Ann Marie Howell article (MS)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp ... div=Sports

Mooreville's Howell vaulting for honors
4/28/2006 12:37:29 AM
Daily Journa

BY GENE PHELPS
Daily Journal

Ann Marie Howell jumped, vaulted and ran her way to victory in last weekend's region track and field meet in Oxford.


She could have done without the running part.


Howell, a sophomore on the Mooreville High School track team, won the 3A pole vault with a vault of 9 feet and placed second in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 2 inches.


Her running came between the two field events, which were run simultaneously.


"After she would pole vault, she would run over and high jump," Mooreville coach Laura Pasiewicz said. "Then, she'd run back and pole vault."


All the running to and from events left Howell little time to catch her breath. Her 5-2 in the high jump was two inches below her 5-4 leap in the division meet the week before.


"I got really tired," said the South Louisiana native. "They gave me time, but I still felt rushed."


In Saturday's North Mississippi 3A meet in Oxford, Pasiewicz hopes her young athlete will be given more time to give each event her best effort.


"She's competitive in both events and works really hard," the coach said. "We're going to make sure she takes her time."


Howell's 9-foot vault at the region meet was a personal best and is the state's best-recorded vault in 3A. She won the Class 2A state championship last year in Pearl with an 8-foot vault, and captured this year's Daily Journal Relays title.


She's trained by her father, Bruce Howell, who was a pole vaulter in high school. They conduct her workouts at Tupelo High's facility, using her own $500 pole.


"He tells me you have to be something of a daredevil to pole vault," Howell said. "It's fun flying through the air."


Howell's love of the high jump comes from her late mom, Julie Ann Howell, who holds the event record at her former high school in Louisiana.


But Howell, who plays slow-pitch softball and basketball for Mooreville, said track and field - namely the pole vault - is her favorite sport.


She attended a pole vaulting camp this past summer at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Ark., where she worked on her technique.


"My goal," she said, "is to go college and compete in track and field."


Her immediate goal, however, is to vault high enough to capture a second straight state title next month.