Kelsey Branch vaults to Section 9 title (NY)

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Branch vaults to Section 9 title

Warwick sweeps boys, girls team titles


Kelsey Branch, left, discusses her performance with her coach, Jeff Moulton, at Friday's Section 9 Class A track meet.Times Herald-Record/Dominick Fiorille

By Ken McMillan


Times Herald-Record
February 15, 2008
West Point — Kelsey Branch decided to give track and field a try at the urging of her friends. In two short years the Cornwall senior has become the top girls' pole vaulter in the state.
Branch thought merely running would be a boring exercise, so she asked the Cornwall coaches if she could give pole vault a try because she heard former gymnasts seem to transition well to the height-defying event.
She cleared 11 feet, 2 inches during the 2007 outdoor season and improved to 11-6 at the Yale Invitational. Yesterday, Branch was a bit annoyed when she only cleared 11 feet, but it was good enough to win the Section 9, Class A title. She also won the long jump with a leap of 16-7¾.
Winning the sectional pole vault title was nice, Branch says, but all she cares about is going higher.
"It's not where I am placing right now; I just want to improve," she said. "I want to do well in college with pole vault so my focus right now is on doing better. That's what makes me feel better, when the pole is bending more and my form feels good on the pole."
As for the No. 1 state ranking: "It's definitely cool, I guess," she said.
Branch said she was surprised when she cleared 11-6 at Yale, even though all of her elements were going well.
"I felt pretty good that day," she said. "My run was consistent, and I just felt good when I jumped off the pole. The pole was working with me and there was an extra snap off the pole when I finished. It never occurred to me (that I cleared 11-6). I was just watching the bar, expecting it to fall."
Branch is making the transition from a 12-foot pole to a 13-foot pole. If you hold the pole in the same spot as before, the added length on the front will feel like five pounds of extra weight, she said.
Branch stands only 5-foot-2, the same height as two-time defending state champion Stephanie Duffy, the Washingtonville product who now jumps collegiately for South Florida.
"A lot of people say that maybe tall people don't have to jump as high because they're taller," Branch said. "My argument is always there is less (of me) to get over the bar.''
Branch has no college plans as of yet. She believes a good finish at states might help open some eyes of college recruiters.