Kristen Olds Article (OH)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.news-herald.com/site/news.cf ... 1848&rfi=6

Pole vaulter from Perry wins state title at 11-6

COLUMBUS - On a day filled with near-misses and what-ifs for area Division II athletes, Perry pole vaulter Kristen Olds left no doubt in putting an exclamation point on her high school career.
Olds tied a state record Saturday by vaulting 11 feet, 6 inches and won the Division II girls pole vault title - the only Division II state championship claimed by any area athlete for the weekend.
Olds, who took runner-up honors at the state meet last year, said she began to fear she'd be given the same fate two years in a row when Bellevue's Kelly Beamer cleared 11 feet.
"I was getting nervous when one of the other jumpers went 11 (feet)," Olds said. "I was just thinking, 'I don't want to be runner-up again, so when I went for 11-3, I knew I had to get it on my first attempt."
Olds cleared 11-3, and Beamer couldn't match, giving Olds the title.
With a gold medal clinched, Olds set her sights on the state record - 11-6, which was achieved by last year's state champion, Jenna Nance of Middletown Madison. After two unsuccessful tries, Olds cleared 11-6 to tie the Division II record.
"I felt very confident after I jumped 11-3 because the jump felt smooth," Olds said. "It felt like I cleared it by a lot, at least enough to get 11-6."
Olds' win gave Perry all 10 of its points, which placed the Pirates in 23rd place for the meet, the highest of any area team.
Although no other area athlete claimed a state championship, there were several close calls.
Jeff McClurg of Chagrin Falls nearly gave this area a clean sweep of the Division II pole vault titles, but was up-ended by Bryan Chard of Caledonia River Valley. McClurg cleared 15 feet with ease, while Chard struggled to get past several lower heights. Still, Chard matched McClurg at 15 feet, then won the title by clearing 15-3 in his second attempt.
McClurg, however, was anything but disappointed on taking second place.
"I didn't know how I'd do because I haven't been jumping that high all season," McClurg said. "To jump 14-9 and 15 in my first attempts, I couldn't jump better."