LAKEWOOD, CO — If Heather Waite had just won the state championship, you couldn’t tell it. The Loveland senior met coaches and family along the fence line dividing spectators from the pole vault pit, tears in her eyes. She shared hugs and returned to sit among her things, quietly, solitary. Disappointment painted her face. Waite’s outer appearance betrayed her accomplishment and hid from the casual spectator that she indeed did win the 5A girls pole vault championship. Just not in the way she’d hoped. “A lot of me was really mad that I didn’t get (12 feet, 3 inches) because I know I can; I’m so much better than that. But at the same time I’m really happy because I still got there, I still got the end goal and I couldn’t be happier with that,” Waite said. “I wish I’d gotten a lot higher because I know I can, it’s in my capabilities, but I can’t help to be happy because I still took first. “It was for my team. At the end of the day, I took first for my team and I’ve got to appreciate that feeling.” That attitude is part of what makes Waite so good, and at the end of the year, the best in the state. Her winning vault Thursday at Jeffco Stadium was 11 feet, 9 inches, well below her season best of 12-7 — which also marked a Loveland record — leaving Waite wanting a bit more. more
