Pole Vault City

Emily Gale is returning to her statechampionship form as she approaches the most important part of the year.  Her 11’7″ victory at the Mirmar Invitational last weekend combined with a 12’1″ vault at the Mustang Invitational two weeks ago has earned her the title of Pole Vault City Athlete of the Week.  With the Florida Relays and the Statetournament rapidly approaching, Emily has chosen the right time of the year to return to her old form.

In 2011 at the 4A State Meet Emily came from behind to win the state championship with a personal best vault of 12′.  Later that summer, Emily finished as runner-up at the AAU Jr. Olympic National Championships in the 15-16 division with a vault of 12′.  Emily began the season with a vault of 11’4″ at the Pole Vault Summit in Reno back in January.  Her outdoor season has been very steady with vaults between 11′ and 12’1″.  Emily will be faced with yet another tough opponent if she is to win another statechampionship.  Megan Walker, a senior from Port St. Joe in the panhandle, has a personal best of 12’6″. Emily transferred from Cypress Bay, a 4A school, to Calvary Christian, a 1A school during the summer which matched her up with Megan for the state championship showdown in May.  The Florida Relays this weekend will be the first head to head matchup for Gale and Walker and then they will meet up again in three weeks, pending both qualify, at the 1A State Meet in Jacksonville at the University of North Florida.

As much of an obstacle as the State Championships may seem to most, it pales in comparison to the battle that Emily and her sister Amanda have already fought.  During the summer after their freshman year, they were diagnosed with CVID, Common Variable Immune Deficiency.

• Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), also called hypogammaglobulinemia or adult-onset hypogammaglobulinemia, is a relatively common primary immune deficiency. The disorder is characterized by a lack of antibody-producing B-cells or plasma cells, low levels of most or all immunoglobulin isotypes and recurrent bacterial infections.
• CVID is considered the most prevalent type of primary immunodeficiency. Primary immunodeficiencies are disorders that occur because part of the body’s immune system does not function properly. Unlike secondary immunodeficiencies, which are caused by factors (like viruses or chemotherapy) outside of the immune system, primary immunodeficiencies are caused by intrinsic or genetic defects in the immune system.
• While the exact incidence rate of CVID is unknown, researchers estimate that about one out of 50,000 individuals develop the disorder. Most patients develop the disorder between the ages of 20 and 50. Only about 20% of patients are diagnosed during childhood. CVID affects an equal number of males and females.

During the winter of the same year, doctors also found an 8×11 mm hole in Emily’s heart. Doctors performed a procedure to implant a device in her heart to help close the hole.  The procedure wasn’t completely successful because a residual hole remained.  Differening opinions from heart specialists included the possibility of open heart surgery.  During this entire time Emily was having to take anti-seizure medications to cope with the side effects of the implanted device.  Upon the suggestion of open heart surgery, Emily requested that she be allowed to finish the track season. Unbeknownst to her, that season would end with a come from behind state championship.   The hole in Emily’s heart has healed but she still suffers from mitrovalve prolapse.  The twins have to undergo a painful procedure each month to reintroduce platelets into the blood supply.  Even though this disease has weakened the girls, it hasn’t weakened their resolve.  If there is a way to succeed they will find it and they will do it together.  I have never met siblings that are as close as Emily and Amanda.  If you’ve ever met them then you understand and probably consider yourself fortunate to have met such special twins.  Their parents, Ingrid and RonGale, have been a huge force in the twins’ success.  They have endured the medical struggles right along side of the girls, always providing support and direction. Although Emily and Amanda no longer run the hurdles as a track event, they will have to continue to clear medical hurdles for the rest of their lives.

In my 20 plus years of coaching I have met some remarkable individuals with remarkable stories.  I have never met anyone, better yet twins that have affected my life in such a positive way.  When I get tired from work or coaching, I think of what these young ladies endure on a regular basis and it reminds me that tired is just a state of mind.  Whether Emily repeats as the Florida Pole Vault State Champion or not, she will always be a champion in our eyes.  Good luck at the Florida Relays and your quest to repeat as statechampion.

Haley Rigdon, a seventh grader at Jefferson Middle School in Merritt Island, Florida, won the 12 – 13 year old division with a personal best of 6’6″ on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational in Gainesville, Florida held at the University of Florida.

Pole Vault City is proud to announce Johnny Quinn as our WestCoast sales manager.  Johnny has a personal best of 17’8″ and was an NCAA All-American while at UCLA in 2008.  He was ALL-Pac-10 in 2008 and 2009.  While in high school in California, Johnny was Orange County Champion in 2005 and 2006 and Division 4 CIF champion in  2005.  Johnny’s pole vault background makes him a valuable asset to Pole Vault City and the West Coast.  Welcome aboard Johnny Quinn.

Classification changes and transfers should make for a very interesting year in the girls pole vault in the state of Florida for 2012.

There are 3 girls

High stakes drama filled the air on Saturday morning when both Emily Gale and Cristina Valdes watched Erica Sargent, a sensational freshman vaulter from Lake Mary, clear 11’6″ on her first attempt.  Not to be outdone, Emily cleared the bar on her second attempt and Cristina made the bar on her third attempt to keep the competition alive.  At 12′, a height none of the three girls had cleared before, Emily came down the runway to clear the height on her second attempt followed by Cristina making on her third.  As the dust cleared and the girls took the awards stand, it was Emily and Cristina, training partners at Pole Vault City, that stood atop the podium, side by side, as state champion and runner up.  This marked two of the biggest turnarounds in Pole Vault City history.  Cristina, from Hagerty High School, had a personal best of 7’6″ in 2010 and Emily, of Cypress Bay High School, had a personal best of 8’6″ in 2010.  Brittany Todaro of Nova High School and Catrina Mancini of Douglas High School finished tied for 4th with each of them clearing 10’6″

Earlier in the day, Amanda Rigdon of Jefferson Middle School in Merritt island solely represented Pole Vault City at the Middle School State Championships.  Amanda scored a personal best of  9’6″ on her first attempt to win the championship outright.  Amanda will represent Merritt Island High School as a freshman next year.

In the boys 4A competition, Matt Burroughs, Tyler Burrows, and Taylor Gunderson finished on the awards stand in 4th, 5th, and 5th places respectively.  Matt, from John I Leonard vaulted a foot higher than his previous personal best to lead the medal brigade.  Tyler tied his personal best of 14′ and Taylor increased his personal best by 6″ to round out the awards stand.  Chris Shevlin of Western High School vaulted 13’6″ to finish in the 8th medal spot.  JT Evans and Rudy Magasrevy also vaulted very well jumping 13′, just off the awards stand.

In the 3A girls competition on Friday afternoon, Brook Saurbier of Barron Collier finished 2nd place with a PR tying vault of 11′, narrowly missing the state championship.  Jessica Stavrakas of Merritt Island achieved a personal best of 9’6″ to find the podium in 7th place in her first season of pole vaulting.  Samantha Olson, a freshman from Merritt Island High School, fought through an ankle injury to tie her personal best of 9’6″ narrowly missing the podium.

In the 3A boys competition on Friday evening, Josh (J-Mac) McDaniel of Lakeland High School set a new PR of 14’3″ to finish in the runner up spot.  Shelton McLean, son of Lake County vaulting legend Jeff McLean, vaulted 9″ higher to finish with 13’3″ also narrowly missing the awards stand in 9th place.  As a side note, Shelton bested his father’s high school personal best of 12’6″ which he set in 1975 at Clermont High School.  Both Josh and Shelton will return next year to lead the 2012 Pole Vault City charge.

Congratulations to all the participants and award winners this past weekend.  Keep up the great work.

Aaron Cowley, Will Kelley, Amy Bauer, and Kristen Petry combined to take 4 of the 16 medals at the 2Astate track and field meet.  Aaron, from Titusville Astronaut High School,  led the charge with a vault of 14′ which was good enough for 4th place.  Will, from Archbishop McCarthy School,  vaulted 13′ to snatch up the 7th place spot.   Both of these guys are juniors and we look forward to good things next year out of them.  On the girls side, Amy Bauer and Kristen Petry, both from Cocoa Beach High School, claimed the 5th and 8th spots with vaults of 10′ each.  Amy will be graduating this year as a junior and Valedictorian of Cocoa Beach High School.  Kristen is only a junior and will be returning next year to try and claim the 2Atitle.  Way to go vaulters.

Pole Vault City is proud to announce the qualifiers for the small school state meets and larger school regionals. Qualifying for the smaller school state meets are: Devon Grussmark – Ransom Everglades, Jamie Murbach- Lake Highland Prep, Amy Bauer – Cocoa Beach, and Kristen Petry – Cocoa Beach. Qualifying for the larger school regional meets are JT Evans – Columbus, Nico Shepherd – St. Thomas Aquinas, Rudy Magasrevy – Cypress Bay, Emily Gale – Cypress Bay, Amanda Gale – Cypress Bay, Brittany Todero – Nova, Katrina Mancini – Stoneman Douglas, Stephanie Cook – East Ridge, Cristina Valdes – Hagerty, Brooke Saurbier – Barron Collier, Cody Chernoff – Palmetto Ridge, Katie Moschouris – Harmony, Ashley Cahill – Wharton, Marin Arsenault – Plant, Taylor Gunderson – Deland, Carolyn Coffee – Deland, Marcus Blessing – Leesburg, Sydney McWilliams – Leesburg, Josh McDaniel – Lakeland, Colton Dillon – Sebring, Matt Burroughs – John I Leonard, Tyler Burrows – Northeast, Shelton McLean – Merritt Island, Johnny Batch – Merritt Island, Samantha Olson – Merritt Island, Jessica Stavrokas – Merritt Island, Becca Bowers – Merritt Island.

The next 2 day pole vault camp will be held in Ft. Lauderdale on April 16th and 17th at St. Thomas Aquinas High School.  The cost of the 2 day camp will be $300 and will cover insurance, camp t-shirt, use of over 75 poles, instruction, booklet, and lunch.  We are very excited to be on the road and we look forward to working with all the South Florida pole  vaulters.  As many of you know, Coach Haeck  coached at St. Thomas from 2006 – 2009 where he coached 4 state champions, including a state record holder, Riley Egan.  The facilities at St. Thomas are second to none and we look forward to seeing everyone atcamp. To register for camp, click here April Pole Vault Camp.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact Coach Haeck at 352.348.5930 or email at nolevault@gmail.com.

Pole Vault City will be having a camp at the end of March as Spring Break is in full effect.  The camp will be held at Merritt Island High School and will be run from 10 am until 3 pm.  The cost of the camp is $300 and it includes instruction, use of poles (almost a hundred to choose from), booklet, cool camp t-shirt, and insurance.  Camp will once again be using the Swing up and Invert machine as well as the sliding box.  These pole vault inventions are beneficial in the progress of both young and advanced vaulters.  As Florida high schools prepare for their district, regions, and state meets, don’t let this camp pass you by.  Coach Bobby Haeck has worked with hundreds of pole vaulters from all over the world. To register for thecamp click Register for March Pole Vault Camp.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact Coach Haeck at 352.348.5930 or email at nolevault@gmail.com.

The newly designed tshirts for Pole Vault City are almost here.  The picture to the left is of the front (top of the picture) and back (bottom of the picture).   The t-shirts will be black, short sleeve shirts.  The design was created by Mark Matrazzo at Tropical Teez in Titusville.  Major props to Mark for his creativeness and his patience, since I changed the design about a dozen times.  T-shirts will be on sale for $15 for Pole Vault City Club and Camp members, and $20 for everyone else.  Contact Coach Bobby Haeck at 352.348.5930 or email at nolevault@gmail.com to order your shirts.  Hurry, or they will be gone soon!