BLUE EARTH – When it was over, Austin coach Lisa Glynn swung her arm around Theresa Hirsch’s rain-slickened shoulders and pronounced, "We finally have a pole vaulter.

Friday, April 28, 2000

BLUE EARTH – When it was over, Austin coach Lisa Glynn swung her arm around Theresa Hirsch’s rain-slickened shoulders and pronounced, "We finally have a pole vaulter."

Hirsch, a freshman, made history on Tuesday at the Blue Earth Area Invitational.

She set and re-set school records every time she cleared the bar, becoming the first Austin girl to compete in a high school-sanctioned pole vault competition.

She inspired, first vaulting 5 feet before clearing the bar at 6-inch increments on up to 8 feet, the measurement that finally foiled her.

She pushed on despite having her attempts interrupted by turns in two races – the 100-meter dash and a relay leg.

Even after the public address announcer informed everyone that the boys’ pole vault event – scheduled to follow the girls’ – was cancelled due to the slick conditions, Hirsch kept going until her three strikes at 8 feet were up.

She was something else – finishing in second place in a crowded field.

She was so good as to make you wonder how Austin could have waited through the 1900s before finding its first female pole vaulter. (In fact, it’s only in the last few years that girls’ pole vaulting became a prep event in Minnesota track and field.)

"She’s been doing it now for three weeks," said assistant coach Pete Walker, who came along just this season and just in time for Hirsch.

He’s the ideal instructor, a state pole vaulter for Austin High in 1983 before moving on to compete for the University of Minnesota.

"I was a middle of the pack pole vaulter in the Big Ten," said Walker, who is one of the slim minority among humans who has cleared 16 feet.

Austin coach Charles Banks said of pole vaulting, "It’s got a technique all its own. It takes speed and power and Theresa’s got both."

Indeed, the pole vaulting judge looked on in appreciation as Hirsch muscled herself over 7 1/2 feet.

"She’s one strong girl," he said.

But the event is about more than physics and physiques.

"You’ve got to be a little bit nuts to do it," said Walker, who is himself a safety freak and won’t let his athletes compete unless they clear his minimum requirements in practice – 5 feet for girls, 7 feet for boys.

Austin coaches have found that the dare-before-care mentality common among pole vaulters is hard to come by among commoners.

"We’ve tried to train others," Banks said, "but they just haven’t taken to it."

Hirsch has.

"I always thought it was cool," she said. "Once we got a coach, I got interested."

Hirsch admitted to doing "a lot better than I thought I would."

But she immediately set her sights skyward.

When asked what she wanted to accomplish as a pole vaulter, she answered, "Right now, all I want to do is break 8 feet."

It may have taken a century, but boy does Austin ever have a girl pole vaulter.

Erichson, Horton winners

Eighth grader Brittany Erichson and senior Preston Horton won races at the eight-team Blue Earth Area Invitational. Horton won the 100-meter dash and Erichson the 800 meter run. Erichson has not lost this season.

Results of the Blue Earth Area Invitational were still being compiled at the school as of this morning.

Complete results will be printed in Sunday’s Austin Daily Herald.