Passing The Bar Exam Progress Continues In Young Sport Of Girls Pole Vaulting

When Carly Smith turned out for track and field this spring at Lake City High, she told coach Donna Messenger up front that basketball was her favorite sport.

She was just turning out to stay in shape.

Nearly two months into the season, Messenger can’t shoo Smith away with a pole vault pole. Like a handful of other area athletes, Smith has taken to the pole vault like a bird to air.

And the sky appears to be the limit in the new event for girls.

The National Federation of State High School Associations added pole vault in 1995. Idaho adopted it as an exhibition-only sport for two years before introducing it as an official event last year.

The number of area participants the first two years could be counted on one hand. Two or more hands are needed now and coaches expect those numbers to grow.

Seniors Rachel Drury of Moscow and Shasta Cornett of Post Falls, junior Nicole Maloney of Sandpoint and most recently Smith, a sophomore, and freshman Trisha Wagner of Post Falls are flying advertisements.

At the State A-2 meet last year, Drury captured gold when she vaulted 9 feet. Cornett was expected to challenge in A-1 after clearing 10-0 at the Region I meet, but broke a foot the day before her team left for state.

Until two weeks ago, they were the area leaders. That’s before Smith upped her previous best by more than 2 feet to 10-0 at the Super-1 meet.

Smith’s meteoric rise among the leaders is commendable for several reasons - not the least of which is that she had never before competed in track and field.

Smith specifically wanted to try the pole vault because she enjoyed cliff diving. She was hooked immediately.

“I like the air time,” Smith said.

Smith shattered the school record (8-0) Saturday and equaled it in a dual Tuesday.

“Basically, Carly doesn’t have any fear,” LC pole vault coach Russ Blank said. “She trusts the technique of the vault.”

Blank and other coaches see girls approaching 12 feet consistently in five years, perhaps sooner.

Cornett was hoping to go 11 feet or higher this year. She figured to place in the top three at state last season before her accident.

Shin splints have slowed Cornett this spring. She didn’t start sprinting on the runway until this week.

Cornett vaulted a season-best 10-0 Tuesday. Wagner went a personal-best 9-6 the same meet.

“It was really hard watching at state last year,” Cornett said. “And (the shin splints) have been frustrating. It’s affected my speed and when you can’t get enough speed, you can’t get into the pit.”

As a sophomore, Cornett couldn’t conceive jumping 10-0. Now she can see girls going 11 to 12 with no problem in a few years.

The event is not for the timid.

Post Falls coach Mike Curtis has a Mark Twain saying posted on his office wall that’s appropriate for pole vaulters, girl or boy: “Courage is not the absence of fear, it’s the mastery of fear.”

Curtis hopes Cornett can make a run at a state medal. She deserves one after the frustration she’s worked through, he said.

“She’s tougher than a $2 steak,” he said. “I don’t know if we can get her down the runway fast enough. But she’s never been known as a blaze anyway.”

Maloney easily cleared 9-6 last weekend, but suffered a freak accident when her pole hit her in the mouth while she was attempting 10 feet. Her two front upper teeth were knocked out.

Repaired, Maloney can’t wait for another shot at 10-0. “It’s fun to watch other girls go higher and higher because it pushes you,” she said.

Smith is already recruiting friends to join her in the air. “It’s a rush,” she said.

TOP THIS Girls state pole vaulting champs and their winning marks last year in the first official season at state: A-1: Sadie Sweet, Capital, 11-0 A-2: Rachel Drury, Moscow, 9-0 A-3: Beth Plank, Grangeville, 7-9 A-4: Michelle Shepard, Garden Valley, 7-9