The Apex senior broke through a major barrier, for herself and also for the other vaulters in the state.
In many ways, vaulting indoors is better than vaulting outdoors. Although indoor season is early in the training cycle, it also eliminates weather conditions that can make the pole vault difficult or even dangerous - wet runways and plant boxes, crosswinds or headwinds, cold temperatures that limit speed and explosion. Consistency is the goal of every athlete that competes in this event, and indoor conditions favor its development.
And yet, despite the inherent advantages, no North Carolina high school female has ever cleared 13 feet. All of the state's best have tried, and two have cleared it outdoors: Sydney White (East Forsyth/Wake Forest) and Kristen Lee (Wakefield/Virginia Tech). White held the indoor All-Time State record, which stood at 12' 10.25" and resisted all attempts to break it since 2012.
Until this past Saturday, that is, when Anna Eaton cleared 13 feet at the David Oliver Classic. The mark moves her up to a tie for US #9, but more importantly it breaks a barrier that no other girl has been able to overcome. If history holds true, then we will see several more 13-foot jumps over the next few years; when one person makes it, then the accomplishment becomes less intimidating and more believable for others. Check out her record-breaking attempt, courtesy of Drew Pedersen, her teammate:
For Eaton, the result is doubly-special: unlike White and Lee, who at least got 13 feet outdoors, this is her first time over that height under any circumstances. After achieving 12' 6" indoors in 2014, she stayed at that height all through outdoor season, which must have been frustrating.