Starting 73 feet away, junior Cate Conrad ran full speed at the 11’3” pole vaulting bar. After a warmup that felt mediocre, she didn’t expect much. She’d never cleared this height before.
Conrad ran 12 steps on the Blue Valley High School track, launched herself off the track with her left foot and hoisted herself up using the 13-foot pole vault. She flipped over in the air and her back hit the memory-foam-like mat.
She had just cleared a new height for the first time since last May.
On the first of her three attempts, Conrad had achieved a new personal record, her last being 11’.
“I didn't think about the height, which is honestly better because then I didn't get in my head,” Conrad said.
This 11’3” jump would ultimately net Conrad the number four spot on the Kansas all-class girls pole vault leaderboard — third in the 6A class. But despite her current ranking, Conrad only started taking pole vaulting seriously in high school.
Conrad grew up as a gymnast, taking weekly classes at Beller’s Gymnastics to eventually reach level five. After quitting gymnastics in sixth grade, Conrad searched for a new sport. Her second cousin was a gymnast-turned-pole-vaulter, inspiring Conrad to start private vaulting lessons at Olympus Vault Academy.
“A lot of gymnasts turn into pole vaulters because it's a lot of the same body control type of stuff,” Conrad said. “A lot of good gymnasts end up being good pole vaulters.”
Back extension rolls, a skill learned in level five of gymnastics, are the exact same motion as jumping over the bar, according to Conrad. Even now, during every practice at Olympus, she warms up with handstands, forward rolls and cartwheels, training various pole vaulting motions.
Conrad is currently on the Olympus Group One club pole vault team during the summer, fall and winter. She trains three days a week and occasionally competes nationally alongside girls at her level.
Many girls who practice with her at Olympus attend other Kansas high schools in the Sunflower League. During the school season, she’s on the varsity track and field team — meaning her club teammates become opponents when Conrad competes against other schools.
“There's a good group of girls who are pretty competitive with each other because a lot of the girls who are really good practice with me,” Conrad said. “They're all my friends, but sometimes it's weird competing against them.”
During the school season, she advises her teammates using her prior knowledge of the sport.
“She [has] the most knowledge on pole vault, so she's always there to help everyone,” pole vaulter and senior Addi O’Roark said.
During practices, O’Roark and Conrad will sit in the grass, alongside the pole vault track, watching all the vaulters while waiting for their turn.
Once O’Roark is up, she’ll stand her distance from the bar and start running full speed. After she heaves herself over the bar, inverts in mid-air, and lands on the squishy mat below, she’ll hear Conrad call something out.
They’ll talk about their common interests like cheer and track, but for the most part, they watch the other vaulters, giving advice and cheers when necessary.
“Keep your drive position longer.”
So the next time she’s 12 steps from the bar, O’Roark will focus on her driving position — the position just as the athlete pushes off the ground.
Conrad is seen as a mentor and motivator for the whole team, O’Roark says.
“Us being cheerleaders, it's very second nature to say ‘Yes, you got it,’ ‘Run fast’ or whatever it is that we've been working on throughout the week,” O’Roark said. “I think that the whole team really does that because she leads by example.”
Related
Leave a Reply