Jaimie House ready to fly higher over bar (KS)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.eldoradotimes.com/sports/x15 ... r-over-bar

House ready to fly higher over bar
By John CurtisLady Wildcat sophomore Jaimie House runs down the pole vault track before she clears 10 feet-4 inches to win the El Dorado Invitational.


By John Curtis
El Dorado Times
Thu May 07, 2009, 10:02 AM CDT
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El Dorado, Kan. -
El Dorado sophomore Jaimie House isn’t one who wastes words about things important to her when she’s out on the track and field arena.
She’s very busy concentrating on her events, especially when it comes to the pole vault; but she doesn’t have the pressures of a typical sophomore, considering she’s already a state champion.
House claimed her first title last year and has already established herself as one of the top high school girls pole vaulters in the state and region; but all that phases her is the push to extend the height of the bar and her ability to clear it.
“I’m doing the best I can to handle it with my coaches pushing me higher,” House said about the pressure of being a returning state champion and the hopes of being able to reach her goals for the upcoming season.
The sophomore, who also competes in two track events (including the 4x100 relay), recently won the pole vault at her home meet at Blackmore Stadium, clearing the bar at 11 feet-4 inches. By the time she started her jumps in the event, there were only two other competitors left.
“It’s nice,” House said about winning at home. “It’s where I practice, so it was easy to be relaxed there.”
House is a competitor of few words, and she doesn’t mince them; but she also is one to be quick to help her teammates in the event with a little advice. At the home meet, fellow Lady Wildcats’ Ashley Leckliter finished third and Kelcey Clites fourth as El Dorado recorded 20 team points on the day from that event alone.
House also has been able to get some regional recognition after placing second at the Kansas Relays in April, clearing the bar at 11 feet-6 inches.
“It was very nice,” House said. “To place at KU is really good, so I was happy.”
House’s goals for the end of the year are very lofty. The sophomore wants to break the state record at the state meet (currently at 12 feet), which is her personal best (set at the regional meet last year in Coffeyville) – and hopes to clear the height of 12-8 before the end of the year.
And everything for House — the current and potential state titles and her career prep goals in the pole vault – goes back to the beginning and why she loves to compete in the event.
“I just like flying and it’s a way of getting me really high,” House said. “The hardest part is just staying mentally in it because if you don’t go in it with your head, then you’re not going to jump very well.”

[firstand10]

Jaimie recently vaulted 12'1" at the Circle invite. Her teammate Ashley Leckliter vaulted 10'7"
there was another article on house in the wichita eagle a few days after the Dennis Frazier article.

[firstand10]

Jaimie House, Sophomore from El Dorado High school, (Kansas) Won her second state Pole Vault title this year. She also set a new 4A state record (12) feet. Her teammate Ashley Leckliter (junior) placed second with a jump of 10'6"

[birdi_gurlie]

Good job Jaimie!

That's pretty dang sweet.
Did she do gymnastics as a child?

[firstand10]

yes she did until last year.

[birdi_gurlie]

That makes a LOT of sense!

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.eldoradotimes.com/sports/x16 ... ault-leaps

Poll results: No. 1: House busts roof with her pole vault leaps
By John CurtisHouse is looking to try to win the pole vault all four years she’s in school. She has won as a freshman and a sophomore.


By John Curtis
El Dorado Times
Thu Dec 31, 2009, 06:00 PM CST
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El Dorado, Kan. -
El Dorado High’s Jaimie House continues to build her own history in the girls pole vaulting ranks.
House claimed her second state title in the Class 4A ranks as a sophomore, breaking the meet record twice along the way.

“It felt good to make 12 here,” House said about her new meet record on that day. “I knew from a couple of steps out that the wind was right and everybody was cheering for me. The wind helped a lot because it gave a tailwind, and when you have the wind at your back, it gives you a push.”

House said breaking the record twice, which were the two highest leaps in all classes of girls pole vault competition, was more fulfilling as she had set goals of jumping both heights on the way to her title. She says she still thinks about that success more than six months later.

“I was extremely happy,” House said. “I felt really excited about winning that event.”

House got one of her two goals for the year that day. The other goal — to clear the bar at 12 feet-8 inches — and she said the day of the state title that gives her incentive for next season.

She also finished second in the KU relays with a leap of 11 feet-6 inches.

“My coaches will keep pushing me; breaking me down and building me back up,” House said at the state meet. In an earlier interview, House added about the pressure of already being a state champion, “I’m doing the best I can to handle it with my coaches pushing me higher.”

House’s ultimate goal in high school is to win the pole vault all four years she competes. She spent the holiday break working at a pole-vaulting camp at the University of Kansas. One of the trainers at the camp is El Dorado High pole vaulting coach Travis Wyss.

“I have to keep working hard because I know it just won’t come easily,” House said. “I have to make sure to stay healthy and keep from getting hurt.”
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