It was a bittersweet day for the Xtreme Heights pole vaulters at the Central Regional Outdoor Track and Field Championships.  The girls vaulted first, taking six of the top seven spots. Mary Mullen barely missed qualifying for the State meet placing seventh with a jump of 9 feet. Hillary was sixth with 9'6". Caitlin, who is only a freshman, placed fifth with 10 feet 3 inches, just 3 inches off her PR.  Also a freshman, Lizzie Powell beat out Caitlin for fourth place by attempts. She also jumped 10'3", a new personal best.  Unfortunately Lizzie sprained her right ankle on her last attempt at 10 feet 6 inches.  We wish her a speedy recovery!

The top two spots in the Region went to Anne Marie Gordon and Annie Powell.  After both girls cleared 11'6" the bar was raised to 11 feet 10 inches, a  new Regional Record.  The previous record of 11'9" was set by Kira Barcus of Atlee High School, also an Xtreme Heights pole vaulter.  Annie cleared the new meet record height with ease on her first attempt.  Anne Marie had three good attempts at the height, almost clearing it on her last jump.  She was the runner up with a height of 11'6.  The bar went up to 12 feet.  Annie had two good attempts and finally cleared it on her third try, raising the new meet record by another 2 inches.  As luck would have it, Annie suffered the same fate as her sister Lizzie, spraining her ankle on her last attempt at 12 feet 3 inches.  We wish her a quick and full recovery as well!  

Congratulations girls for a job well done!  We wish you all good luck at the State Meet next weekend!

Four XH boys competed at the Regional Meet.  Robby Dodson, Matt Ludvik, Jack Smith and Matthew Armentrout.  Robby Dodson and Jack Smith both jumped 11'0. Matt jumped 12 feet, placing fifth and qualifying for the State meet.  Matthew started strong, clearing 12'6 and 13 feet easily.  After a 20 minute wait for a competitor who had to run the 4 by 400 relay, he unfortunately couldn't get back in the groove, barely knocking down the bar at 13 feet 3 inches. He took second place.

Congratulations guys and good luck next week!

 

A day after jumping a best of 12'1.5 at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships, Anne Marie had another great meet at the Nike Nationals.  She placed 9th in a field of 18 girls with a jump of 11'9.  She was also very close to clearing a personal best of 12'2.75.  We're excited to see her jump this outdoor season!  Great job Anne Marie!

Two of our athletes competed the Asics Invitational, held at Liberty University.  Both of them cleared a new personal record and set new school records.  Annie Powell had to clear a new PR to secure the win.  

Click here for more pictures!

 

~Matthew Armentrout  13'6     3rd place    PR      School Record

~Annie Powell             11'0     1st place     PR      School Record

 

 

 

Asics Invitational Meet Summary

Both pole vault competitions at Liberty turned out exciting performances to determine the winners as Patrick Henry's Annie Powell and Franklin County's Erin Patterson battled for first among girls, while Daniel Inge of E.C. Glass challenged 15'3" state leader Tim Beierle of Harrisonburg for the boys. Powell cleared 11 feet for the first time ever to win the competition over Patterson at 10'6". Meanwhile, Inge had Beierle on his heels after clearing 14'6", but Beierle came through in the clutch by clearing 15 feet for the win.   By Brandon Miles

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Asics Invitational Preview

Anne Powell of Patrick Henry just cleared 10'6" last weekend at CNU, while Franklin County's Erin Patterson cleared 10'6" last month in the same facility that the two will pole vaulters will be competing for the win in on Friday. By Brandon Miles

Full Article 

Congratulations to Betsy Alter and Annie Powell for taking first and second place at the CNU showcase!  Both athletes cleared the height of 10'6.  The number of attempts decided the winner of the meet.  Annie improved her personal best, along with the school record. 

    Betsy Alter        10'6  1st place

    Annie Powell      10'6  2nd place   *PR   *School Record

        *Anne Marie Gordon holds the meet record at 11'3