Jenn Hammel Article (IL)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/artic ... 103158.txt

Hammel breaks through to state in pole vault

by todd hefferman
the southern


CHESTER - At another record-setting Class A girls track sectional Friday, the drama was above the track as much as on it at Chester High School.

Prior to Friday's sectional, Chester junior Jenna Hammel's personal best in the pole vault was 8 feet and a half inch. So you can imagine her hysteria when she cleared the 8-6 bar, vaulting her to not only contention for the sectional crown, but the Class A state meet in Charleston because 8-6 was the provisional qualifying standard.

"I thought I was going to hit it on the way up," said Hammel, who ran out of people to hug after stamping her ticket and beating her personal best by over five inches. "I just had an extra kick in it. I gave it everything I had."

Katherine Hendricks, the defending sectional champ as a sophomore, won the event easily for Carterville with a height of 10-6. Hendricks took three shots at a personal-best 11-2, but couldn't get the velocity to carry her over the bar.

Herrin's Jessica Foster finished second with a height of 8-9.

"First time at 11-2, I made it over, but my steps were too far back, so I came down on it and hit it," Hendricks said. "It's better to blow right through, because then you can just go to a bigger pole."