Bradi Nelson article (WY)

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http://www.wyomingnews.com/news/sports/ ... yID=107581

Mission accomplished
Bradi Nelson owns Pine Bluffs' pole vault record

By Jeremiah Johnke
spt3@wyomingnews.com
Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle

CHEYENNE - Before the bus could leave Torrington for Scottsbluff, Neb., and the Best of the West Invitational last Thursday, the Pine Bluffs High girls track team had to wait for the pole vault to end.

The wait at the Goshen County Invitational was prolonged by teammate Bradi Nelson. She was doing what she has done more often than not for the past two seasons: clear a higher bar than her competition.

The senior propelled herself a personal best 10 feet to win the event, but it was merely a hint of things to come later in the day.

In a rare doubleheader of two meets in one day, Nelson followed her Goshen County performance by breaking the Pine Bluffs school record, vaulting 10 feet, 7 inches - one inch better than Kirstan Butler's 1988 Class 2A state championship mark.

She followed that effort by clearing 10 feet to take third in the four-class Wyoming Track Classic on Friday in Casper.

For those efforts, Nelson has been chosen as the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Prep Athlete of the Week by the sports staff.

"Ever since I was a freshman, breaking this record was something I've wanted to achieve," Nelson said. "I started pole vaulting in junior high, and all of my hard work has paid off. Everyone can look at our gym wall and see my name up there."

The Goshen County Invite was the first meet Nelson has purely pole vaulted.

Her customary one-day meet schedule is filled with four events. Typically the schedule includes the 200- and 400-meter dashes and the 4x400 relay in addition to pole vault. But she also has competed in the 100 and 800.

"It was nice to not worry about other races and concentrate just on pole vaulting," she said. "That's how I beat my personal best and did so well in the afternoon. It was nice to not have the pressure of getting to a race.

"One of the things I like about the state meet is being able to completely focus on pole vault the first day. All of my races are the other two days, so the first day is just pole vault, and that gives me a little more confidence."

But the Best of the West - an invitation-only meet featuring the top eight performers from eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska - wasn't purely a pole vault meet. Nelson also took second in the 400 and helped the 4x400 squad to a seventh-place finish.

"She has been working toward this for a long time, and you could see a consistent improvement from her," coach Kendra Roeder said. "Her speed has been getting better all of the time, her technique has been getting better and she's really matured in that event.

"She has wanted her name up on the wall for quite some time. When she got the record, I don't think you could have slapped the smile off of her face."

Nelson still has her sights set on school marks in the 400 and 800. She is close to a quarter of a second off the mark in the 400 and a full second off in the 800.

Her last shot at the 800 mark will come at the Southeastern Wyoming Athletics Championships in Guernsey on Saturday.

Though she has designs to further rewrite her school's record books, Nelson said she is enjoying a new level of performance in the pole vault.

"I feel really great that I've gotten the consistency of reaching 10 feet three straight meets with little trouble," she said. "I feel comfortable with my jumps and the poles I'm on. I'm very comfortable with everything that's going on."

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http://www.wyomingnews.com/news/more.asp?StoryID=107693

Up and over the top
Nelson gets pole vault state title

By Robert Gagliardi
spt1@wyomingnews.com
Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle

CASPER - Pine Bluffs senior Bradi Nelson and Big Horn senior Nicole Ackerman split four pole vault titles throughout the 2006 outdoor track season.

But when it mattered the most, Nelson came out on top as she earned her first-ever state championship in that event Friday.

Nelson cleared 10 feet, 6 inches - 1 inch shy of her personal best - to beat Ackerman in Class 2A in the state track meet at Harry Geldien Stadium.

Ackerman, who beat Nelson for the state title last year, was second at 10-0. She had to run in the prelims of the 100 between pole vault attempts.

Nelson also will run the 200, 400 and 4x400 relay at this meet, but she said the pole vault was what she really wanted to win.

"I don't exactly have a reason; it's just something I've wanted to do since I was a freshman," she said. "I started pole vaulting in junior high, and one of my biggest goals was to be a state champion.

"It's so much different than a lot of other events because you have so many things you have to change and adjust for one jump to get it right.

"With all the effort going into it, to finally get a state championship feels like I accomplished something and all the hard work paid off."

Nelson made a key adjustment Friday.

She missed on her first two attempts at 10-0. One more miss and she was done.

But she changed to a stiffer pole and easily cleared that mark. She then made 10-6 on her first attempt.

"She was running well, she was getting her plant up where it was supposed to be," said coach Phil Raybuck, who coaches Nelson and several pole vaulters in Laramie County. "She was just blowing through poles and being able to adjust going up poles. She did that well."

Nelson tried to break the school record of 10-9 but failed on three attempts.

She now can concentrate on her running events, but she said she plans to enjoy this victory for a while.

"I'm excited I don't have to run everything at once like I do at regular track meets," she said. "I'm so excited right now, I'm not worried about anything."

Later in the day Nelson posted the top qualifying time in the 400 (59.92).