PROVO — Tye Harvey is finding his groove just in time for the Olympic trials. On Saturday, Harvey won the pole vault competition at the 2004 Pre-trials Sprint and Power meet by clearing a BYU stadium record 18 feet 8 inches.
Harvey was the only vaulter out of nine contestants to clear the height but his attempt to clear his personal best of 19 feet fell short.
"I'm coming up right where I should be," Harvey said. "That is my second look at 19 in the last two weeks."
Despite not clearing 19 feet, Harvey said his experience in Utah was a memorable one.
"This is one of the most spectacular views I have ever seen," he said. "I've driven through Utah a couple of times. To be able to compete next to the mountains is more special to me because I grew up near the mountains in California."
Harvey's progress has been a steady upward climb since April. In April and May he cleared 18 feet and 18-4 consistently. In Harvey's last three competitions he has cleared 18-8 or higher.
"In June I've kicked it up a notch," he said. "I feel in another couple of weeks I should be a step ahead of where I am now."
Harvey will compete in the Olympic trials in Sacramento in two weeks. The top three finishers will represent the United States in the Summer Games in Athens. In the 2000 trials, Harvey finished sixth and this year he hopes to move into the top three.
The tune-up in Provo was indicative of what the conditions will be like in Sacramento, he said.
"They have the same surface and it was a great field of jumpers today," he said. "It should represent closely what it will be like at the trials."
One pole vaulter who expects to be in Athens is Toby Stevenson, who holds the top jump in the world at 19 feet 8 inches. Although he didn't clear 18-8 Saturday, he said his time in Provo was a good step forward.
"I'm super confident going into the trials," he said. "As confident as I am, I'm that humble, knowing anything can happen. I'm hitting the trials all out. I'm ready to go."
But will his performance in Sacramento guarantee him a spot in Athens?
"I'm going to give you a yes," he said. "I can't give you a definite answer but I'm about 95 percent sure."
In other final events on Saturday, Vanitta Kinard set a new stadium record and recorded the second-longest jump in the U.S. this year with a mark of 46 feet 4 inches.
Tiffany Lott-Hogan placed first in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13 seconds. Chaunte Howard, of Georgia Tech, recorded the top U.S. mark in the women's high jump at 6 feet 6 inches. Jamie Nieto posted the second highest mark in the men's high jump at 7-6.
Nik Arrhenius placed sixth in the discus. More than 25 athletes posted qualifying times for the Olympic trials.