Bermudian Springs' Lily Carlson successfully defends PIAA Class 2A pole vault title

The question wasn't whether Lily Carlson was going to win the PIAA Class 2A pole vault title.

The question was: Will the Bermudian Springs junior break the PIAA and state record in her last attempt?

The answer: She gave it an excellent try.

After winning the gold medal for the second straight year − this time at 13-0 − Carlson had three attempts at 13-5 for the PIAA record but couldn't clear it. She added the gold medal to the fifth-place medal she won earlier in the day in the 100 hurdles.

Carlson broke her own YAIAA pole vault record on May 8 in the league meet at 13-3 and the District 3 record last week at 13-0 . Instead of going for a height slightly higher than her league mark, Carlson opted to try for the state record at 13-8.

She thought she had it on her final attempt, but could only watch from the mat as the bar fell.

"I think technique-wise, and getting up through my jump, I'd say my third 13-5 attempt today was better than the third 13-8 last week," Carlson said Saturday. "When I had my last attempt at counties, that was probably the best attempt I've had. But that third attempt [today] felt pretty good."

There is a big difference for jumpers between competing at the league meet and competing at districts or states. And it has nothing to do with the improved competition.

Carlson said at the YAIAA meet she was able watch video after each jump and go over things with her coaches. That doesn't happen at districts and states. Coaches aren't allowed on the infield during competition, leaving them to communicate with their athletes across the track.

In Carlson's case, she used a combination of hand signals and loud questions to communicate while she was trying for 13-5. And she did all of that as the 4x800 relays were running.

"This makes it a little harder," Carlson said. "It was hard to communicate, at least toward the end of my jumps because my coach was telling me things I need to visualize. It was a little hard to understand them."

Carlson said her coach will give her directions by pointing fingers a certain way and then holding up fingers indicating distances.

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Pulling double duty

Carlson took her time warming up for the 100 hurdle final because she didn't have to worry about taking vault attempts. She followed her plan and didn't take her first vault until the height was at 12-0.

That's the height Carlson hit last year to win her first title. So she started this year's competition with the last height she cleared last year in a jump off.

"I can't say it freaks me out, but it's super exciting," Carlson said. "It's cool to be jumping as high as I am and to be where I am."

Carlson was hoping to go a bit faster than the 15.34 she ran in the hurdles, but a slow start held her back. She was clear on her hurdle jumps, but said she didn't really hear the gun to start the race.

"I reacted to the people around me instead of reacting to the gun," she said. "I felt good running it though."

The race was tight from the start. And when it was over, officials had to go to hundreds of a second to determine North East's Abby Malesiewski defeated Montrose's Chloe Diaz. Both have a listed time of 14.85.

Next for Carlson

After she celebrates with a cinnamon roll and ice cream, Carlson will begin preparing for a pair of huge vaulting opportunities.

First up is a chance to vault with the elite, including at least one Olympian, in Washington DC on June 8. She will follow that up with the Nike Nationals over Father's Day weekend in Philadelphia.

"I made it into the elite championship category for DC, so I'll be going against some higher up NCAA girls and an Olympian as well," Carlson said. "I was like, 'wow.' That's a crazy week."

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Bermudian Springs' Lily Carlson successfully defends PIAA Class 2A pole vault title