Pennsylvania–On day with many impressive wins, Tesia Kempski’s victory in the pole vault at the girls’ Mid-Penn track and field championships may have been the most impressive.Kempski equalled the top pole vault height in the state by clearing 12-6 on her first attempt. She did that with the girl who held that top height, Northern’s Kennedy Shank, finishing second with a 12-0.That 12-0 was nearly enough for Shank to win it, as Kempski needed all three of her attempts to clear that bar.Kempski said that competing head-to-head with Shank did not make much impact on her own performance.”Competition is a different kind of push,” Kempski said. “But Kennedy and I are friends and it’s about pushing yourself.”One key for Kempski has been pushing herself after a disappointing performance at the Penn Relays, in which she did not clear a height.”My run is inconsistent,” Kempski said. “Usually, I can come in low and go up to the high bars. At the Penn Relays, I was thrown into a high bar. … I still should have cleared a bar, and done better, but it was not a failed day.”Now that Kempski has hit 12-6, she sees no reason to let up with districts and states on the horizon.”I’d love to be consistent at 12-6 and win it all,” Kempski said more
