South Freshman Worthern Vaults Way to Victory

By: John Gleeson
Advance Bucks News
April 18, 2006

Ninth-grader soars above the rest at KOC Invitational

A track and field meet provides a veritable kaleidoscope of pure athletic endeavors. Whether running sprints, tossing heavy objects, or jumping great distances, each competitor tests both her physical potential as well as her mental endurance.
The 36th annual Knights of Columbus Track and Field meet held at Holy Ghost Prep on April 15 allowed many an area athlete to showcase her skills. Pennsbury's Kelsey Lind excelled in the jumping events, winning both the high jump and triple jump. Neshaminy's Vanita Moses took first in the shot put and discus.
Council Rock South's Ije Iheoma sped to victory in the 800. Her teammate Rachel Beck grabbed gold in the 100-yard dash. CR North's runners offered their usual strong performance with Allison Sikora taking the 3000, Mary Kate Phelan winning the 200, and Christine Toepfer besting the field in the 400.
Perhaps the most impressive performance of the day, however, was turned in by relative newcomer, Council Rock South's Tory Worthen. Though small in stature and young in years, the Golden Hawk freshmen out-battled a field of veteran performers to take first place in the pole vault with a mark of 10 feet. William Tennant junior Allison Conroy finished second and CR North senior Emily Gaul took third.
Tory was both elated and surprised by her laudatory feat. "It was really exciting. I felt like I had accomplished my goals for the rest of my life because 10 feet was my major goal, not just for this year but for several years."
In some ways, Tory comes by her vaulting prowess quite naturally. Her father use to be a track coach who specia liz ed in this very complex event. According to Tory, "I've been doing it for about a year. My dad was helping me last year. When I was really little, my dad coached track and he worked with the pole vaulters. It got me interested because I liked seeing how high they went. It seemed like fun."
As Tory discovered early in her career, before you can enjoy the fun factor you need to master the basics. In her estimation, "It looks a lot easier than it is. It was a little frustrating to not be able to do it right away. I was afraid to go really high at first. I knew it was a dangerous event. I was a little afraid but I got over that. Then, I started getting better."
Having experience in gymnastics as well as benefiting from the guidance of an understanding dad helped Tory assuage any early hesitations. She well remembers those first few practices. "My dad would stand by the mat and then slowly move away until I was doing it by myself. When I did rea liz e I was doing it by myself, it became easy."
Confidence gained, Tory could start perfecting her approach. She is well versed in the essentials required of a good vaulter. "Being a gymnast helps because you need good abs to get your legs up. It's important that you can run fast because the faster you go, the farther into the pit you go and that way, you can get higher."
Now, the whole intricate process of vaulting comes as second nature to Tory. "When I practice, it's hard to think of it step by step. Whatever I'm having trouble with I try and focus on. In a meet, I have to think of all of it in a few seconds. Then it becomes a matter of really running fast, planting and getting upright, shooting my toes all the way up, pulling myself up and turning."
Where Tory's words make the process sound easy, she still allows for some scary moments. "One drill I do is I take a short run and plant and work on pushing up. Then I shoot my toes up and try to get as vertical as possible. It does feel a little weird. I can lean my head back and see the track below me."
Tory recognizes that one way to eliminate any weird feelings is to practice. In addition to her daily workouts at school, she travels to the Vertical Assault Club every Sunday. Here she tries to refine any weak spots in her performance. "The hardest part for me comes at the top. Often I don't let go of the pole and the bar gets knocked off. I need to make sure I'm over the bar first and then push the bar as far away from me as possible."
In addition to working on her form, Tory is gaining the savvy that comes with experience. "The day of a meet I try to relax and not think about pole vaulting. If I think about it, I'll get nervous and not do as well. During a meet, I think about what I can fix from my last vault. I envision myself doing it. The guns going off don't distract me because when I was in gymnastics, I had to stay focused."
Though only a freshmen, Tory has developed the philosophy of a true winner. In resetting her sights on a possible trip to the state championships this spring, she is following her own advice, "This concept goes for everything, whether in track or any other sport. Never give up because there is always something else that could happen to you."
Such mature thinking should definitely help Tory soar to even greater heights in the challenging world of pole vaulting.