Bloom gets vault record all to herself

by Nathan Arneal
published 5/16/07

When Sara Bloom tied Keri Pabian’s school pole vault record her early on in her career, she probably didn’t think it would take her long to make the record her own.

AND THE BAR STILL STANDS... Sara Bloom grins as she leaves the pit after her school record vault of 9-10.

But entering the district meet of her senior year, Bloom still shared the record with Pabian at 9 feet, six inches. She had tied that mark three times her senior season, but couldn’t get through the 9-6 barrier.

“I would have been very disappointed (not breaking the record),” Bloom said. “Being at one height almost all year is really frustrating. You work to get over it every day.”

For a few minutes, there was even more of a crowd on the record board during Thursday’s district meet. Bloom’s teammate Nora Spath cleared 9-6 on her second attempt to make the school record a three-way tie. Spath’s moment as a school record holder didn’t last long, though.

The barrier finally melted away and Bloom soared over 9-10 on her first attempt. Her first miss of the day came at 10-2. Bloom said the pressure of district competition may have helped her.

“I knew there were some good vaulters here,” she said, “so I knew that in order to go to state I would have to stay clean. A miss at 6-6 could really cost you.”

Bloom will try to improve her record at this week’s state track meet.

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