Adam Sarafian is flying high again.The former Ocean Township High School star, who is now a sophomore at the University of Georgia, upped his personal best to 17-6 1/2 at the recent National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev. Competing against a field that included many of the best vaulters in the country, Sarafian finished third, trailing only the top two vaulters at the NCAAs last year.

For his performance at the Pole Vault Summit, Sarafian was named the Southeast Conference’s Men’s Field Athlete of the Week. His 17-6 1/2 mark is the best in the SEC this winter and puts him No. 3 all-time at the University of Georgia.

In a journal he is keeping for TRACKSHARK.com, the home of college track and field, Sarafian noted that the Reno performance was a breakthrough for him. He reported of his third-place finish, “that surprised me that I actually was on the level of these other great vaulters.”

Sarafian followed his Reno performance up with a fourth place at the Pepsi Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. (16-6 3/4).

Next up for Sarafian and the University of Georgia are the SEC Championships Feb. 24-26 in Gainesville. The NCAA Qualifier is March 3-4 at a site to be announced. The NCAA Championships are March 10-11 in Fayetteville, Ark.

At Ocean, Sarafian was the top high school pole vaulter in the country his senior year. He won the NJSIAA Meet of Champions title and during the season raised the state record to 17-4 3/4. He went on to win the Outdoor National Championship and Golden West Invitational titles, and was ranked No. 1 by Track and Field News.

In his freshman year at Georgia, Sarafian earned All-SEC honors with season bests of 16-8 3/4 indoors and 16-7 1/4 outdoors and qualified for the NCAA Regionals. He took fifth at the indoor SEC Championships and was sixth at outdoor NCAA Regionals.

With a new personal best under his belt, the former Spartan star will be out to improve on his freshman results and vault higher.

— Tim Morris