Credit to Unknown

Rebecca Mcguire vaulting at practice.

The FHN track team had two girls qualify for state last yearand one girl who took home first place. Senior Rebecca McGuire took home the first place spot for Pole Vault at state with a record of 12’6” or 3.81 meters. Going into state, McGuire wasn’t sure what the outlook would be and what competition would look like, but the results were definitely in her favor.

“I wasn’t quite getting the height I wanted to in practice when I was preparing for state, but when I got to state, it was like something just clicked,” McGuire said.

With Pole Vault, there’s not a lot of competition in this area, so competing at regular meets, McGuire wasn’t receiving the challenge that she needed, but the competition at state was what set it apart from a normal meet.

“All year we kept track of how everyone in the state was, and we knew she would be in the mix to win, but you just never know how it will shake out on that day,” coach of last season, Kyle Morris said.

One of the biggest things that has been a driving factor for McGuire was the atmosphere she was surrounded by at state and having people to cheer her on.

“The biggest thing that motivated me at state was being surrounded by friends and family and knowing that I had that support,” McGuire said.

McGuire has paved a path for the program and added to the success of the team by leading the track team to another first place state spot. It will also hopefully lead to more interest in the track program and pole vaulting in particular. 

“Francis Howell North’s pole vaulting program is really successful, even going back to the early 90’s, so it’s really cool to have another example of a really high caliber pole vaulter here,” Morris said. “It’s always good to recruit and build the size of the team, and my role is to get more people to qualify for districts, sectionals, and state, and get others in the position that Becca’s in now.”

There are always things to improve on and practice, especially before a big meet like state, but with McGuire, she was already prepared and had put herself in a good position for success at state, knowing her limits and what she could succeed at.

“I just practiced with different height poles, and continued to do practice until state,” McGuire said. “My biggest goal for this season will be to continue increasing the height I’m jumping and qualify for state again.”