MCHS sophomore shines in the pole vault

By Theo Tate
Posted 5/7/22

A year ago, El Reagan ended her freshman season with the Montgomery County girls track team on a high note at the Class 3 state meet in Jefferson City.

By finishing eighth in the pole vault in …

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MCHS sophomore shines in the pole vault

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A year ago, El Reagan ended her freshman season with the Montgomery County girls track team on a high note at the Class 3 state meet in Jefferson City.

By finishing eighth in the pole vault in 10 feet, 0.75 inches, Reagan not only earned all-state medal honors, but she also became the Wildcats’ school-record holder, breaking the old mark of 10 feet that was set by Paige Oden in 2017.

“It was a big deal to me because I worked so hard for it,” Reagan said.

Reagan wrapped up an outstanding season in the pole vault that included 12 medals, including first-place finishes at the Bowling Green Mini-Medal, Montgomery County Quad and Eastern Missouri Conference meets. It was the first year Reagan competed in the pole vault.

After two months, Reagan is picking up right where she left off from 2021. The sophomore has a career-high seven victories and two second-place finishes in the pole vault.

Reagan began her season on March 22 with a first-place finish in 8 feet, 5.5 inches at the Montgomery County Early Invite. She also helped the Wildcats win the team championship.

“That was exciting,” Reagan said. “That really set me up for the season. It was good because it was early, so you kind of get to see how everybody is doing right at the beginning. It’s just that everybody was starting out. We didn’t have much practice. We had just a few weeks of practice.”

Reagan also had wins in the Bowling Green Mini-Medal meet, Hermann Invitational, Cuba Relays and Owensville Relays. She finished with a season-best 9-8.25 in her second-place finish at the Montgomery County Invitational on April 19.

Reagan said she plans to make improvements on her pole vaulting as the Wildcats approach the postseason. They will host the District 4 meet on May 14 and the Class 3 sectional meet on May 21.

“I need to work on my technique a lot,” Reagan said. “I have some more poles I can go up to. There are a whole bunch of things I can do, but mostly, it’s technique. If I can get the technique down, then I should be better.”

Before Reagan became a standout pole vaulter at MCHS, she competed in gymnastics for four years.

“I did 20 hours of gymnastics a week,” Reagan said.

After she enrolled at MCHS in her freshman year, Reagan gave up gymnastics. When she tried out for the track team, she was selected by the coaches to compete in the pole vault.

“They all wanted me to try pole vaulting,” Reagan said. “I thought it was cool, but it was never something I thought I could do.”

Reagan finished with a 6-6.75 in her fourth-place finish at the season-opening Montgomery County Early Invite. Two weeks later, she broke the eight-foot mark. She reached the nine-foot mark for the first time after clearing a 9-0.25 in her victory at the MCHS Quad. At the state meet, Reagan clinched a spot on the podium after clearing 10-0.75 in her first attempt.

Reagan credits assistant coach Nathan Thurman for her success in the pole vault.

“I couldn’t have done it without him,” the sophomore said.
This year, Reagan is looking to help her girls team turn in a successful season. In addition to their win at the Montgomery County Early Invite, the Wildcats placed second at the Hermann and Owensville meets and finished third at the Montgomery County Invitational and the Bowling Green meet.

“We have quite a few freshmen who are very athletic,” said Reagan, who also plays softball at MCHS. “We’ll see how the season goes because you can have a great season and then you can have a bad day at districts and sectionals. I think we have a pretty well-balanced team right now.”

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