LAKEWOOD — Mackenzie Felkley didn’t break the Boulder High School pole vault record of 15 feet, 2 inches his senior year. He did, however, finish third in 5A at the 2012 track and field state championships.
Entering the meet with a qualifying mark of 15-0, Felkley jumped 14-6 at Jefferson County Stadium on Thursday.
“I really wanted to break the record today for my school,” Felkley said. “But I’m happy. This is the first year I’ve placed at state and I’ve been three years so I’m really excited about that and I’m just glad to be out here.”
After finishing 11th last year, Felkley jumped way up onto the podium his final time in the event.
“I’m definitely happy with the jump,” Felkley said. “I’m feeling great. I just felt pretty on all day and I had a good meet.”
Entering the meet with a 12-7 qualifying mark, Panthers teammate Ian Morrissey finished 16th as a junior with a 12-foot jump.
In the 5A girls pole vault, Panther junior Zoe Robb entered the meet with a 9-10 mark. She jumped a personal-best 10 feet to take seventh place on the podium.
“It went really well. It was a lot of fun and there were a lot of good jumpers there,” Robb said. “It was a good environment and everyone was doing really well.”
Robb found her rhythm midway through the event. She’d only jumped on her 140 pole once before. Once she broke it out Thursday, her confidence skyrocketed.
“I had my power and my energy and I knew my jump was on,” Robb said. “When I cleared nine by about a foot and a half I was like, ‘This is gonna be awesome.'”
With another shot at state next year, Robb has set her sights higher after showing herself she can compete with the state’s top vaulters.
“I’m so excited for the opportunity to jump next year at state. I’m going to work hard this summer and get my technique under my belt a little bit more.”
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