It wasn’t Mason Miller’s best attempt of the season, but it was more than he needed.

The Warrenton sophomore cleared 12 feet in the pole vault at Saturday’s Class 4, Sectional 2 meet at Mexico to qualify for Saturday’s Class 4 state meet in Jefferson City.

“It was about six inches below where he performed at the district meet, but it was enough to get him through, and that’s what I tell these guys when  they go into these events,” Warrenton Head Coach Steve McDowell said. “You may not perform how you did the week before, but you just need to get into that top four.”

Miller’s 12-foot, 6-inch mark at the district meet was his best performance of the season, and he has seen steady improvements over the last month.

“It’s just finally starting to click, and sometimes it happens like that,” McDowell said. “We’ve been experimenting with some different poles and stuff like that, and finally we’re getting close to getting over that hump. Hopefully, we can get him up to that 13 mark.”

Since the Troy Invitational April 25, Miller has cleared at least 12 feet in each of his four meets.

Saturday, he qualified with six inches to spare.

“There were just a couple of technical things that could have had him at 12-6 to give him more breathing room, but sometimes there are guys who just weed themselves out and you can go and take it,” McDowell said. “And that’s what Mason did Saturday. He’s worked really hard at it and he’s come a long way since the beginning of the season.”

Liberty sophomore Nolan Bone won the sectional after clearing 13-6.

Luke Woodall of Pleasant Hill is ranked first in the class, heading into Saturday with a personal best of 15-6.

“It will be a tough battle going into state, but it’s pretty cool to consider yourself one of the top 16 in the state in Class 4 in what you do,” McDowell said. “We’re going to have a good week of practice to get him prepared for Saturday, and it will be a lot of fun.”

The Class 4 pole vault competition is scheduled for Saturday at noon.