New York serves as home to many different legacies in the women's Pole Vault. It's home to World Indoor Record Holder Jen Suhr. It was home to the first female HS Athlete to clear 14-feet. And now, two new names are chipping away at the record books.
Lily Beattie Takes The 8th Grade State Record At West Point
It was only a matter of time. Middle Schooler Lily Beattie of Warwick (left) had cleared the previous record before, at her home training facility at "The Barn" in Warwick Valley, and now, she's improved upon her best once again. At The Barn Youth Meet, Beattie cleared 10-3.5 to better the mark, but the meet didn't carry a USATF sanction, which would make the mark ineligible for consideration. However, less than a week into the new year, Beattie took to the skies at West Point, bettering that mark by another quarter-foot. In her local divisional meet, the 8th grade went 10-6, to outright set the new standard. With plenty of years left to compete, all there is left to go is up.
Pole Vault
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7G: 2.77 9-1 KARMEN AUBLE (Warsaw CS) 2009 ** (Feb 16, Golden Vault, Warwick)
2.79 9-2 RACHEL VENTER (Warwick Valley) 2019 ** (Dec 28, Circus Holiday Meet, Warwick)
8G: 3.13 10-3.25 ERICA ELLIS (Gates-Chili) 2015 (Mar 15, USATF Adirondack, Albany)
3.20 10-6 LILY BEATTIE (Warwick Valley) 2020 ** (Jan 3, OCIAA Meet, West Point)
Fr: 3.76 12-4 ERICA ELLIS (Gates-Chili) 2016 ** (Jan 2, Rochester Relays, RIT)
So: 4.02 13-2.25 ERICA ELLIS (Gates-Chili) 2017 ** (Mar 12, NB Nationals, Armory)
Jr: 4.30 14-1.25 ERICA ELLIS (Gates-Chili) 2018 ** (Jan 6, Akron Pole Vault Convention, OH)
Sr: 4.32 14-02 MARY SAXER (Lancaster) 2005 ** (Mar 13, Nike NIN, Landover,MD)
Rachel Venter Clears The 7th Grade Mark At The Barn
Beattie's mark wasn't the first mark to set the standard for Middle School. The Warwick athlete has a teammate younger than her, Rachel Venter, also putting up some high marks at an early age. At the Circus Holiday Meet, a sanctioned event, the 7th Grader pushed past Karen Auble's mark from ten years ago, to surpass it by a single inch (video below) . Karmen Auble (Warsaw) went on to win the 2014 Outdoor State Meet, graduating HS with a 12-7 personal best. She went on to compete for Xavier University.
Because National Records are not kept in an official capacity for Middle School athletes, it's unknown if these also serve as those defacto marks. Both Venter and Beattie have passed selective classification, and have competed well this season. Venter has marks of 8-2 and 8-6 outside the Barn.