Versatile: Wright adapts to vaulting (NC)

[rainbowgirl28]

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Versatile: Wright adapts to vaulting

By Mason Linker
JOURNAL REPORTER

Every school year, Coach Jeff George posts notices in the halls at Reynolds asking former and current gymnasts to come out for his girls track-and-field team and try the pole vault.

In 2003-04, his efforts paid off when freshman Joanna Wright showed up for practice.

It took a couple of years, George said, before Wright started putting most of her focus into the pole vault, jumps and hurdles. Now a senior, she has become one of the state's top pole-vaulters, is adept in the jumps and hurdles and is headed to Georgia Tech on a scholarship.

"She came in as a freshman as a good overall athlete with some gymnastics experience," George said. "The real turning point came her junior year when she went full time into track. She dropped marching band, and she went to camp at Western Guilford.

"I could have given her 75-80 percent of what she has now in terms of coaching, but the fine details have come with working with top-level vaulters."

Wright, who finished second in the pole vault at last year's Class 4-A outdoor championships, has cleared 12 feet this season and is tied for second in the state on the N.C. track-and-field honor roll. Franklin's Carrie Long has the top vault, 12-1.

George said that Wright works out with Eric Morrell, a Western Guilford coach, and other top vaulters each weekend. He said that those workouts and the equipment Wright now has access to have helped her develop quickly, even though she was under-trained.

"Some colleges want a really polished vaulter," George said. "She is not polished yet, and I think that helped sell Georgia Tech on her. She is vaulting now on amazing athletic ability, her speed and strength. She only vaults about four or five times a month. Most of the time she is with us, she spends her time on the jumps and hurdles.

"I think her gymnastics background helped, too. By no means was she an elite gymnast. She did enough work on it to have comfort with being in the air, being able to manipulate her body in the air. And the training, she doesn't have to be shown everything. She can take a verbal command and put that into motion." Wright finished seventh at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia last week when she vaulted 11 feet, 7 inches with a sprained wrist, according to George. He also said that Wright has been stuck on 12 feet but that he expects her to break out during the final 2½ weeks of the season.

"She has had a little trouble with her steps, and it has had her stuck in competition," George said. "But she had had a couple of really good attempts at higher heights, and I think it's a plateau that athletes go through. She responds to competition, so I am optimistic she will break the barrier soon. If she goes four inches higher, she will be the best ever from North Carolina, and she has had some really good attempts at 12-6.

"She has overcome all the barriers that have been before her, and I think she is a 13-6 vaulter."

Wright competed in the Central Piedmont 4-A championships yesterday at East Rowan. George said that in addition to vaulting, she was scheduled to compete in the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and triple jump.

[polevaulter08nw]

GO JOANNA! haha ill see her this sunday!