HOLLAND — She's a freshman. She's diminutive. And she attacks the pole vault like CR-South coach Deric Lynch has never seen.
Tory Worthen lacks the typical physique of a pole vaulter. With a strong background in gymnastics, Worthen stands just 5-4 and 90 pounds.
That's quite undersized, and Lynch says she uses every ounce of her weight into each attempt.
“She's a little spitfire,” Lynch said. “Pound for pound, she is the strongest athlete I've ever been around.”
In her debut against William Tennent this season, Worthen broke the school record when she cleared 9-3. The previous mark was 8-0.
Last week at the Montgomery Memorial Classic, Worthen cleared 10-3 to earn a gold medal. A few weeks prior to that, she cleared 10-6 at the Knights of Columbus for her personal best. Lynch thinks before the season concludes she will clear 11 feet.
Worthen's success can be attributed to a few things: She attends a private club dedicated for pole vaulters called Vertical Assault, her experience in gymnastics gives her a fearless attitude, and her father is pole vault coach Ken Worthen, who coach's the winter team.
“When Ken came here he wanted to be with his daughter,” Lynch said. “He does a great job of balancing, being a coach and a dad really well.”
“In pole vault you need to have some knowledge as a coach. Our program is better with Ken because he's taken such an interest, so he's learning a lot about the event and it's helping our group.”
© 2006 Vertical Assault