Amber waves of gold: Susquehanna softmore pole vaults to state title

    
 

BY JOBY FAWCETT
05/28/2005


SHIPPENSBURG - Soaring higher than she had ever gone before, Amber Gaffey reached her goals. . . and got her gold.

Using a new pole, the Susquehanna sophomore launched herself above the crossbar at 11-feet, 3-inches to claim the Class AA championship at the PIAA Track and Field Championships on a sunny and warm Friday at Shippensburg University .

       

"Winning was a relief," Gaffey said with a modest grin. "I was really nervous the whole meet. This is great."

 If she were nervous, nobody could tell.

 Maintaining her focus and staying relaxed as other vaulters began failing at their attempts, Gaffey finally entered the competition at 9-6. From there, she methodically cleared each height, drawing gasps from the crowd at Seth Grove Stadium in admiration of her near-flawless form.

 Once the bar reached 11-0, the height she cleared to win the District 2 Class AA championship last week, Gaffey suffered her first miss. However, she only grazed the bar on the way down.

 After successfully making 11-0, the bar raised to 11-3. It's a height Gaffey has been aiming for all season.

 On her second attempt, she powered through the pole, sailed over the bar, landed gracefully and clapped in unison with the fans.  After securing the gold, she attempted 11-6, but missed her three attempts.

 It did little to dampen her victory.

 
 "I saw the bar at 11-3," Gaffey said. "I was on a new pole, and I didn't really take off like I should have. On my second attempt, I just knew I could clear it. I got vertical and it just happened." Coming in as the top seed by six inches, she needed her school-record vault.

  Hickory 's Mandy Carine eclipsed her seed of 10-6 and made 11-0. She failed on all three of her attempts at 11-3.

 Despite, having to sit and wait for her turns, Gaffey accomplished her goals and became the third state champion in Susquehanna school history. She joins Jim Corse, who won the pole vault in 1989 and Teresa Covert, who won several hurdling titles in the late 1990s.

 It's also Gaffey's second state medal. As a freshman she placed second in the pole vault.

 "I never though this could happen," Gaffey said. "After last year, I thought I could come back and compete. Now I got first."		  
 

© 2005 Vertical Assault