North Carolina –By shattering the Gaston County championship meet record in the pole vault, North Gaston senior Mariel Finger showed how close she is to state-record territory. Finger cleared 11 feet, 6 inches Tuesday at North Gaston, beating her own meet record set last year by two feet. The mark also set an outdoor personal record by six inches. The state record is 12 feet, 9 inches by East Forsyth’s Sydney White in 2012. “She was as dialed in as I’ve seen her,” North Gaston coach Craig Taylor said. “She cleared everything on her first attempt until she got to 12 (feet).” Finger was so far ahead of her competition at the county meet that by the time the bar was raised to 10 feet — the first height she attempted — all of the other girls had already maxed out at lower heights and only three boys remained. Her nearest competitors finished five feet below her and even the boys champion topped out at a foot lower. Finger already has an indoor state title under her belt, having won gold at the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A state championships in February with a vault of 11 feet. The Big South 2A/3A Conference championships are set for April 16 at Stuart Cramer. more
