Athlete of the week: Vaulter places fourth at nationals

Add one more accolade — All-America honors — to pole vaulter Mackenzie Shell’s list of accomplishments this spring.Shell, a rising senior at Port Huron Northern, cleared 12 feet, 11½ inches last weekend to finish fourth in the New Balance Nationals at Greensboro, N.C. For her effort, she is Times Herald Athlete of the Week.“It’s not what I wanted, but I was happy being an All-American,” Shell said. “I was disappointed because I wanted to get 13-7, which would have won it.”Three vaulters from Texas —Desiree Freier of Fort Worth, Kally Long of Wimberly and Nicole Summersett of Austin — cleared 13-3½. Freier won the tiebreaker on fewest misses.“She had a real good, solid effort,” Northern track and field coach Craig Dickinson said. “Any time you compete against the best and get fourth, it’s a good accomplishment.“We have big meets coming up this summer. She really has come a long ways. We are still working on her consistency at higher heights. It’s a working progression.”Shell not only won the state championship in the pole vault earlier this spring, she also shattered the state record on two occasions, raising it to 13 feet, 6 inches.  more