump to have a shot at the finals.
“He’s going to have to get the PR again to actually move on,” the ‘Balers’ pole vault coach said. “He’s been jumping big the last few weeks. … He would’ve hit 15-0 if the bar was at 15-0 on Friday night.”
Schroder shared his thoughts heading into his first State appearance.
“I’m going in pretty confident because, as long as I get my mindset, I can already see myself looking at the runway on Saturday,” Schroder related. “The finals is like the ending. Getting to the finals would be like getting No. 1 in State tomorrow.”
With the poles packed and the road trip set to begin, Trinidad said he was looking forward to seeing the final chapter of a memorable season.
“This is exactly what they’ve pretty much trained all season to do,” the ‘Balers’ coach said. “They’ve peaked at the right time.”
And once they finally reach Norwalk, Trinidad can’t wait to see what the ‘Balers have in store for the grand stage.
“Rattling in the cage, letting ’em loose on Friday night,” Trinidad said, “hopin’ for something big.”
