By Jim Lambert
NJ Star Ledger
February 18, 2010

JUST THE STATS: Shih cleared a Somerset County and meet record 12-0, No. 14 in the country in the pole vault this season, broke the meet record by winning the hurdles in 9.24, and was third in the shot put with a 29-4 1/2 to help lead Bernards to its third straight sectional title at the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 meet last Saturday in Toms River. 

REACTION: ``I am still so happy about the entire meet in general. The way I performed as well as the way my teammates performed made this meet especially memorable. Going into the meet I was a little intimidated by the amount of events I had to do, since my main focus at meets is usually only the pole vault. Knowing that I would have to run back and forth between buildings for shot put and possibly run the hurdles twice if I made the finals impacted my outlook on my performance in the pole vault. I knew that sectionals was a team meet and that I might have to sacrifice a PR in order to help my team score points in other events. So I was very surprised when I had finally cleared a height I have been working so hard to clear since last spring. I never thought that it would happen that day, but I’m very happy it did. Last year I had so many attempts at 12 feet I had missed that it seemed like I would really need to have total focus and perform my absolute best if I wanted to clear that additional six inches. Winning the hurdles was also very exciting yet surprising. Before sectionals I had been very uneven in my hurdle performances, and was not sure what exactly my best time of the season was. All of my adrenaline definitely helped my performance.''

WHAT DOES IT MEANS TO FINALLY CLEAR 12-0: ``It was a very big step that I have wanted to overcome for a while. I had set a goal at the beginning of the season to clear this height by the end of the winter season and I am so excited that I have cleared it this early in states so that I can hopefully improve even more from here on. I am also still in shock that I have actually cleared 12 feet, being that I remember looking up to girls who had jumped this height when I was a freshman. One thing I did differently at this meet was switch onto my bigger pole earlier in the meet. In past meets I have hesitated to switch onto my big pole and therefore ran out of enough attempts to get the best use out of the pole so that I could clear the next height. This meet, I wasn’t overly focused on one thing and therefore was more relaxed and didn’t think too hard about what I should do, but instead had fun with it. ''

WAS SATURDAY THE BEST MEET OF YOUR CAREER: ``Yes. Clearing 12 was an amazing feeling and all of the people around me, including my family, coaches, teammates and the meet officials, were also very excited and made the atmosphere incredible. Placing in other events such as the hurdles and the shot put also added to the experience. The way everyone on my team performed was so great.''

GREATEST STRENTGH AS A VAULTER:  ``My consistency. Being consistent is one of the most important things, especially at meets. If you are consistent, you are able to make slight changes to better your vault without completely wasting an attempt. Being able to do everything the same with the exception of one aspect of the vault is what helps you improve each vault taken at a meet. I am able to think about one specific thing that will help me clear the bar and know that if I do everything else the same that I can clear the bar."

HOW DID YOU GET INTO TRACK:  ``I started winter track when I was a freshman because I did not want to play basketball, but my parents had urged me to do a winter sport so that I would not get lazy. I was not very excited at all about running outside in the middle of the winter but I am very glad that they had pushed me. If I did not start pole vaulting in the winter I may have chosen to play lacrosse instead of spring track and may have never found out that I loved to pole vault."

WHY VAULTING: ``I started vaulting late in the winter season of my freshman year. I decided to try it because I knew a few friends from gymnastics that had started it and had succeeded because of their gymnastics background. I thought it would be a very interesting sport to try. I started gymnastics when I was very young and became a competitive gymnast until I was about 13."

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM VAULTING AT VERTICAL ASSAULT: ``I have been going to Vertical Assault since my freshman year. At Vertical I am mainly coached by Mike Lawryk. He has taught me a lot of technique and many aspects of pole vaulting that I never knew existed. There are so many little details that are crucial to try and perfect to make your vault the best it can be. I am also very lucky to have a great and knowledgeable pole vaulting coach at Bernards, Carl Porambo. He loves the event and has always supported me since my very first pole vaulting practice. He will do anything to make sure I get the best pole vaulting experience at each of my meets.''

PERSONAL BESTS: 55 hurdles: 9.27. PV-12-0. SP- 29-4 1/2.

POLE VAULT BESTS FOR EACH YEAR: Freshman: 10-6. Sophomore: 11-6. Junior: 12-0.

GOALS: ``I have reached my ultimate goal for the winter season of 12 feet, but with many meets left in the season, I hope to try and clear the highest height I can. My team goal for this season is to defend our Group 1 state title (Saturday at Toms River). This will be very tough, as Willingboro is now in our group and is a very good and competitive team."

HOBBIES: ``I love to play field hockey and hang out with my friends. I also enjoy traveling with my family and watching movies. I am also involved in the Green Team at my school."

FAVORITE MOVIES: "P.S. I Love You," "The Blind Side," "Superbad," "The Dark Knight," "The Ugly Truth."

FAVORITE TV SHOWS: "Gossip Girl," "Jersey Shore."

FAVORITE FOOD: Sushi.

FAVORITE BANDS: Taylor Swift, John Mayer, Beyonce, Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews, and Blink 182.

FAVORITE ATHLETE ``Rafael Nadal, because of how hard he hustles in his matches and his determination on the court. He is also an amazing competitor."

SUPERPOWER: "I would want to be able to fly because I could go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted."

IN 10 YEARS: ``I see myself as a college graduate, living on my own, and excelling at something.''