ROCKFORD — Andrew Herring woke up Saturday morning and didn’t expect to win. He was seeded third in the pole vault said he hadn’t been hitting his jumps in meets very well this year.

He hit what he wanted in practice, but he couldn’t find his height when it mattered.

In the heat at Rockford High School, during the Dexter senior’s final meet, the Division 1 state track finals, and on a somewhat newer pole, his first vault felt good.

So did his second.

By the time Herring was done, he vaulted 15-feet, 7-inches. One foot and three inches higher than he's ever gone before, and finished his high school career a state champion.

“Still in disbelief,” Herring said while clutching the small stuffed dog awarded to the winner of each event.

Herring, who hopes to vault at Grand Valley State next year, realized something was different when there were four vaulters left at 15-1. He hit that and then, at 15-4, he hit the bar but it didn’t fall.

“It stayed on,” Herring said. “So luck was on my side today. Finally.”

More from MLive.com: Complete Results | Statewide Coverage

Herring actually thought his teammate, Jeremy Horner, was going to take the title. Instead, Horner finished second at 15-4. Saline senior Rocky Schilke finished seventh at 14-4.

That he couldn’t hit heights like this bothered Herring all season long. He kept messing with his form, trying to find something that worked.

On Saturday, he found it and also qualified for the elite division of the national championships.

“There was always that hope,” Herring said. “But I’m kind of a realist. I’d like to think that actually was going to happen. I knew today was the day I was going to qualify for emerging elite, but it just hit me 10 minutes ago I qualified for elite.

“A day full of surprises.”

One thing wasn’t shocking, though. Pioneer junior Drake Johnson was the top seed in the 110-meter hurdles and he annihilated the competition in the race to take the state title for the second straight year with a time of 13.73 seconds.

But after exiting the awards podium, Johnson was annoyed. He wanted the state-meet record of 13.65 seconds set by Mumford’s Kenneth Ferguson in 2002.

“My goal, had the circumstances been optimal, would have been to beat the record by a substantial amount,” Johnson said. “I was trying to go 13.4, 13.3. But it was too hot for me. I got tired.

“It was a matter of winning rather than trying to break the record.”

The heat further got to Johnson. He fell during the 300-meter hurdle finals, finishing last in the field.

“I knew I was going to struggle because I had been sitting in the sun the whole time,” Johnson said. “It was inevitable. Once I came to the second hurdle, I knew I was falling.”

East Kentwood, led by three broken state-meet records by senior Ricco Hall, including 10.55 seconds in the 100 meter dash, won the state title with 72 points. Ypsilanti finished second with 28 points.

Saline finished fourth in the 3,200-meter relay in 7:55.24. Ypsilanti finished third in the 800 meter relay in 1:29.13.

Ypsilanti junior Austin Sanders finished third in the 100 (10.94) and second in the 200 meters (21.64). His Phoenix teammate, senior Andrew Hunt, was second in the 300-meter hurdles in 38.56 seconds.

Dexter senior Noah Hiser finished seventh in the 400 meters in 49.79 seconds. Saline junior Nick Renberg finished sixth in the 3,200 meters in 9:39.91. Pioneer senior Ervin Lofton finished third in the high jump with 6-7.

Michael Rothstein covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by email at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.