As sophomore Avery Hilliard ran down the pole-vaulting runway at Westview High School on Wednesday, May 5, she had hopes of beating the sophomore record of 12’ 5”. Not only did she shatter that record, soaring 7 inches above it, with a vault of 13 feet, but she also was able to beat the junior pole vaulting record for girls.

“It has been so fun to train with my teammates who are super supportive and great to work with. My goal for this season was to break the sophomore record, so I’m very excited that I was able to reach that goal and break my personal record,” Hilliard said.

Hilliard’s incredible vault at the dual meet against Westview qualified her to the Arcadia meet, which is immensely difficult to qualify for. Only 12 Poway High athletes were able to qualify for the competition on Saturday, May 8.

“Avery has shown amazing progress this season and continues to work hard every day. I’m very excited to see what the future has in store for her pole vaulting career,” pole vault coach Mike Wagenveld said.

Hilliard has only been pole vaulting for a year and half, so the progress that she has made in such a short period of time shows Wagenveld’s coaching talent as well as her talent in the sport. 

   Having a 13 foot vault as a sophomore certainly puts her on the radar to break the 13’ 3” school record by the time her high school career comes to an end. 

“I am super proud of her as a teammate and as a friend. I really hope that she is able to break the school record this year,” sophomore Evangeline Thomson, fellow teammate and long time friend of Hilliard, said.