After establishing herself as one of the nation's better female pole vaulters at last weekend's New Balance Indoor Championships, Bishop McDevitt junior Tesia Kempski returned to vaulting outdoors.
Competing at Saturday's 9th Annual Tim Cook Invitational, held at Chambersburg, Kempski squared off against an old adversary: The wind.
A week after vaulting 11-7 indoors, Kempski cleared 10-6 in warm, but blustery conditions in Chambersburg.
It was good enough for Kempski to earn gold, but for now, the 2011 meet record of 11-6 held by Carlisle's Kathleen McPhillips is safe.
"The wind made everything tricky, but it was great practice," Kempski said. "I came here without my school because I wanted to compete in an outdoor meet as soon as possible."
The wind, Kempski said, completely alters the pole carry on the runway.
Using a seven-step approach for the first time, Kempski edged Chambersburg's Samantha Lowery, who also vaulted 10-6, by virtue of fewer misses.
"I should've jumped higher," Kempski said. "But this is a good experience I can use for the rest of the season."
Kempski, who trains in pole vaulting at VaultWorX in Camp Hill, has come a long way since being stuck at 11-0 for "a very long time." Working with the coaches at VaultWorX, Kempski said she's made major technical changes to the way she vaults and will be jumping even higher pretty soon.
She said she needs to consistently hit her longer runs and that she needs a longer pole so she can grip it higher.
If all goes according to plan, Kempski hopes to be vaulting over 12 feet and contending for district and state titles. But following her performance at the New Balance meet, every competitor will be gunning for her this season.
"It's not really about how everyone is doing," Kempski said. "I'm competing mostly against myself and trying to make positive changes.
"I do love the competition, though."
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