CROSS Wins Gold

By Joe Petrucci
The Times Leader

MOSCOW - May 20, 2004. Coughlin's Alex Cross earned an unlikely gold medal by winning a duel with Wyoming Area's Tony Shulde in the pole vault.

Cross survived a battle with Wyoming Area's Tony Shulde, as all but four pole vaulters competing cleared the bar at their opening height. Cross and Shulde both missed all three attempts at 13-9. They both would have one more chance at it before moving back down to 13-6. Cross didn't want to go there. "It made me desperate," said Cross, who no-heighted here last year. "Tony looked real good at 13-6." So after Shulde missed at 13-9, Cross cleared it to set a school record and achieve a personal best by nine inches.

"I've been waiting so long for this," Cross said. "I knew I was better than last year. I worked hard in indoor (track)."