Bainbridge Island pole vaulter tops Washington state list, with Kitsap history in sight

Bainbridge High School track and field head coach Andy Grimm remembers the first day he met Ella McRitchie.

It was October of 2020 and the Spartans were holding fall conditioning workouts, not sure if the COVID-19 pandemic would allow for a full season the following spring. Yet the legend of McRitchie was already underway.

"I don't know who she is, but the kids are talking about this girl who's a ninth-grader that's super athletic," Grimm said. "She was a ninja warrior. That's what the kids were calling her."

There was good reason for the nickname. The previous year, McRitchie had competed in America Ninja Warrior Junior , running, jumping, swinging and climbing her way to a third-place finish in her age group and a $5,000 prize. The nationally-televised show, which pits athletes against obstacle courses, was a natural fit for a kid who grew up comfortable negotiating heights as a competitive climber.

Learning about McRitchie's background, Grimm suggested an event he felt would be a perfect match.

"You know what pole vault is?" Grimm asked McRitchie during those 2020 fall workouts. "You should think about it."

Taking Grimm's advice, McRitchie looked up the website for NW Pole Vault, a club led by current University of Washington assistant coach Tim Reilly. It's pole vault central for athletes in the Puget Sound area, working with novice and veteran vaulters alike.

"Go on this (website) and tell me what you think," Grimm told McRitchie. "She comes back the next week and goes, 'That's the coolest thing I've ever seen.'"

"I did a private lesson, loved it right off the bat," McRitchie added.

Truth be told, McRitchie proved to be a quick study in pole vault. She cleared 12 feet as a freshman and set a new West Sound record as a sophomore by clearing 13 feet multiple times. Two athletes shared the previous West Sound record of 12-6: Olympic's Erin Shafer, who placed second at state in 2002, and Bainbridge's Emma Chee, who placed third at state in 2018.

During the postseason last May, McRitchie achieved her PR at the West Central District meet, clearing 14 feet. It set up a potential state championship showdown between McRitchie and two of her NW Pole Vault teammates, sisters Hana and Amanda Moll from Capital High School in Olympia. The pair, who currently compete at the University of Washington, were regarded as two of the top prep pole vaulters in the nation at the time.

While Hana Moll ended up setting the state meet record by clearing 14-7, McRitchie was forced to sit out of the competition due to a fluke accident. Several days before the state meet, McRitchie suffered a badly sprained left ankle after stepping off a curb while taking a ferry from Bainbridge Island to Seattle for a club practice.

"I was pretty disappointed," McRitchie said.

This spring is setting up as an opportunity for McRitchie to rebound and become the first female from Kitsap County to win a state pole vault title. Competing in 3A, McRitchie ranks first in the state, regardless of classification. She's cleared 13-6 twice this season, which is two inches more than Landry Allen of Hanford, which competes in 4A.

At the state championships later this month, McRitchie would love to challenge Moll's record mark of 14-7. Pole vault is one of those events, McRitchie said, that doesn't necessarily pit athletes against each other. She views it as a battle between the vaulter and the bar.

"It's you against clearing the next height," she said.

As a student-athlete, McRitchie measures up to some of the best West Sound has produced in recent years. Sporting a 4.0 grade-point average, she earned scholarship offers from numerous NCAA Division 1 schools, including UW, Stanford, Cal-Berkley, Louisville and Virginia Tech. McRitchie committed to Harvard, feeling as if the school offered the best combination of education, athletics and social atmosphere.

"It was the place that had everything," said McRitchie, whose study interests include biomedical engineering.

Perhaps if Grimm had suggested hurdles or height jump to McRitchie during her freshman year, there's a chance she's contending for hardware in those events right now instead of pole vault. Instead, she discovered a connection with the sport's highest-flying event and she'll continue on that path for the foreseeable future.

"I'm really glad I found it," she said.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Bainbridge Island pole vaulter tops Washington state list, with Kitsap history in sight