Lindsay Regan 12-5

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L. Regan vaults to record



Thursday, January 01, 2004


By BRUCE BURATTI
The Express-Times


Lindsay Regan didn't feel anything particularly special in the air Saturday while she prepared for the Christmas City Relays girls pole vault competition at Lehigh's Rauch Fieldhouse.

But it certainly became a historic day for the Easton sophomore, who soared to new heights in the indoor meet that brought together some of the top athletes in Pennsylvania.

She also fired the first shot in the friendly competition she enjoys with her sister, Courtney, a senior at Easton and the reigning PIAA Class AAA pole vault champion.

On her first attempt, Lindsay Regan cleared 12 feet, 5 inches to not only win the event but to establish a new Express-Times region girls pole vault record in the process. Lindsay Regan broke the mark of 12-3 established by Hunterdon Central's Lauren Contursi in the 1999 Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, Calif.

Courtney Regan, a senior already committed to Princeton next fall, cleared a career-best 12 feet at the PIAA Championships, which was held indoors because of the inclement weather at Shippensburg University. She bettered that several weeks later by clearing 12- at the National Scholastic Championships in Raleigh, N.C.

Little sister had an answer the following month, however, when she cleared 12-3\ in her age group in the Junior Olympic Championships at Eastern Michigan University. (This performance is not recognized as a region record because it was done after classes were out for the summer).

But Lindsay Regan took care of that on Saturday by clearing 12-5 . Asked why she set the bar at that peculiar height instead of 12-3 or 12-6, Lindsay admitted she had no idea.

"I really don't why, actually," she said. "I just wanted to beat my previous personal best, that's all. I wasn't aware of any (region) record or anything like that. I just want to vault well and improve every time I compete."

Lindsay Regan entered the competition at 10 feet. She cleared that height, as well as 10-6, 11-0 and 11-6 all on her first attempts. She cleared 12-0 on her second try and made 12-5 on her first attempt, too.

Though Track and Field News has not published any early national prep indoor performances yet, 15th place last season -- counting indoor and outdoor performances -- was 12-7. Both Lindsay and Courtney have a chance to crack the national rankings this season.

The Regan sisters both are cheerleaders at Easton. In track, they also have full plates and are not exclusively vaulters. Both are sprinters who figure to be key members of coach Frank Messa's 400-meter relay team, 1,600 relay squad, or both.

Emily Tharp of Erie McDowell (2001) and Kim Stuyvesant of Fairview (2000) currently share the PIAA record at 12-3. The national federation record is 13-8 set last spring by Kira Costa of San Joaquin High School in Fresno, Calif. 1/3/à='' 1/3/à=''