Gymnastics Helps Senior Soar

Fayetteville Pole Vaulter Uses Background To Her Advantage

Sara Calhoun of Fayetteville High School clears 9-feet-6-inches in the pole vault April 12 during the Joe Roberts Relays at Southwest Junior High School in Springdale.
Sara Calhoun of Fayetteville High School clears 9-feet-6-inches in the pole vault April 12 during the Joe Roberts Relays at Southwest Junior High School in Springdale.

FAYETTEVILLE — When Sara Calhoun goes to compete in the pole vault, one of the first things she notices is she’s a few inches shorter than the other competitors.

The Fayetteville senior, however, has a great equalizer to her opposition’s height advantage. Calhoun turns to her background in gymnastics — something that helps her clear a bar that rests more than twice as high than her 5-foot-2 frame stands.

“In gymnastics, you build a lot of strength everywhere,” Calhoun said. “In pole vaulting, you have to have a lot of core strength, upper body and arm strength.

Profile

Sara Calhoun

SCHOOL: Fayetteville

CLASS: Senior

HEIGHT: 5-2

NOTABLE: Participated in gymnastics since age 3. … Began the pole vault as a ninth-grader and cleared 6-6 in her first meet. … Cleared a personal-best 11-0 during the state indoor meet in February, and her personal best during the outdoor season was 10-10 at the Cyclone Relays in Russellville.

“I already had that with gymnastics because I started when I was 3. I think it gives me an advantage, especially since I’m not that tall.”

Calhoun decided to try out for the track team when she was a freshman, and didn’t make the team after the first tryout. She then talked with a teacher who helped her get an opportunity to try the pole vault.

She cleared the qualifying height of 6-6 in her first meet, and from that point she has steadily progressed. She cleared 11-0 during the state indoor meet in February and has made to 10-10 during outdoor meets — putting her at the top among area pole vaulters.

“Sara is always one that wants to go out there and do her best,” Fayetteville coach Drew Yoakum said. “She’s one that is worried about every little thing, and if something doesn’t go right, she wants to fix it right then.

“That says a lot about her. She wants to do her best every time, and pole vaulting is one of those sports where you can’t do that. Weather affects you, your steps affect you, your hand placement affects you.”

Calhoun admitted the thought of running with a pole and using it to soar over a bar was scary at first, but it became something she adjusted to over time. Now she considers it as the closest a human gets to flying, although the flight eventually becomes a short-lived one.

The next few moments — from the race down the runway to the final descent to the mats — are nothing more than a blur in her eyes. The only thing that goes faster is Calhoun’s mind as she makes sure everything goes as planned, and the gymnastics background comes into play right after the pole is planted and she plans for liftoff.

“It all happens at once,” Calhoun said. “You have to think about it before you go, and you think about all those things — you have to plant high, swing up and get upside down. When you’re going, in a split second it happens.

“My biggest hangup is probably getting all the way upside down and going straight up my pole. Sometimes it goes by so fast and you’re shooting out at the bar. That’s where I use my strength to get myself upside down.”

Calhoun wants to soar to a new height before she completes her high school career, and time is winding down. She wants to clear 12 feet, and her next chance comes Thursday when she competes in the 7A-West Conference meet in Van Buren.

It’s something she has been able to do during practice, but she hasn’t received much cooperation during meets. She faced stiff wind during the Bulldog Relays, when she cleared 10-9 to win that meet, and chilly weather during the McDonalds Relays in Fort Smith didn’t help, either.

“I do it in practice, but when I get to meets it’s been different,” she said. “The conditions haven’t been that great this season, but whenever the bar is up there it’s just different. A lot of the pole vault is in your head.”

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