Claire Smith Ties Gov. Livingston Pole Vault Record at State Championships.

On a sunny yet blustery and slightly chilly day in South Plainfield, Claire Smith studied a pole hanging 11' in the air readying for her next pole vault jump.

A few deep breaths later she sprinted into the pit, bounds her pole and tries to catapult herself higher than she has ever done in her track and field career.

"You are supposed to go from slow to fast and bound at the bottom, and I do that in opposite," Smith said after missing three final round jumps at the 2011 NJSIAA Track & Field Group Championships on Friday afternoon. 

"I get caught inside and can't wind up," Smith said."When you are trying to swing and (wind up somewhat leaning back) momemtum is working against you - for me its going down when its supposed to go up."

For her last three jumps, Smith was one of six contenders who had realized 11-feet as somewhat of a threshold that would determine who would claim the top placements in the girls Group 2 pole vault competition.

On her first jump, Smith held her body too low and ran into the bar. On the second and third vaults, she extended higher but ultimately was not able to clear the pole. When it was all said and done, Smith placed a respectable third.

"I dont really care about what place I come in," Smith said, "but I always come in thinking hopefully I'll get a personal record (PR). My PR would be eleven (feet) if I ever got it. Today was 10'6"."

Just as she had last Friday in the semifinals, Smith had to share time between the 100 meters and the pole vault competiton.  On Friday, she ran the 100 meters trial just before she entered the final pole vault round. Smith failed to qualify for the 100 meter finals.

"I did horribly in my 100 because I was trying to stay low and I messed it up and then stood up and I went back down," Smith said. " I did not even make it to the finals and I was rated second and I was hoping to place second in the 100."

Although one would think that it might detract from her vaulting, Smith says that it actually helps get the adrenalin going to a certain degree, "but it messes up your steps," Smith said. "Usually I miss the first jump after I come back from the 100 and then I make the second."

But not on Friday.

"She jumped it in practice the other day with no problem," said pole vault coach Peter Festante. "I think she  got third so we are happy, she jumped 10'6" and she tied the school record."

A good pole vaulter is one who is able to balance the speed, strength and agility that it takes to catapult one's body over a horizontal bar. "It's kind of like gymnastics where you have to have a lot of speed, coordination and strength," Festante said.

"When I go (extend), I dont know how to straighten out well," Smith said. "When I go I try to row through and hang and try to do something -- you have to press up, and then row and swing at the same time and row and swing at the same time. It's so hard because when you are going you don't know it's happening and it's hard to fix things that happen so quickly. If you think about it, its only a second (that all this occurs)."

Also in the girls pole vault, Highlander Amanda Amezquita placed into a three-way ninth place tie with two 9'6" vaults. Erica Stevenson jumped 9-feet.

In other events, Jimmy Hintze finished up placing ninth in the Group 2 discus competition with a throws of 132' 03" and 134' 09"; Chris Guerrero placed fifth in the mens 400 meter hurdles with finals times of 55.98 and 55.18, and Scott Fleming placed 21st with times of 58.75 and 1:00.48.

Other notable returns included Cat Quinn, who leapt to 17'-00.50 and 15'-10.50" to place ninth overall.