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http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles ... 113620.txt

Aide vaults into history
By KERRY COLLINS
Bismarck Tribune
It took the better part of five years, but Kelsey Aide finally hit the state qualifying standard in the pole vault.

No, no, no. Not the girls qualifying mark. The two-time state champ can clear 9 feet in her sleep.

On Saturday, the Bottineau senior hit a new level by clearing 12-feet, 1-inch to win the girls pole vault at the Charlie Denton Relays at the Community Bowl.

The Class B boys state qualifying standard is 12 feet even.

"I never really thought about it that way," a grinning Aide said. "Hopefully I'll be able to beat some of those guys (at the state meet)."

Aide easily won the event, as Minot's Kayla Pfau was second at 10-9.

The 12-1 mark is the highest ever cleared by a girl in North Dakota, just ahead of Grand Forks Central's Julie Strenkowski's 2003 mark of 12-0.

"My goal for this year was to get that record of 12 feet, and now I'll just have to go higher,"Aide said. "Like anybody, I have good days and I have bad days, but I'm happy with where I'm going.

"I guess the next goal is to go for 13 feet."

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles ... 113954.txt

Meanwhile, Bottineau's Kelsey Aide continued to add to her state record in the pole vault. Just six days after going 12-1 at the Bismarck Kiwanis Invitational, the two-time defending Class B state champion cleared the bar at 12-2 to establish new state, meet and Community Bowl records.

Aide started the day at 10-6, and then cleared 11-0, 11-6 and 12-1 before sailing over the 12-2 mark on her second attempt. She missed four times at 12-4, scraping the bar with her heels each time.

"When I hit 12 feet last week, I set a goal to improve at each meet," Aide said. "I'll go after 12-3 or 12-4 the next time, but my overall goal is 13 feet."

Aide's vault shattered the meet record of 10-9, held by Mandan's Brooke Wehri (2003). She broke the Community Bowl record of 12-0 last week.

"We really like it here," Aide said. "This is where the state meet will be ... we want to get comfortable."

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles ... 115356.txt

Aide shatters pole vault record
By MICHAELWEBER
Bismarck Tribune
Bottineau's Kelsey Aide has been raising the standards in the Class B girls pole vault since she was an eighth-grader.

On Friday, the standard was raised to an unbelievable high.

Aide shattered both the Class B and overall state records with a vault of 12-4 on the first day of the state track and field meet, held at the Bismarck Community Bowl.

Aide's record-setting vault was 10 inches higher than the previous Class B record of 11-6 - set in 2004 by Aide - and four inches higher than the previous overall record of 12-0, also set in 2004 by Grand Forks Central's Julie Strenkowski. Aide went 11-7 last year, but the height didn't make it into the record book because the event was held indoors.

And, Friday's height also earned the Bottineau senior her fifth consecutive state championship.

"It was a good day ... very exciting," Aide said. "My main goal today was to set a higher standard. I'm very happy with the way it all turned out."


Aide started at 10-6 and then went 11-0, 11-6 and 11-9 before breaking the overall mark at 12-1. She then cleared the bar at 12-4, but failed three times at 12-7.

Aide had hoped for at least one attempt at 13 feet.

"That's what I was hoping for the most," she said. "That was a goal of mine all year, but it didn't work out. That's all right, though. This is a day I'll never forget."

Aide gave the credit to her father and pole vault coach, Mark Aide - a three-time Class A state champion pole-vaulter at Bismarck High in the early 1970s.

"He definitely knows what he's doing," Kelsey Aide said. "He knows how to push you and he makes it fun, too. He's really the only pole vault coach I've ever had, but I think he's the best in the state."

Few would argue. Bottineau pole-vaulters also nabbed second, third and a tie for seventh in Friday's final. Another Aide, freshman Abbey, went 11-3 for second place, and Maribeth Geiszler followed at 10-3. Elizabeth Kornkven and Dickinson Trinity's Jennifer Bachamp both vaulted 9-0.

Bottineau also had four placewinners in the pole vault last year.

"We have good kids ... that makes a big difference," said Mark Aide, a 1972 Bismarck High graduate whose best vault was 15-4. "I'm very proud of what we did today."

Friday's 1-2 finish for the Aide family brought back memories for Mark Aide. Thirty-five years ago, Mark and his brother Mike finished 1-2 in the Class A pole vault.

"It was pretty special watching what happened today and then thinking back to what happened 35 years ago," Mark Aide said.