Jillian Bliss Article (NY)

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http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs ... 20388/1072

Westchester/Putnam notebook: Meet record true Bliss for senior
By CHRISTOPHER HUNT
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: December 22, 2005)

Jillian Bliss said she didn't feel good. She didn't feel bad, just not right.

The Ursuline senior didn't expect much when she approached the pole-vault runway at the New Haven (Conn.) Invitational last Saturday.

Maybe 10 feet, she said.

Maybe.

"It was just kind of like an off day that day," she said. "I just kind of pulled it together."

Bliss, a New Rochelle resident, held together long enough to win, clearing 10 feet, 7 1/2 inches, a meet and facility record at the New Haven Track and Field Center.

"I hit the mat and I just heard my coaches screaming," she said. "I was so happy."

The senior was even happier because she felt her hip brush the bar on the way down. But when she stood up, the bar remained unshaken.

"I was thrilled," she said.

Bliss has started what looks to be a break-through year. She won the pole vault at the Ursuline Invitational when she cleared 10-0, then an indoor personal best. She said her summer of weight training and a better understanding of the event translated to her quick development.

"She's very focused," Ursuline coach Jan Mitchell said. "(Pole -vault coach Jerry Cahilo) said he's never had a boy or girl that's so coachable during the event."

That means being able to adjust on the fly, something Bliss said she is more capable of this season. Her 10-7 1/2 clearance gave her the Westchester County record for a couple hours. Rachel Cassata of Somers cleared 11-0 at the Bishop Loughlin Games the same day. Bliss heard about it on the way home.

"I still PR'ed (personal record) so I wasn't really that mad," she said. "It was OK."