Molly Love raising the bar in girls’ pole vault (PA)

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http://www.centredaily.com/2012/04/01/3 ... g-the.html

State College’s Love raising the bar in girls’ pole vault
By Gordon Brunskill gbrunski@centredaily.com — State College - Centre Daily Times
Posted: 12:01am on Apr 1, 2012; Modified: 10:15am on Apr 1, 2012


State College's Molly Love competes in the pole vault during the Altoona 37th Annual Igloo Invitational at Mansion Park on Saturday, March 31, 2012. Abby Drey CENTRE DAILY TIMESBuy Photo
ALTOONA — Against the slate-gray sky in Altoona on Saturday, Molly Love launched herself into the air.

With curly blonde locks fluttering in the wind, the State College senior rose higher and higher, letting go of the pole as she arched over the bar and dropped back to earth.

Love has been performing the act over and over — and has been getting better and better with her personal goals continually increasing.

Molly Love has been on the rise — literally and figuratively — in the pole vault.

She returned to Altoona’s Mansion Park Saturday morning for the Igloo Invitational for the first time since she captured the District 6 Class AAA title last spring to qualify for the state championships. She picked up where she left off, notching another win by clearing 10 feet.

It wasn’t her best day, it wasn’t near her personal best or what she had been clearing not long ago during indoor competition, but it was another win.

“On days like these when she doesn’t jump as well,” Little Lion pole vaulting coach Joe Sera said, “she still beats the field because she’s upped her effort and her seriousness with the sport.”

The height matched her personal best for most of last season, until she cleared 10 feet, 6 inches at the district championships, and also what she hit while finishing 20th at the PIAA meet.

Now, a mere 10 feet is an ordinary day, even in less than ideal conditions.

“I know that 10-6 is nowhere as high as I could jump,” Love said. “At the time it was a big P-R ... but I’m looking to go even higher.”

She was hitting 11-3 over the winter, she wants to break the school record of 11-6 sometime in the next few weeks and wouldn’t mind surpassing 12 feet by the time districts roll around again.

The momentum began at that district meet.

“She really came into her own toward the end of the season and she dedicated herself over the course of the winter and last summer,” Sera said. “She’s really been more aggressive at it, she’s gone to a lot of training stuff, different camps. She’s become a very confident jumper.”

The big leaps have helped her parlay her success into a college future — she committed to the track and field program at North Carolina-Wilmington on Friday.

“Going pretty far away from home was definitely an obstacle,” Love said. “I’m excited and things definitely started to fall into place. I’m happy with where I’m going.”

She chose the school over George Mason, with some interest from Villanova and an opportunity to walk on at Penn State, but it was easy for her to say no to the hometown school.

“I’ve always wanted to get away from home,” said Love, who wants to study either biology or pre-med. “I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve been a part of Penn State my whole life so I thought it would be cool to be part of a different school.”

Plus, there was another easy selling point that State College lacks.

“I would rather deal with heat and humidity than cold weather,” Love said. “Plus I’ll have a beach.”

It’s a nice reward for all the hard work she has put into the event over the last 12 months, including trips twice a week to Hershey last summer for extra workouts and plenty of time in the weightroom.

“That made her work even harder and cycle into this year,” Sera said. “She started vaulting in the summer a lot more.”