One for the team!

[jmayesvaultmom]

Jodie yesterday jumped in the state indoor 5A Arkansas meet. Everything seemed fine in warm-ups even though she had severe leg cramps after hurdles and long jump. On her run-through before coming into the competition, something happened and her trail leg drug going into the jump. The pole bent to about where the tip was about 2 feet off the ground and then unbent and shot her back like shooting a rubber band, landing her about 15 feet back from the pit on her head and the back of her neck on the raised runway. (Good thing she was jumping on a pole 10 pounds over her weight!) She went ahead and jumped in the competition, even though she was on the verge of getting sick and with a severely pounding head and neck strain. She jumped enough to win and get 10 points for the team. She found out after vaulting when they looked at her that she had a concussion! Her team, Fayetteville, won the state meet by 5 1/4 points... She said she really felt so bad she didn't want to jump, but only did it because her team was behind by 7 points at the time! Here is a clip from today's paper....

FHS girls win state track title; boys take second
BY FRANKIE FRISCO Special to the Times

Posted on Saturday, March 6, 2004

Fayetteville posted a 1-2-3 finish in the 800 meters, but it was Little Rock Parkview’s depth in the sprints and jumping events that gave the Patriots the Class AAAAA State Indoor Track title over the Bulldogs Friday night at the Randal Tyson Track.

The night wasn’t a complete loss for Fayetteville as the Lady Bulldogs got three individual wins and a thirdplace finish from Sydney Scarbrough as well as other clutch performances in winning the girls title (68 1/4-63) over AAAAA-West nemesis Fort Smith Northside.

Scarbrough racked up wins in the 55- and 200-meter dashes and another in the high jump to go with a third-place decision in the triple jump to lead the Lady Bulldogs to the title. It was Jodie Mayes’ winning per- formance in the pole vault that showed the team’s character, though. "She pole vaulted with a concussion," FHS coach Bill Harrelson said. "She messed up in warm-ups and fell on her head, but she was still able to win the thing with a concussion. Unbelievable.

" What else can be said about Sydney Scarbrough? Every time she lines up out there she is a big key for us. I think there’s a little more weight on her shoulders because she is expected to win. That’s a lot of pressure for a 17- or 18-year old kid, but she’s handled it. "

Scarbrough and Mayes weren’t the only contributors to the Lady Bulldogs’ championship effort. They got points from Hillary McChristian (2 nd in the 55-meter hurdles and 6 th in the triple jump), Stacy Rahat (6 th in the pole vault), Brittany Huggins (8 th in the shot put) and the relay teams of Meagan Bourke, Amanda Land, Sara Scott and Samantha Wimpe (3 rd in the 4x800) and Anna Sagan, Bourke, Wimpe and Scarbrough (8 th in the 4x400).

" We lost by two and a half in the indoor meet last year [to Bryant] and one in the outdoor meet [to Jonesboro], "said Harrelson, who is in his second season as the Fayetteville track boss." We’ve had a year to think about that. The girls really wanted it bad this year. I’m extremely happy for them. "

I have the "sling shot" jump on video, if I can figure out how to put in on here. Anyway, I was really proud of her for getting right back up and jumping even though I found out afterwards that she was also having trouble focusing on the bar. Her vision was also blurred. She really shouldn't have jumped after that (as a parent I am saying it), but she really wanted it for her team and didn't want to let them down.

[jhesch]

congratulations that is really incredible. i cant imagine vaulting with a throbbing headache, blured vision, concussion, etc... way to go jodie!

[rainbowgirl28]

Wow way to suck it up!

[Peepers PV]

Wow, that's really scary! I got a concussion freshman year when a girl kicked me in the head during a soccer game, and I couldn't walk for 3 hours. I can't even imagine pole vaulting after that! The doctors told me that if you get another concussion before you can recover from your first one, then you could die from it . I think they call it second impact or something like that. I hope she's alright! and good job winning state through all of that!

[Aviendha]

WOW...vaulting with a concussion *shakes head* that's some determination there jodie...

speaking of competing with a concussion...a friend of mine is a level 10 gymnast (thats the level right below elite/olympic level) and she fell off the uneven bars, giving herself a concussion (which they didn't realize at first) she got back up and finished the routine, and then went on to compete on the balance beam (!). crazy girl...couldn't see straight and is tumbling on a 4 inch wide beam...

have to say, i don't know how people do that....

[vaulterbabe247]

Thanks!... It was a pretty scary experience for me to go through.... When I fell.. all I could think about was my team. I knew that everyone was expecting the ten points in the pole vault. I couldn't not vault, I didn't want to let everyone down, I mean.. I am sure they would have understood because I had a concussion, but I wanted that team title as bad as all of them did....That team title was more important to me than the individual title and it felt so great knowing that I helped win that state title... It was pretty scary going down the runway with the vision that I had... haha... I obviously didn't vault my best but I was being very conservative so I wouldn't get hurt again! I'm just so glad that I was able to get up after the fall that I had and run down there and plant the pole, it was a major break through for me, it proved to me that fear is NOT an option in vaulting.. you just gotta do it!

[susan1s]

Jodie, her coach and her mother should be aware of the American Academy of Neurology's "Sideline Assessment of Concussion" and guidelines for return to play for student athletes. They are posted in many places on the Internet, including http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/in ... ussion.cfm. Personally, I don't think any competition is worth the risk of pole vaulting with a head injury.

[jordan9590]

Good job Jodie
I am glad to see that some people are still willing to give all for the team
I can tell you are my kind of competitor!

[DFW-ELITEpv]

Good point susan1s, i don't believe they stopped to think what could have happened , for the safety of the athlete or the negative publicity for Pole Vaulting.

[vaulterbabe247]

I understand the risk of vaulting with a head injury, if my coach, my parents, and myself would have known I had the concussion.. I would not have vaulted and they wouldn't have let me.... I was not diagnosed with a concussion until after I had already vaulted when I went to have the sports medicine people examine me. I've never had a concussion, so I didn't know that I had one, or even the symptoms... I just thought that I had a really bad headache and maybe whiplash.

[jmayesvaultmom]

Thanks susan1s for the info. I did forward a copy of it to the head track coach. Jodie did see a physician yesterday because the coach and I were not going to let her do anything until we had her cleared. She is out for at least a week of practice and is not to do anything...especially anything with "rapid head movement". She is also seeing a chiropractor and getting things "worked out". What I am wondering now is, what do the hs rules say about with this case as an example, if we had had the trainer look at her during the meet, if she had not had a concussion and not been back to vault in time for her turn, would they have taken one of her attempts? What is the rule? If you get hurt in a basketball game, for example, they stop the game and the athlete is looked at. What is the rule in track or specifically in pv? Does anyone know? What irks me is that they will stop an event like they did last year for 40 minutes to wait on someone to run the 200. Everyone just had to sit and wait.

[rainbowgirl28]

Year before last, one of the kids from my high school got a bloody nose when the crossbar landed on it at State. They took him away to treat it. While he was gone they let the other kids jump at the height, then they kept the bar there and waited for him to get back.