Brittany Parker Article

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Onward and upward for McKinney pole vaulter



12:54 AM CST on Saturday, March 26, 2005

By DAVID HINOJOSA / The Dallas Morning News



McKINNEY – Britany Parker raised the bar for the girls pole vault two Fridays ago, when she broke the year-old Texas high school girls record by clearing 13 feet, 2 inches.






MELANIE BURFORD/DMN
There's been little down time for McKinney track standout Britany Parker, who cleared 13 feet, 2 inches to set a Texas high school girls record in the pole vault.



Parker, a junior at McKinney, doesn't expect the mark she set at Birdville's Theo Rigsby Relays to last very long. She'd like to be the first to break it.


"Each year, the heights are going up," Parker said. "Records are going to be broken for the next 10 years."


Girls pole vault is a relatively new event in Texas high school track and field. The UIL didn't sanction it until 2002, the same year Parker began trying it as an eighth-grader at Faubion Middle School.


Parker's progression over the next two years had been steady. But it's been in overdrive since last year. Parker has improved on her personal best by nearly 1 ½ feet since last year. Entering 2005, Parker's previous best in a high school meet was 11-7. She cleared 12-5 ½ at a high school indoor meet in February in Houston. That was the state's best mark this season until she cleared 13-2, which broke the record of 13-1 ½ set last season by Britni Lawrence of Hays Consolidated.


"It was just a matter of time before I got that high," Parker said. "It was the best feeling I've ever had pole vaulting. It was wonderful."


Parker believed the record was within reach. In the two meets before she got the record – at Rockwall and McKinney – Parker had gotten over a bar set at 12-9 by about six inches. However, she kept clipping the bar on the way down.


In Birdville, she entered the competition at 12-0. She cleared that height on her second attempt. She cleared 12-6 on her first try and 12-9 on her second attempt. She cleared 13-0 on her first attempt and 13-2 on her third try. She missed on three attempts at 13-3.


"I used the biggest pole in my bag and had a great day," Parker said.


Parker has used the disappointment of finishing one place out of qualifying for the UIL state championships in 2004 as motivation for this season. Parker and her two other competitors at the Region II-5A championships at Waco last season each cleared 11-6 and missed at 12-0. The other two advanced to state because of fewer misses.


"I decided last year after the regional meet that this is something I want to do," Parker said. "I'm focusing on it for high school and college."


In addition to her high school coach, Anthony Beimer, who has coached Parker since middle school, she has enlisted the help of two personal coaches, Terry Porter and Paul Richards of Midlothian.


Parker already reached her goal this season of breaking the state record. She has been riding a wave of momentum since clearing the 12-foot mark for the first time at the Texas Pole Vault Round Up on Jan. 8 in Joshua. She tied for first in that competition. Her 12-foot clearance was higher than that of all the college vaulters who entered.


"It was a big confidence boost," Parker said. "I have to strive to keep raising my height each week."


E-mail dhinojosa@dallasnews.com