Kaija Bramwell is talented enough at 16 to have multiple athletic options. But that means making difficult choices.Like whether to pole vault in the high school state meet, where she figured to finish among the top three, or to accept an international weightlifting assignment to the Pan American Youth Championships, where another lifter, Erin Amos, was expected to be the U.S. star in Bramwell’s weight class. Bramwell of Queen Creek opted for the larger stage in Lima, Peru, and made that choice pay off. She earned a silver medal at 53 kilograms, setting three American youth records (66 kg snatch, 85 kg clean and jerk, 151 kg total). Amos of Colorado Springs was fifth. “I never even attempted weights close to that,” Bramwell said. “My goal going in was to do well and get some personal records. I thought if I was super good, maybe I could get fourth or something like that.” But pole vaulting could be the most sensible route if it leads to a college scholarship. Bramwell, formerly at Mesa Mountain View High, plans to attend American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek as a senior with an athletic goal of improving her pole-vault personal record from 12 feet, 4 inches to 13 more
