JOHNSTOWN — Loveland sophomore Ava Wankelman didn’t start pole vaulting until the summer before her freshman year.
Almost two years after she took up vaulting, she has become one of the best in the state.
Wednesday during the first day of the Northern League meet at Roosevelt High School, she won the event with a league-meet record vault of 11 feet, 6 inches. She attempted to clear 12-0 three times but was unsuccessful.
Still, her vault of 12-2 at the Longmont Invitational last week is the third-best in Class 5A this season.
Repetition has played a major part in her rise from not making the state meet a year ago to becoming one of the favorites in 5A this season. A member of the Loveland gymnastics team as well, her experience in that sport has helped her rise too.
“I think a lot of it is just repetition,” she said. “I’ve been going to high school, going to club, so I think a lot of it is just the repetition of it. Just the idea of gymnastics, it translated over and helped a lot. Definitely seeing the practice translate over to competition has been exciting this year.”
She didn’t enter the Wednesday’s competition until the bar was at 10 feet. She cleared 10-0, 10-6, 11-0 and 11-6 all on her first attempts at those heights. Only two vaulters remained when the bar went to 11-6, and she was the only one of the two to cleanly make it over.
Wankelman wasn’t the only Loveland girl to claim a conference title Wednesday. In the last final of the day, freshman Brynn Torres won the 3,200 in 10 minutes, 41.93 seconds, setting a meet record in the process.
Torres took the lead in the race on the fourth lap and never relinquished it. Her winning time was a personal best and the third-best time in Class 5A this season.
The top four finishers in the race all ran below the previous meet record, including Torres’ teammate Sofia Ledermann, who was third in 11:00.21.
The Red Wolves excelled in the mile run, too, with Sofia Ledermann (third), Ella Ledermann (fifth) and Sydney Brantley (sixth) all crossing with solid times. Adley Knop also placed in the pole vault (third).
The Red Wolves were third in the 4×800 relay (9:43.57) and sixth in the 4×200 relay (1:51.01).
After seven events Wednesday, the Loveland girls are in third place in the team race with 60 points. Fossil Ridge is first with 81 and Rocky Mountain is second with 74.5. The meet will conclude Friday.
In the boys team race, the Red Wolves are in second place after seven events with 56 points. Fort Collins has a commanding lead with 93.
Loveland had a pair of league champions in shot putter Ashton Daly and high jumper Jaxx Sare. Both set meet records as well.
Daly heaved the shot put 54 feet, 8.75 inches — almost 6 1/2 feet farther than the second-place finisher. He will try to win the discus as well Friday. He has the top throw in the field entering that event.
Sare was one of three high jumpers, including his teammate Wyatt Harlow, to clear 6-2, but then he was the only one to clear 6-3. He tried to clear 6-5 on three attempts but was unsuccessful.
Harlow ended up third in the event.
Other top-six finishers for the Loveland boys included Jackson Stulp, who was second in the long jump (21-5); Vincent Winner, who was fifth in the 400-meter dash (50.17); and Jackson Conroy, who was sixth in the long jump (20-2).
All eyes were on Conroy in the prelims of the 110 hurdles where he has the fastest time in the state this season, but he felt something in his hamstring and withdrew from the event as a precaution.
The Loveland boys were second in the 4×800 relay, running a time under the old meet record in 8:01.89.
