California — Kaitlyn Merritt continues to fulfill her promise in the pole vault–Kaitlyn Merritt won a state title in the pole vault, and Marty Taylor stood on the podium twice at the California State Track and Field Championships on Saturday. Merritt, who finished second for Santa Margarita Catholic last year, continued to fulfill the promise of her talent as she won against a more seasoned field. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Merritt’s performance is that she is only a sophomore. She is her age group’s national leader, and it figures she will only get better.
A lot better.
Although she did not reach her stated goal of 14 feet—the national record is 14-1—Merritt cleared 13 feet 3 3/4 inches. She came into the event ranked No. 4 in the nation, the highest-ranked sophomore, and the best girl outside of Texas. A season of historic clearances and big victories ended with Santa Margarita sophomore Kaitlyn Merritt vaulting to the top of the podium at the state’s biggest meet of the season. Merritt finished off historic season by winning the pole vault state title at the CIF State Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Buchanan High in Clovis. “Coming into this meet, I knew that I had to be into the competition 100 percent mentally,” Merritt said. “I was ready to jump high and have fun and I was able to do that.” Merritt won the title by clearing 13 feet, 3¾ inches on her second attempt at the height. The state title caps a season that saw Merritt become the No. 1 vaulter in high school federation history among all sophomores and the county’s all-time leader in the event. “This was a great season and being on top of the podium was really exciting,” Merritt said. Second place went to Corona Roosevelt senior Gardenia Centanaro, who won a tiebreaker with Los Gatos junior Greta Wagner at 12-11 3/4. Merritt was unable to clear 13-8 in three attempts, which would have matched her sophomore national record.
Merritt wasn’t the only Santa Margarita pole vaulter who had a great day. Parker Curry, a junior, took third in the boys’ event by winning a tiebreaker among six athletes who cleared 15-10. The winner was Luigi Colella of Thousand Oaks, who won a tiebreaker with fellow junior August Kiles of Tamalpais at 16-4. more
