Santa Margarita’s Kaitlyn Merritt won the girls pole vault at the Arcadia Invitational this past weekend, clearing 13 feet, 6 inches after setting a county and meet record at Arcadia last season.
Although Merritt won the event, which is an accomplishment in itself, she fell short of clearing 14-1.25.
In an intrasquad meet Wednesday, Merritt finally got over 14 feet. The mark, after measurement, turned out to be 14.75. But bcause it wasn’t an official meet, it won’t count as a county record.
Merritt seems happy just to have finally conquered the challenge of clearing 14 feet.
“It’s super rewarding,” Merritt said. “Arcadia built way more confidence (for me).”
Santa Margarita coach Gil Garcia said an official was on hand Wednesday to oversee the pole vault. The Santa Margarita boys were hosting a track meet with St. John Bosco.
Merritt said she will try again to clear 14 feet at the Orange County Championships on April 16.
Merritt also said she has her sights on clearing 14-4 this year, which would be a national record.
