Tough act to follow                     All four WHS vaulters score points at state meet

By Bill Cain

bcain@wataugademocrat.com

GREENSBORO — In an unusual end to the season, Watauga sent a limited contingent to the state meet, but every Pioneer athlete that competed, scored.

Four Watauga athletes traveled to the NCHSAA 4-A Track and Field Championships Saturday at North Carolina A&T and all four placed. Among

Watauga’s Julie Ward finished fifth in the pole vault Saturday at the state meet held in Greensboro. Photo by Bill Cain

them, Sallie Gurganus took her usual spot at the top, winning a third outdoor pole vault championship, fifth overall (including two indoor titles) and setting a new state record.

Gurganus went 12-feet, 1-inch to pass Caitlin Thornley’s record set Friday in the 3-A competition of 12-feet. Thornley, of Ragsdale, was in attendance and watched as Gurganus topped her mark for a state record, but then fell just short of her mark for the highest vault in the state’s history (outside the state meet).

Earlier in the season, Thornley went 12-4, so Gurganus went for 12-5 and almost made it, but made one last adjustment too late, said Watauga jumps coach Daniel Isaacs.

“On the last attempt, we moved her grip up and she had a very good attempt,” he said. “We should have been there the whole day, but that’s how meets work. You figure it out as you go. I was pretty happy about it though. It’s been a long time coming.”

Joining Gurganus in the scoring column was Julie Ward with a fifth-place finish at 10-6 and Taylor Cook with an eighth-place finish at 10-0.

Gurganus was glad for the company at the awards stand and said both have contributed to a great season in the vault for the Pioneers.

“They were amazing, as always,” she said. “Taylor didn’t do as well as she expected, but she did awesome for a freshman. Her regional meet went very well. She’s got a long time to improve so I know she’ll be fine. Julie also had a really great day. It didn’t turn out as well as she hoped, but she did awesome and she’s going to be great at App.”

Macey Ruble competed for the boys and finished fifth, with a new personal record of 13-6. Only Ryan Twiford of Clayton went higher, clearing 14-6.

The height would have been good enough for second if he had missed fewer times approaching 14-feet, but then Ruble almost cleared 14, which would have made it a moot point.

Ruble has been somewhat inconsistent over the course of the season, thanks to an injured quadriceps muscle, but he said his leg wasn’t bothering him Saturday.

“I felt pretty good, actually,” he said. “I was energized. Sallie’s (personal record) pumped me up a little bit.”

One of just five vaulters attempting 14-feet, Ruble was already in fairly elite company in the state. Then, on his second attempt, he nearly got his turn right and was as close to clearing a height as one can get without actually doing it.

Ruble has another year to keep climbing and knowing he can get high enough for 14 should help him prepare for indoor track in the fall, but he was still a little disappointed at the end of the day.

“I was hoping to go a little bit higher, but it was good since I did PR,” Ruble said. “It feels good to be going over that. It was such a high height. I just got unlucky, I guess. I just wanted to go over 14 today, especially after that second attempt.”

As disappointed as Ruble may have been at coming so close, Isaacs was ecstatic.

“I can’t tell you how happy I was,” Isaacs said. “That made the day. Obviously, Sallie’s performance was great, but I didn’t know what Macey was going to do. He’s been injured and inconsistent, so that was exciting and he really came through in the clutch.”

Just as he did last season at the state outdoor meet, Ruble came ready when it counted most and bumped up his personal best by six inches.

“Evidently, Macey is a state meet performer,” Isaacs said. “(If he starts slow again) I’ll be worried. But in the back of my mind, I’ll know that when he gets to the big meet, he’ll perform. That just shows what kind of competitor and athlete he is. He’s really matured a lot in the last hour.”

Ward had hopes of better than her fifth-place height of 10-6 in the girls’ competition, but she said she thought too much about 11-feet, which would have been a new personal record for the Appalachian State signee.

It was a height she hadn’t cleared before, a new personal record and would have tied her for second place, depending on how many misses everyone had, so suddenly, Ward had a lot on her mind instead of just the next vault and her technique.

“I felt fine, I wasn’t thinking about it and I was doing well,” she said. “They said I had a foot over 10-6 and then I got to 11 and became a head case. It was frustrating, but I know it’s God’s will and he’s got a plan.”

Ward said she was excited at the meet to see 10 girls coming into the competition at 9-feet or higher. She said a good meet usually has about five girls starting that high.

As she moves on to Appalachian State in the fall, Ward will be seeing more and more high fliers, but with some work, she anticipates being able to keep pace.

“Daniel told me he thinks I have a death wish because I like to get on big pole and I think they’re fun,” she said. “I think, as soon as I get my form down it will help out and I won’t have any fear about getting on bigger poles.”

Even though she went 10-6 in the Western Regional, Cook’s 10-even at the state was a good mark. Her 10-6 the week before was one that she barely cleared, but it gives her another mark to strive for every meet from now on.

With Watauga’s top two female vaulters graduating, Cook moves into the spotlight. As long as she keeps on working, she should also move closer to the top of that awards podium before long and assume other duties passed down by Gurganus and Ward.

“There were a lot of seniors up there today, so maybe next year,” Cook said. “I haven’t really thought that much about it, but it’s starting to hit me now that this is our last meet and they’re going to be gone next year. But I hope I can take over their leadership position and try to do the same things they’ve done for me.”

Cook and Ruble are safe bets for return trips to the state meets in indoor and outdoor track and field next season, but the Pioneers will be looking for some company in the winter. Several Watauga athletes fell just one place shy of advancing past the regional meet this spring and should have plenty of motivation to get back into the mix next year.

                                                                           NCHSAA 4-A finals
The results of the pole vault competitions at the NCHSAA 4-A Track and Field Championships held at N.C. A&T in Greensboro:
Girls’ pole vault:
1, Sallie Gurganus (Watauga), 12-1; 2, Ashley Beale (SE Raleigh), 11-0; 2, Joanna Wright (R.J. Reynolds), 11-0; 4, Jessica Dempsey (Millbrook), 11-0; 5, Julie Ward (Watauga), 10-6; 6, Sara Hammersley (NW Guilford), 10-6; 7, Jenna Helmink (Millbrook), 10-6; 8, Taylor Cook (Watauga) 10-0.
Boys’ pole vault:
1, Ryan Twiford (Clayton), 14-6; 2, Matt Boruff (Leesville Road), 13-6; 3, Avery Berkowitz (Jordan), 13-6; 4, Michael Wilson (A.C. Reynolds), 13-6; 5, Macey Ruble (Watauga), 13-6; 6, Scott Houston (NW Guilford), 13-0; 7, Sam Hodapp (Butler), 13-0; 8, Wayne Parker (East Rowan), 12-6; 8, Abraham Choi (Green Hope), 12-6.