First in state not enough for Georgia Williams (PA)

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First in state not enough for Williams


Bermudian Springs’ Georgia Williams flashes some medal. Williams was selected as the 2009 All-Times Co-Player of the Year for her dominant performances at the local, district and state levels this past season.
By Adam Michael
Times Sports Writer
Published: Friday, June 19, 2009 7:04 AM EDT
This summer will be much like the one that brought Bermudian Springs pole vaulter Georgia Williams to the forefront of the Times Area track & field scene.

As a student of the pole vault two years ago, Williams traveled to FiberBenders in Sinking Springs, PA where she first began to master her technique.

In the upcoming months of July to August, Williams will return to the camp looking to put some finishing touches on her vault while also acting as a counselor after FiberBenders director Lance Atkins recruited her.

If experience makes a good teacher, there might not be any high school female athlete better in the state than Williams. The junior won the PIAA Class-AA gold medal putting the finishing touches on the high school season, winning at the county, district and state level. The achievement also earned her a share of the 2009 Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

Williams was not only a pole vaulter for the Eagles this season. In fact, her 36-05.25 triple jump also won a District 3 Class AA gold while eclipsing her own personal record by nearly six inches. Her 5-foot high jump at districts, though an inch away from her best, was still good enough for a silver at the district meet as well.

But when it comes to defining herself, Williams says she is a pole vaulter. In fact, she spent very little time working on her other events throughout the year.

“I practiced our relay the most,” she said of her other events. “I’d do five minutes of high jump or five minutes of triple jump.”

Though Williams won the state meet with an 11-foot vault, and landed her all-time best 11-foot-6 jump earlier this season, it would be unwise to assume she’s satisfied to cruise through her upcoming senior year with equal heights.

Her reaction after securing the gold medal at states during a tie-break vault at 11-feet which her opponent, Wilson Area’s Allison Vanek was unable to hit following Williams second perfect jump at the height is a good indication of that.

“I was happy because I made it on my first try but really deep down inside I was like, ‘What the heck, it’s only 11-foot,’” Williams said. “At least I was consistent out there. I was happy I made it and she didn’t.”

This summer, continued consistency at the 11 and 11-foot-6 jumps will be her goal, as well as moving up to a 12-foot jump. Though her mechanics are as clean as the top vaulters in the state, Williams knows there is room to improve.

“I need to work on my run,” she said. “I’m very inconsistent with that. I get out of my mark and I’ll be under; you go straight to your back and can’t finish your vault.”

Williams credits her pole vault coach Jamie Lehr for some of her improvement over the last season. Suffering through a miserable, rain-filled track season, most area athletes had little time to practice their vaults.

Not so, though, for the Bermudian Springs kids who spent several days at the ‘Lehr Compound’ where their coach built his own indoor vaulting area.

“It’s just a building with an area cut away for a runway,” Williams said. “Everything else looks kind of like a garage.”

Other than the vaulting equipment, Williams said a loft that contains a big-screen television where vaulters review their mechanics is one of the most important additions to the compound.

“You can see what you do wrong so you can try to fix it,” Williams said, listing some of the fixes she’s made in the last season. “My pull, my turn at the top. I always turn and I’m on my side and hit the bar. I didn’t totally fix that, but a lot of times I fixed it.”

Through watching videos and feeling her way out, Williams said she’d learned to correct most of her own mistakes. At FiberBenders, she plans to work up to a longer pole while working on her strength to help with her plant.

Williams was happy to gain the gold this season, not only because it was the only step left – she took the silver a season prior with an 11-foot jump on an indoor surface – but also because it will help her with college recruitment.

The soon-to-be senior said a few Division-I schools have had interest including Memphis and University of North Carolina-Wilmington, but the one that’s caught her interest the most is a developing program at High Point University in High Point, N.C. She said she’s planned a visit there in the fall.

Williams will likely be a welcome addition to the team, as the school record is only 9-8.25 in the pole vault.

“I want to go for marine biology and I’ll have lots of homework,” Williams said. “I’ll be having to study so I can do the job well. At High Point, it won’t be as stressful.”

Williams said she will also possibly pursue the heptathlon, although the pole vault has yet to be instituted as part of the structure.

Williams gave up basketball last winter to focus on the pole vault, and with plans to do the same this winter, is still looking for plenty of improvement.

“I better jump 12-feet next year,” she said. “Lance from FiberBenders, he said I should be jumping so much higher. He wants to get me on a 14-foot pole by the end of training.’”