New Jersey –If you are a friend of Haley Steel and you come up to her to say hello, you should be prepared to be hugged. “I don’t get to see my friends very often so when I do I get a little excited and I hug them,” said Steel. Haley Steel once again put together a season so impressive that she is once again named the Suburban Trends Female Track Athlete of the Year. For Steel this was one of the best and the worst season of her career. Steel won the pole vault competition this spring at the Kearny Relays, Big North League Championships and Passaic County Championships. She placed second at Sectionals, third in the State Group 3 Championships and fifth in the State Championships. “Pole vaulting is very time consuming, and lonely,” said Steel. Haley practices for two hours a day, six days a week off by herself in the pole vault area as the rest of the team runs together on the track. “The pole vault competition is equally mental and physical,” said Steel. The West Milford junior became interested in the pole vault from a friend from gymnastics. “I was involved in gymnastics from about three years old to about twelve,” said Steel. “One day a friend told me she was doing the pole vault and she thought I would like it too. I tried it out and really liked it.” One of the reasons she enjoyed the pole vault was because of the close relationship she had with her coach. – See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/girls-track/steel-overcame-adversity-and-soared-into-the-moc-1.1039731#sthash.vRY7FHfA.dpuf
