“I woke up and thought, ‘Man, it’s a beautiful day. I’ll go out and warm up with Pat,”’ Huffman said of former Kansas University track teammate and current U.S. pole vault standout Pat Manson, one of the elite competitors entered in the 2001 Kansas Relays.

“I got to the stadium, there was a good wind and the adrenaline started flowing.”

Huffman, a 1996 Olympian who retired from vaulting in September of 1998, figured “what the heck,” and at the last minute entered the Relays pole vault competition at Memorial Stadium.

“I didn’t make up my mind until they said, ‘Let’s start the pole vault,”’ Huffman said. “I was scared to death. I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself.”

Earl Richardson/J-W Photo

He needn’t have worried.

Despite picking up a pole just once since February, when he held an impromptu workout in KU’s Anschutz Pavilion, the 36-year-old Huffman, who is a pharmaceutical rep living in Lawrence, placed second to Manson, a 33-year-old resident of Boulder, Colo.

Manson cleared a winning height of 18-01/2; Huffman was right behind at 17-03/4.

Huffman easily cleared three of four heights before rains hit, forcing the 11 vaulters to take cover for an hour-long rain delay.

It wasn’t the same for Huffman after the delay as the wind shifted, and he missed three tries at 17-6.

Earl Richardson/J-W Photo

Manson, however, cleared three heights after the delay, missing three times at 18-41/2 with a stiff wind right in his face.

“All good things must come to an end,” Huffman quipped of his one-day comeback.

He actually had one of the day’s most memorable moments, using his trademark “Huffman roll,” his legs whipping over the bar one after another in rapid-fire motion to clear 16-6.

Huffman stood in front of the pole vault pit to watch the replay on KU’s video board; a crowd of 2,000 enjoyed the moment.

“I made the first one at 17 it shocked me,” said Huffman, who, in his prime, cleared a personal-best 19-7.

Earl Richardson/J-W Photo

Huffman’s effort didn’t shock Manson, who “egged on” his buddy on Saturday to come out of retirement for an encore vault performance at the Relays, where both have won many times.

“He made his last one in a headwind. Scott is as tough as nails,” Manson said. “We were at the back of the runway and I said, ‘Who thinks Scott is going to make this?’ I raised my hand. I said, ‘He’ll make it. He’s Scott Huffman.”’

Like Huffman, Manson has a batch of accomplishments in track and field.

Manson tied for third in the 2000 Olympic Trials, losing in a jumpoff for the final spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. In 1996, Huffman beat out Manson for the final spot on the U.S. roster.

Manson faced some big-time adversity at the 1996 Trials. A truck ran over his poles, breaking them right before the competition.

“I was the No. 1-ranked U.S. vaulter coming into the trials. I was feeling awesome a half-hour before the competition,” Manson said. “I did my first warm up for the vault and my pole broke.

“I looked at my pole bag. There was a big tire mark basically two-thirds down the bag. I looked at it and looked at my pole and it’s right where it was broken. I pulled out all the other poles and they all had cracks.

“I turned to the other guys and said, ‘I think I need a little help today.’ Scott, my teammate at KU, said, ‘Pat, you can use my poles. Any pole you want any time you want.’ I said, ‘I’ll use your poles,’ but I also vowed I wouldn’t take a pole just before he needed it.

“Scott made the first try at 18-8. After that, I borrowed his pole and made 18-8. We went to 19-0. This is the truth standing on the runway third at the Trials, the whole stadium in Atlanta is going crazy, the announcer says: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, on the runway Pat Manson. If he makes this jump he will make the Olympic team and he will knock his teammate, Scott Huffman, off the team.’

“I stood there and said, ‘You had to say that right before I jump.’ I didn’t react at all, but it was on my mind. I got over that in two seconds and got back in a zone and jumped. After I missed the third attempt, Scott got to go (to Olympics) and I didn’t. I was really happy for him. I was in such a zone I didn’t even tell the reporters at the meet about my (broken) poles.”

Huffman won’t discount a possible return to the Relays next year. Manson, meanwhile, plans to continue vaulting for a living, entering meets all over the world for some time to come.

“I’ve always said as long as I have a legitimate shot at making the U.S. team and am having fun, I’ll keep doing it,” said Manson, who is also pursuing a career in technology research development. “I’m having so much fun. You can’t wipe the smile off my face today. Competing against Scott again I told everybody, ‘This is like three or four years ago.’ When it started raining, we reminisced about competing in the rain in Paris in 1998.

“I’m very happy about winning, considering the wind after the rain delay. I just wonder if I get a (Relays) watch. The last one I got was I think in 1995 or ’96.”

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