Lady Titan vaults to second place

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Sydney Rodkey, a rising sophomore at North Oconee High, clears the 10’6” mark in the pole vault event Saturday in Landover, Md. [Submitted photo]
by Erik Schmidt
Published:
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 6:11 PM EDT
Sydney Rodkey is the type of girl who enjoys her share of airtime.

Literally.

As a competitive athlete in gymnastics, trampoline and power tumbling, the North Oconee rising sophomore finds herself defying gravity more times than not. On Saturday at the Region III Junior Olympics Track & Field Championships in Landover, Md., Rodkey’s high-flying prowess netted her second place in the intermediate division (15-16-year-olds) in pole vault.

Rodkey set a personal record in the event, clearing the bar at 10’6”. She also qualified for the national championships in Greensboro, N.C.

However, due to a thumb injury and previous family commitments, she may not attend.

“I was more excited about the P.R.,” said Rodkey. “Finishing second was an added bonus.

“And it’s nice to say that I qualified for Nationals.”

“Sydney’s a great competitor and she did a great job,” said Rodkey’s coach, Aaron James. “She was a brush of a bar away from winning the competition.”

The ultimate victor did not clear 10’6” until her third attempt. And even then she barely got over, according to James. The winning vault was 11 feet.

James, owner of A. James Athletics and an assistant coach at Athens Christian School, brought five pole vaulters to Regions. All five advanced to Nationals. His daughter Megan won the Youth Division (9-10) and Claire Goodson of Greater Atlanta Christian placed second in the Young Women’s classification (17-18).

Paul Malquist and Leo Cummings won their respective age groups on the boys’ side.

“I didn’t expect those results, frankly,” James said. “But it was really nice to see.

“Plus I enjoyed spending that kind of time with the kids. We rode in a car together for nine hours. That was interesting.”

James and Rodkey first crossed paths when Rodkey was attending gymnastics training sessions. While one was entering with a team, the other was leaving.

James told Rodkey’s mother Stacey that when Sydney got too tall for gymnastics, she should come to him to learn pole vaulting. The remark was made in passing.

However, sometime later, Stacey approached him at a meet and said that Sydney had outgrown her sport.

“At her first (pole vault) practice, she just stood there,” James said. “She wouldn’t pick up a pole. I asked if she was ready, she said she was, but she didn’t want to jump in front of anyone else. I think it may have been a few weeks before she really started practicing with everyone and warming up.

“She’s shy but incredibly sweet.”

And she’s a fast learner.

Rodkey is just finishing her inaugural year in pole vaulting.

“For a first-year competitor to come in and do what she did is outstanding,” James said. “That’s not something that everybody does.”