Abby Schaffer used the Penn Relays last year to vault herself, literally, into the national picture in high school girls pole vaulting.

In what became the starting point for a spectacular junior year culminating with a PIAA Class AAA title, Schaffer won a dramatic duel with Montville's Chrissy Finkel to capture the prestigious Penn Relays watch at Franklin Field last April.

Schaffer and Finkel will reprise their vaulting duel early Thursday afternoon in the 114th running of the Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania where more than 22,000 athletes will compete in the three-day track and field extravaganza for high school, college and Olympic developmental athletes.

Both Schaffer, who's committed to Virginia Tech, and Finkel cleared 12-4» in last year's competition but Schaffer won on the basis of fewer misses. While Schaffer went on to claim her PIAA title, Finkel would go on to win the NJSIAA Group 3 state title.

The two know each other well; they both are members of Mike Lawryk's Vertical Assault Club in East Allen Township. The Vertical Assault Club, in fact, will be well-represented in the competition. Of the 18 vaulters in the field, six are from Vertical, including Whitehall sophomore Brooke Hamscher, the Lehigh County record-holder (12-6); and the versatile Kerry McDermott, the PIAA Class AA champion who's cleared 11-6.

Hamscher's older brother, Matt, will be in Saturday morning's high school boys long jump field.

In last year's competition, Schaffer and Finkel often used the same pole, the two casually tossing it back and forth prior to their vaults, a source of amusement for spectators sitting in the East stands.

"We all use a lot of the same poles at Vertical Assault," said Schaffer, who's cleared 12-6 twice this outdoor season and 12-0 on two other occasions. "It's not a big deal, really."

Schaffer is coming off a spectacular indoor season in which she went over 13 feet twice. The first time was in the Pennsylvania Coaches Association meet at Penn State when she cleared a state indoor record 13-1½ and hit 13-2½ at the Nike Indoor Nationals. The latter height ranks her No. 2 in region history only behind former teammate Lindsay Regan, now a sophomore at UCLA, and puts her No. 3 in the U.S. this season.

But for all her accomplishments, Schaffer's true calling card is her remarkable consistency. In a sport where even the greatest vaulters frequently fail to clear a height in competitions, Schaffer rarely no-heights.

"I think I might have no-heighted in an indoor meet last year and I did it again early this season in a dual meet when it was rainy and cold," Schaffer said. "The (Penn Relays) meet record is 12-7½ and I'd like to get that but there's a lot of really good girls in the competition who could also get it."

Schaffer said if the weather is nice, she tries to come into the competition at 11-6 but if conditions are less than ideal, she'll opt to start at 11 feet.