By Dave Johnson

March 27 in Annapolis, Maryland, became a huge day for a pair of William & Mary pole vaulters from South County High School.

First, redshirt junior Taylor E. Jones from the women's team set a personal record by clearing 3.81 meters — also known as 12 feet, 6 inches. Minutes later, Michael Fairbanks set his own PR and broke the school record by jumping 5.43 meters — 17-9.75.

Jones and Fairbanks are 2017 graduates of South County High in Lorton. They've trained together the last eight years, and it was fitting they were there for each other's accomplishment.

"It's been awesome having him as a teammate," Jones said. "We've definitely gotten close over the years. I always know I can depend on him to tell me what I can do to get better. He's been really instrumental helping me improve."

"We pretty much train every practice together," Fairbanks said. "It's been cool to see her grow while I grow at the same time."

Jones and Fairbanks will be counted on for points in the CAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which begin Friday in Harrisonburg. Jones also should be a factor in the triple jump, in which she set a PR of 11.95m (39-2.5) two weeks ago at the JMU Invitational.

"Those two are really crucial ingredients to our team success," W&M coach Alex Heacock said.

Fairbanks' jump at the Navy Spring Invitational ranks 16^th nationally in the outdoor season and fifth in the East Region. But he'll be the first to tell you it was Jones, not him, who had the earlier success in pole vaulting.

Jones was a freshman when her coach, Randy McConchie, suggested she give pole vaulting a try. She was doing other events — hurdles, sprints, and the long jump — but this came easier to her. She won four conference championships and was runner-up in the 2017 indoor championships.

"It's definitely one of the more technical events," she said. "I feel at some events you can just run and jump or just run. In the pole vault, you really have to understand how to do it before you can go out and get to the higher heights."

Jones was recruited to William & Mary in the pole vault, hurdles and triple jump. As a freshman, she finished sixth in the CAA outdoor championships at 3.50m (11-5.75). In the 2019-20 indoor season, she took fifth in the ECAC Championships with a then-PR of 3.75m (12-3.5).

Fairbanks came out for the track team as a high school freshman and started out running distances because his friends were. Not that good — his words — Fairbanks decided to give pole vaulting a try. Like Jones, he worked with McConchie.

"He taught me everything I knew back then," Fairbanks said. "If I didn't have him, I probably wouldn't have started pole vaulting in the first place. I owe a lot to him."

After working hard over the summer, Fairbanks had a huge year senior year by sweeping state championships in the indoor and outdoor seasons. He set the indoor state record (which has since been broken) at 15 feet; he cleared 15-3 outdoors.

At William & Mary, Fairbanks' numbers kept improving. Indoors, he went from 4.90m (16-0.75) as a sophomore to 5.20m (17-0.75) as a junior to win the IC4A Championship.

Outdoors, he won consecutive CAA championships as a freshman and sophomore. His run was interrupted when last year's event was canceled due to the pandemic.

Two very productive careers, and they didn't come by sheer luck.

"They're both incredibly hard workers," Heacock said. "They both have great attitudes and are focused on what they're doing."

Both are set to graduate next month, so their time together is winding down. Jones, a history and government major, will attend the University of Virginia for her Master's in Public Policy.

Fairbanks, whose degree will be in finance, is heading to Duke's Fuqua School of Business for a Master in Management Studies. It's a one-year program, and he has a full season of eligibility remaining in track & field.

For the CAAs this weekend, Jones doesn't have a set measurement in mind.

"I'm hoping to PR again this weekend and hopefully make All-CAA," Jones said. "For me, it's just trying to improve."

After Fairbanks broke the school record at Navy, he began eyeing 18 feet. After a minor injury, that has taken a back seat.

"Really, our plan is to take less than five jumps and be done," Fairbanks said. "I'm not looking to clear anything huge but just to win the meet and get ready for regionals. I'm ready for conference, but we're trying to keep the volume down."