Jackson extends Ramona High School record in pole vault
By Joe Naiman
After the pole vaulters on Ramona High School’s track and field teams spent the season opener on March 7 adjusting to new poles, junior Courtney Jackson set a school record March 9 at the Bronco Invitational meet by clearing 9 feet, 7 inches.
Two weeks later, Jackson extended her own school record by clearing 9 feet, 8 inches at the March 23 Mt. Carmel Invitational.
Jackson also won the girls pole vault at Ramona’s March 21 dual meet at Rancho Bernardo, making her the only Ramona girl to take first place in that dual meet.
“We didn’t do too well,” said head coach Sherri Edwards.
Jackson cleared 8 feet, 6 inches at Rancho Bernardo. Two boys earned first-place points: Forrest Riley had a time of 2:04.0 in the 800-meter race while Javier Dominguez won the 100-meter dash in 11.3 seconds.
Rancho Bernardo’s boys won the dual meet by a score of 87-31, while the Bronco girls prevailed by a 105-16 margin. The 3,200-meter races were not contested so that the distance runners would be fresher for the Mt. Carmel Invitational.
All 16 of Ramona’s girls points were from field events. The Broncos swept the scoring positions in 11 of the events, including all nine running races.
During the Bulldogs’ previous dual meet March 14 against Westview, Jackson won the pole vault while freshman Holly Stallman won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Stallman was ill March 21 and did not compete against the Broncos.
Jackson’s distance at the Mt. Carmel Invitational tied for seventh. The top Ramona finish at the Mt. Carmel Invitational was Riley’s fourth-place performance in the boys 3,200-meter race.
“He wasn’t happy with fourth place,” Edwards said.
Riley’s time of 9:17.31 was still a personal record; his previous best of 9:17.42 was accomplished during last year’s CIF meet.
Ramona’s girls 4x100 relay team competed in Division 5 of the Mt. Carmel Invitational and took fifth place to earn medals. Juniors Courtney Ford and Kelci Freeman, and freshmen Hannah Farhat and Stallman posted a time of 53.05 seconds.
The Bulldogs open Valley League competition Thursday with a dual meet at Valley Center.