NEW HAVEN — Emily Savage has now gone where no high school female pole vaulter in the state of Connecticut has ever gone.
The Weston senior shattered her own state indoor record with a leap of 12 feet, 7 inches Thursday, helping the Trojans finish second in the CIAC Class S meet at the Floyd Little Athletic Center.
Bloomfield won its fourth consecutive state title with 78 points, followed by Weston (67), Old Saybrook (42), Northwest Catholic (41) and Weaver (24).
“We were hoping to win, obviously,” Weston coach head Matt Medve said. “It doesn’t feel good to lose, but I’m very proud of these girls for taking second place. To beat Bloomfield, who’s the three-time defending champion, we would have had to have a perfect day and we just fell short in a couple areas.”
Savage, who is headed to the University of the Alabama in the fall, eclipsed the previous indoor mark of 12 feet, 2 inches that she established earlier this year at the New Balance Games in New York City.
She also bested the existing state outdoor mark of 12 feet, 6 inches set by Darien’s Robin Bone in 2010, meaning no high school girl has ever pole vaulted higher than Savage did on Thursday.
“It came out of nowhere, but after destroying my past PR, I was pumped to do my 12-7,” said Savage, who also finished third in the high jump (5 feet) for good measure. “I was ready to go.”
Savage initially set the new indoor mark with a leap of 12 feet, 4 inches before adding another three inches to the record in her first attempt at 12-7.
“Emily is a phenomenal athlete,” Medve said. “She gets better and better every meet. It’s because she has a great work ethic. It’s a pleasure to watch her.”
“It’s amazing,” added Weston’s Chloe Shapiro, who finished fourth in the high jump. “It’s amazing to see her.”
Savage certainly has staked a claim as the greatest high school female pole vaulter in state history.
“It’s the highest anyone has ever gone, so you could say that,” Weston assistant Lloyd Weinstein said.
According to fellow pole vaulter Jane Wall, Savage is an even better cheerleader.
“She’s even better in cheering us on than she is a pole vaulter,” Wall said. “There should be a state record in cheerleading.”
In the last year, Savage has added exactly two feet as she won the Class M title in 2012 with a jump of 10-7.
“I did gymnastics for 13 years, so maybe it just came naturally,” she said. “(Setting a record) has not set in yet, probably when I get home tonight and reflect on it. I can’t really think about it now because I’m focused on my team winning for the rest of the meet.”
Savage tried to increase her mark another three inches, but she couldn’t scale 12 feet, 10 inches.
“I was tired by that time because I had been jumping so much,” she said.
From: http://www.thehour.com/sports/weston-s-emily-savage-rewrites-state-s-pole-vault-record/article_b19c59c7-7788-5f26-8c85-e393a368fc7a.html
