Okay so track season has begun and I'm loving every minute of it! This year I decided to try out pole vaulting and I absolutely love it! I also started the season running in the mile event but my coach thought I should just focus on pole vaulting. Over spring break me and 4 other teammates went to Jonesboro, Arkansas for a pole vaulting camp. It was so much fun and I really got to know my team mates better. The camp we went to was called Earl Bell Pole Vaulting Camp. Earl was an olympic pole vaulter and I think he competed 3 times. He broke the world record multiple times and was a definite inspiration for me. When I first got the camp the instructors said the goal of the camp was for every one to PR (personal record) by at least one inch. Luckily for me, I somehow managed to PR by over a foot! I was so excited! It was really an experience I will hopefully never forget.
Our first track meet was a couple weekend ago and it was SO much fun! I was so nervous but as the day went on it got better. The meet was in Oxford and someone broke a national record. The record was for high jump, it was so cool to actually get to see the guy jump. He jumped 7 feet 2 inches! THAT IS CRAZY!!!! There were also some school records broken by long jump and pole vaulting. I am not sure what the long jump record was but the guy that broke the record for pole vaulting was almost 16 feet!
When it was time for me to vault I was so nervous that on my first vault the pole actually missed the box. I was so upset but when my second attempt came around I cleared it easily. The starting height for girls is 6 feet. The height kept climbing and I kept clearing. Next thing I knew I was jumping 8 feet! My adrenaline was pumping and I cleared. I was so excited, unfortunately I did not clear 8 feet 6 inches but that was fine with me because before that meet the highest i had jumped was 7 feet so I PR by a foot. One of the girls I was competing agains got 2nd in the state last year. I got 2nd place but not because the other girls jumped higher it came down to misses because the highest we all jumped was 8 feet. I was so excited and it really boosted my confidence for the meets to come!
I am not jumping 9 feet 2 inches and my goal for the season is to break the Tupelo High School record. The record is 9 feet 3 inches so I have 1 inch to go until I tie and 2 inches to go until my name gets on the record bored! I've been working really hard and it is paying off. I have only been jumping for about a month and I have already exceeded my expectations by far! I can't wait to see the my ending season height will be!
Here are some pictures from the meet...
