Senior Becomes Plymouth High School’s First Track and Field State Champion

This article was posted by Nicole Krawcke. It was reported and written by Julianne Pitcher.

Plymouth High School senior Jane McCurry became the first state champion in the history of Plymouth track and field with a pole vaulting record of 12 feet.

“Going into the state meet I knew I had a good shot of placing within the top girls,”McCurry said. I kept a running tab of the competition in my head throughout the meet and because I cleared all of my bars with only one try, I knew that I was seeded first when the bar went up to 11’6.”

Despite this great first attempt, she still felt uncertain about the outcome of this Team State Finals meet at Wyandotte High School, McCurry said.

“The runway was a little weird, and I was struggling to use my usual pole, so we took all three attempts at 11’6, and I ended up missing the height.  After my third attempt, there were two girls left, each with one attempt, and I knew that if they made the height, they would win,” McCurry said.

Both girls ended up missing the bar as well, which meant McCurry won and became the first state champion for Plymouth track and field.  The next best record is 11’9 from Reagan Engstrom in 2012, said McCurry.

McCurry said, “I was so relieved and excited.  It’s a nice reward for the hard work my coaches, family, and I put into my vaulting.”

McCurry began vaulting her freshman year when she was recruited by the pole vaulting coach, as well as sophomore teammate, Engstrom.  McCurry was on the gymnastics team at the time.

McCurry said, “I liked that it was different. I showed up to the first practice and didn’t really know anything about it, but after that first season, I was hooked.  It’s hard not to like something you get to do with your best friends.”

“I think it’s a great experience to break a record during your time in high school, and it’s really cool to graduate with your name on the wall.  Records are made to be broken, and I hope that one of the younger girls can have the same experience I did,” McCurry said.

McCurry will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall on an academic scholarship, where she will pole vault and study environmental or food science.