Max Manson knows how to get big air, that's for sure.
Last year the Monarch senior took a big bite out of the Big Apple. And he not only went high, but he was ridiculously consistent over the year - we'll get back to that.
Manson's shining moment in 2019 came indoors, at the New Balance Nationals Indoor in the Big Apple (New York City).
When you're as good as Manson is, it's uncommon to truly be pushed, but at NBNI, he was, and he responded in kind.
Manson raised the bar - literally - to a personal best of 17-5.5 and cleared it - and his competition - to claim his first national title.
The performance was a clear four inches above his nearest competitor, and would stand as an all-time (indoors and outdoors) PR.
Additionally, the mark stood as a US No. 2 indoors.
Now getting back to that ridiculous consistency...
Manson won 26 of of 29 pole vault competitions last year, making him the most dominate pole vaulter in Colorado.
He was nearly flawless outdoors, winning every competition in Colorado. His only loses came in national and international competitions, where he placed second at the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships, and third at the Pan-American U20 Championships.
Outdoors, he defended his state title, and held a 17-4 best, which was No. 3 in the country.
Manson's national title at New Balance Nationals Indoor, along with his stellar 26 of 29 victories is more than deserving of the No. 3 Story of 2019.
And he wasn't the only one with a big day out in the Big Apple...
Excerpt from "Victory! Big Performances In The Big Apple"
"Colorado took a bite out of the Big Apple over the weekend!
The Centennial State may not play host to any official indoor season, but that didn't stop or slow anyone down, because Colorado now has two national champions (and it was nearly three!)
Max Manson and Anna Hall were the big winners this past weekend, and they came to their titles from two entirely different directions.
Hall was a clear favorite to take the pentathlon title. As two-time defending champ, and high school record holder, the talk was more along the lines of: Will she break her own record?
Manson, on the other hand, was one of a few favorites in the pole vault, but knew he'd need a big performance in the Big Apple to claim the title, and that's exactly what he did.
The Monarch senior entered the meet with a lifetime best of 17-3.5, done outdoors at last year's state meet, and left with a 17-5.5 PR for his first national title. The mark is now just two inches shy of his father's Colorado record of 17-7.5.
Hall made no contest of the pentathlon. The Valor Christian senior dominated the field with a 4,209 points, just shy of her national record of 4,302.
Two of her biggest performances came in high jump, and the 800. Hall went 5-11.5 to win the high jump in an indoor best, and she cruised away with a 2:16.52 800 to cap the meet with another win. All in all, she won four out of five events in dominating fashion.
That's Halls third consecutive NBNI pentathlon title."
And Mason and Hall weren't the only ones with notable performances in New York.
Brighton's Cameron Harris definitely deserves a look as one of the many top stories in 2019 as well.
Harris was part of that stellar 110H field at Great Southwest - the No. 7 Story of 2019 - where he finished fifth.
His big performance came a few months earlier, however, where he went on to finish second in the 60 Hurdles in a huge PR of 7.81 at New Balance Nationals Indoor. That time was a big PR, and stood as the No. 7 time in the country.