Nancy Baar Article (VA)

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http://www.roanoke.com/sports/highschool/22143.html

Soaring aspirations



Pole vaulter Nancy Baar aims to set a meet record at the Cosmopolitan Invitational this week.

By Aaron McFarling
 981-3124
The Roanoke Times


Thais Teotonio peered at the obstacle and laughed.


"That's definitely not for me," she said.


Patrick Henry pole vaulting coach Tommy Jones had just raised the practice bar from 7 feet to 9 feet, 6 inches. Teotonio was right - this challenge wasn't for her, or anyone else here other than Nancy Baar.


Baar, a sophomore, sprinted down the runway, planted the pole and soared. Easy clearance.


Jones lowered the bar back to 7 feet.


"See that?" Teotonio said.


"Nancy ... " Teotonio said as she raised her hand above her head, then lowered it to indicate the gap between Baar and others on the team. "Us!"


"Nancy ..." she repeated, giggling, "us!"


Both the male and female vaulters at PH have a lot of fun laughing about that during practice. It's simply understood that Nancy Baar, a bright and cheerful 15-year-old who excels in just about every sport she tries, can get a little higher than the rest.


In fact, last year, you could take that comparison a little further. It was Nancy ... and the rest of Group AAA. She won the state title as a freshman with a vault of 10 feet.


Baar figures to get some good competition Thursday, when the 40th Cosmopolitan Invitational track and field meet opens with the pole vaulting event at PH. She'll try to break the meet record of 10 feet, a mark Baar shares with former Cave Spring vaulter Jennifer Wade.


Like the majority of teams in Timesland, Cave Spring doesn't field a vaulting squad anymore. The Knights dropped the program about two years ago, after the Virginia High School League changed the requirements on the length of the landing pads for safety reasons, rendering their old equipment inadequate.


"It was a very expensive change in standards for schools," said Cave Spring AD Randy Meck, citing an estimated cost of $15,000 for new pads. "And I think it was something that hurt pole vaulting all over."


PH, Franklin County, Jefferson Forest and Staunton River are the only Timesland schools with pole vaulters.


An athlete such as Baar - or anyone who can score in pole vaulting - is a huge edge for teams competing in big meets where every point is precious.


"If you're going to be competitive in Triple A," PH head coach Chad Cox said. "You almost have to vault."


Besides the cost, another deterrent for schools is the risk. In 1979, Radford vaulter Todd Spillman died after fracturing his skull when he fell back on the runway during a routine practice. Equipment and coaching standards have improved since, but for someone who gets as high as Baar, the danger persists.


"People always ask me if I'm scared," Baar said. "Most of the time, no. You do the runbacks in warmups and you do your steps, so you're not just winging it.


"But there's really no way to just ensure it. My coach is always standing down there by the box, spotting me in case I do [fall back]. He's going to catch me. I totally trust him. But it's definitely my worst fear."


Baar's technique looks graceful and effortless, but it took plenty of work. She credits her supportive coaches and family - mother Mary Delaney, stepfather John Delaney and sister Elizabeth, a senior at PH - for helping her reach this level.


She figures her foundation in gymnastics - six years worth, beginning at age 3 - helped her make the transition to a complex sport that requires both strength and precision.


There are no area youth leagues for pole vaulting, but Baar was able to try it at as a seventh grader with the help of family friend Bob Phillips, a former All-American at Virginia Tech who coaches the sport for the Hokies. By the time she reached high school, she was way ahead of her peers.


"People told me that Nancy was coming in and she was a freshman and she was pretty good at it and everything," Jones said. "Of course, she comes out here and she does like 9 feet. Pretty good? As a freshman, that was phenomenal."


Baar has evolved into one of the top all-around athletes in the area, making All-Timesland for volleyball and her favorite sport, swimming. But it might be here, in the vault, where she stands out the most.


Last weekend, at a meet in Appomattox, Baar cleared 10-6, a personal best. This despite a sprained ankle and poor weather conditions for the event.


"I guess now that I've done 10-6, I'm expecting to get it again," Baar said. "And I'm really hoping to reset that [Cosmo] record because last year I just tied it. I want to set it good and high."


How high? Well, Jones said clearing 11 feet likely would get Baar full scholarship offers from college recruiters, and she's still got two-plus years to do it.


On Monday, during her final vault in practice, Jones set the obstacle at 11 feet and didn't tell Baar. Baar approached, planted and soared, clearing it perfectly.


Only then did Jones mention how high it was.


"Rock on!" Baar said.


Nancy ... us.


"We tell her we'll get her one day," Teotonio said, laughing, "if we have to chop off her legs."

Nancy Baar


Patrick Henry


sophomore


Age: 15




Pole vaulting achievements: Cleared 10 feet, 6 inches last week in Appomattox for a personal best ... Won Group AAA meet as a freshman with vault of 10 feet ... Won 2004 Northwest Region meet with vault of 10 feet, 3 inches - 3 inches off meet record ... Shares Cosmo record with Cave Spring's Jennifer Wade after vault of 10 feet last year.



Other sports achievements: Competes year-round with the Virginia Gators swimming club ... Named All-Timesland swimmer after finishing third in Group AAA, fourth in the 100 free and participating in PH's sixth-place 200 free relay team ... Named second-team All Timesland in volleyball last fall.

On her success in the pole vault: "It's one of those things that happened by chance. If PH didn't have pole vaulting, I probably would have just done soccer."

Cosmopolitan Invitational records

Nancy Baar ( already shares the girls' pole vault record at the Cosmopolitan Invitational. She will try to eclipse her mark of 10 feet on Thursday at Patrick Henry. A look at the Cosmo record book as the meet enters its 40th year: