In Her Own Words: Sarah Bell

Last weekend was very exciting because it kicked off my senior track season. I had a meet on both Friday and Saturday.  Friday I had a meet in Jacksonville, Illinois and Saturday was the annual Windy City Pole Vault Summit in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. I was very pleased with the way this weekend turned out with it being my first meets and having them back to back as well.

Friday, my team went down and it was a very long meet scheduled to have the first event start around 4:00 and the 4x400 was scheduled to run around 10:30. I didn't want to have too many events to do because I had another important meet the next day so I just ran the 55 meter dash and I pole vaulted. I went into the meet just wanting to do my six left approach instead of my eight left so I could save my legs. My warm ups went well, I got on my 13'6 poles from six  lefts, something I have not done before so that got me really excited for the competition. The other girls in the competition ended at 9 feet so when they finished I put the bar up to 11'6 and came in. After my clearance I moved it to 12'3 and made it on my first, then to 12'10 and cleared it on my second attempt. This was the highest mark I have jumped this season so I was happy about that and also being on my 13'6 poles. I attempted 13'2 but I was blowing through my poles so my final height was 12'10.

After vaulting I ran my 55 and finished first in my heat and qualified for finals seeded third, but I had a slow block start so I knew I could improve in my next race. Going into the meet I sat down with my coaches and went over my goals for the season and one of them happened to be to break the school record in the 55 which was previously set at 7.50. In the finals I ended with a time of 7.41 placing second and getting the new school record which I was very happy about as well.

I was so excited to jump at the summit this year because there are so many Flying Dragons there and with the loud music and the awesome atmosphere we all have a great time no matter how well we jump. I felt good in warm ups but I had to wait about an hour and a half before I came into the competition so it took time to get back in my groove. It felt good being back at my 8 left approach on my 13'6 poles jumping at the bars. I came in at 11'9 then passed to 12'3 and then passed to 12'9. On my 12'9 jumps I was transitioning onto a bigger pole so with the standards off I didn't pull of the height. I ended with a height of 12'3 and finished in second place. Overall, I was feeling good and I was jumping on big poles so I was hoping for a higher height, but I was happy with my performance, especially it being my second day in a row of competition.

This week I have been getting in good workouts at track practice and preparing for my meet this weekend. As my team travels to Charleston, Illinois, I am going out to New York City for vault at New Balance Indoor Nationals. This will be a great experience for me and I am looking forward to jumping at the infamous Armory! I just plan on having a good time as I compete with girls I met this summer at nationals in Houston. Next week I expect to blog about the great time I had in New York and hopefully a successful height to go along with it!

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