Toto Reigns in the Rain to Win Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA -- Julianne Toto considers herself extremely lucky to have won a Penn Relays event, but even luckier to have survived it.

After gathering herself from a dangerous slip on a rain-slicked runway, the Middletown South senior cleared 12-4 on her third and final attempt to win the girls high school pole

vault championship at the Penn Relays yesterday before 25,189 at Franklin Field.

Caitlin Hewitt of Greater Latrobe (Pa.) also cleared 12-4 on her third attempt but settled for second place due to more misses as Toto became the first champion from New Jersey in the nine years of pole-vault competition at Penn.

"I think I was lucky today," the Georgia-bound Toto said. "I never thought I would win this, especially after falling in the rain. I thought that would be my last attempt. I can say this is my best accomplishment ever, even though it's not my best jump, I guess, because I toughed it out in the rain."

Just before Toto's first attempt at 12-0, a calm and sunny afternoon suddenly turned into a wind-swept, rainy one, rendering the runway slippery. On her approach, Toto missed the box to plant her pole and instead slid into the mat. She stumbled onto the mat, then fell off and into the box while the end of her pole struck her left side.

It was not considered to be an official attempt.

"I haven't been getting 12 so I'm happy about just getting over 12," Toto said. "I didn't think I was going to make that after I fell. I know I'll have bruises but that didn't bother me. It was more the falling down that I had to get over."

Toto and Hewitt tied for the fifth-best at Penn in dethroning 2004 champion Lindsay Regan of Easton Area (Pa.), who placed third at 12-0. But Hewitt failed in her first try at 11-0 while Toto did not miss at all during the competition until her first attempt at 12-4.

The winning mark is Toto's outdoor best. She vaulted 12-6 to win the NJSIAA Group 3 indoor title in the winter.