Tori Anthony gears up for World JRs

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 910002.htm

World event next for area athletes
ANTHONY QUALIFIES IN POLE VAULT, TARMOH IN 400-METER RELAY
By David Kiefer
Mercury News
By qualifying for the world junior track and field championships, the stakes are higher than those at regular section and state competitions for two Santa Clara County high school athletes.

Castilleja's Tori Anthony won the girls pole vault and Mt. Pleasant's Jeneba Tarmoh earned a spot on the 400-meter relay team during the Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis last weekend.

Next up is the World Junior Championships, set for Aug. 15-20 in Beijing. By then the competitive seasons for both athletes, entering their senior years, will have lasted eight months.

Anthony cleared 13 feet, 1 1/2 inches in the pole vault, and Tarmoh was third in the 100 and 200. The top two in each event qualify for the worlds.

The pole vault was suspended by a thunderstorm Thursday and resumed in mid-competition Friday. This meant Anthony had to clear 12-7 -- higher than she would normally open a competition -- on her first attempts of the night. She made it on her second try and was perfect over the next two heights to win.

``I don't know if I could have imagined winning nationals when I started this season,'' Anthony said. ``It's pretty exciting. I don't think I've wrapped my head around it yet.''

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show ... hp?id=3105

Triple crowns in track and field finals
Three local athletes win titles at USA outdoor championships

by Keith Peters
Palo Alto Weekly Staff

Tori Anthony, Lauren Fleshman and Jill Camarena all have something in common, other than their sport of track and field. All three are first-time outdoor national champions in their respective events, following the 2006 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis.

Anthony captured her first outdoor crown in the Junior National Championships, held concurrently with the senior meet. The Castilleja senior (this fall) won the women's pole vault at 13-1 1/2.

All three winners earned trips with USA teams this summer.

Anthony will compete at the IAAF World Junior Championships in August in Beijing, China. In addition to numerous other events in Europe, Fleshman and Camarena will go to the IAAF World Cup of Athletics, set for Sept. 9-16 in Stuttgart, Germany.

For Anthony, her trip to China is like dream come true and caps the longest and most successful season of her young life.

"I don't think I could have asked for a better season than this," Anthony said Monday morning as she prepared for a brief vacation to London. "I really wanted to make the team for Beijing. "I'm really excited. I can't wait to go."

Anthony said she has talked to others about their first international trips, including her own personal vault coach Scott Slover. He, too, competed in a World Junior Championship in the pole vault after winning a junior national title his senior year at Leland High in the early 1990s.

Anthony had to work doubly hard for her victory. Her event began last Thursday but was delayed twice by the threat of an electrical storm. The stadium, which features metal bleachers, was evacuated before the start of the pole vault. Two hours later, the event began. After one round of vaulting, the stadium was evacuated again <0x2014> with competitors taking shelter in a nearby parking garage. Four hours after the scheduled start of the competition, the event was postponed to Friday.

"I wasn't expecting to compete two days in a row," Anthony said.

When action continued Friday, national leader Katie Veith of Indiana went out after making just 12-7 1/2. Her U.S. -leading mark was 14-0.

"It was surprising watching her vault," Anthony said. "I was kind of disappointed she went out early. I thought I was going to have to jump 13-5 1/2 to win."

As it turned out, Anthony was the only vaulter to clear 13-1 1/2. After winning the competition, she passed at 13-3 1/2 (since her personal record is 13-4) and took three vaults at 13-5 1/4. She missed on all of them.

"If everyone had jumped 13-5, I probably would have made it," said Anthony, who is at her best when pushed. "If I had the same jumps that I had at 13-1 1/2, I could have made 13-5 1/3. I just didn't put it together."

Anthony said Slover was also shocked that the winning height wasn't higher. Anthony, in fact, won the California state meet with a 13-3 clearance.