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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2001)
6____________________ W ic I msí I ay , M ay 9, 2001 Sports The CI ac I camas P rint Clackamas sophomore has chance to make USA National Track Team Holliday soars to new heights and aspirations ELENA BORYSKA Staff Writer Clackamas sophomore Becky Holliday holds the national junior college record in pole vault and is part of one of the best relay teams in the NWAACC - and her success is the fruit of a lot of hard work. A graduate from Reed High School in Reno, Nev., Holliday be gan pole vaulting after she quit gymnastics. After 13 years of do ing tumbles and flips, she didn’t want_ to quit sports altogether, so she tried out for track at her high school. Holliday made the team, and be cause she was a former gymnast, her coach told her that she would make an excellent pole vaulter be cause gymnasts have the ability to adapt to it. And adapt she did. She is the Southern Region and NWAACC record holder from last year in the pole vault. Holliday is the first junior college woman ever to clear 13 feet, and recently cleared 14 feet as well. Her vaults this year are two to three feet better than last year’s and she is currently ranked eighth in the world. Why is she doing so well? “This year I finally sat down and figured out what it takes to be an athlete,” said Holliday. “And I ba sically took those steps and did it. I changed a lot of what I used to do. I’ve worked for it this year. Last year I did well. I won NWAACC’s, which was easy. But I knew I wanted to go to the next level.” Though nicknamed ‘World’ by her teammates because of her world ranking, Holliday is not sat isfied. “I want to hold the national record,” she said. “I’ve conquered one of them. I want to do the next one.” Not only does Holliday expect to go farther, but her coaches are optimistic as well.-According to Coach Jack Kegg, Holliday has the potential to improve another seven inches. ■ “We think she has a pretty good shot at making the U.S. World team in the summer,” said Kegg. “That would be an amazing thing to ac complish With all of this success, Holliday says it also comes with a bit of pres sure. “I don’t think the coaches or anybody puts as much pressure on me as I do myself,” she said. “I want to go as high as my expecta tions will take me.” FILE PHOTO BY MIKE HICKEY CCC sophomore Becky Holliday soars to a new American junior college record in the women's pole vault. Her 14-foot mark is the fourth time this season that she has broken the record. The native of Reno, Nev. is the favorite in this event at the upcoming NWAACC Southern Region Championships to be held this weekend in Eugene. The top placers,in the Southern Region meet will compete in the NWAACC Championships, to be held May 24-25 in Spokane, Wash. U.S.W.C. National Open Taekwondo Championships *EAP THE CLACKAMAS PRINT ! ! ! ClACkAMÀS P r ÌN Saturday, May 12 Clackamas Community College —Randall Hall Gymnasium Day-of-event registration begins at 8 a.m. with eliminations beginning at 9:30 a.m. Spectator fees: Adults $5.00 Children $3.00 Children under five admitted free For more information, call (503) 775-8669 Several athletes qualify for championships DontGoT« i pk Bi rlf Jg IB ' a JOIN A COM Track teams gear up for NWAACC meet ELENA BORYSKA ta»% Fl w-* INITY If you want outstanding preparation for any career and over f 23 academic programs of study to choose from, then Warner Pacific College is the community for you. At Warner Pacific••••• you will receive a great education and discover endless oppor tunities. Call or visit us oh the world wide web today! Warner Pacific A College of Faith, Scholarship and Service Admissions Office 503/517-1020 800/804-1510 Fax 503/517-1352 Web:http://www.wamerpacific.edu e-mail: admiss@warnerpacific.edu 2219 SOUTHEAST 68™ AVENUE PORTLAND, OREGON 97215-4099 Staff Writer It was another successful week end of track for CCC coaches and athletes at Mt. Hood CC during their last meet before the NWAACC championships. Under blue skies, 28 of Clackamas’ ath letes either improved or got their first qualifying mark for the NWAACC championships. Cory Loebl once again broke the school record in discus, throwing an impressive 169-91/2. That throw makes him the conference leader in that event. In the men’s 800 meters, Trevor Dodge ran a lifetime best of 1:54.18. Isaac Fredrick imprqyed on his season’s best and now leads the conference in the 200 meters, and both Tyler Anderson and Travis King made NWAACC qualifying times in that race. Ned Vergara ran a lifetime best in the 400 meter in termediate hurdles. Tim Morse also won the men’s pole vault with his season’s best of 16-3/4. In the women’s 100 meters, Rachel Austin and Jazzmin Reece both ran personal bests. Austin’s time was faster than her NWAACC championship time from last year. She also ran faster than her NWAACC time in the 200 meters. She, along with Becky Holliday, Mary Murphy and Reece, all ran personal bests in the 200 and fin ished in the 2, 3,4 and 5 spots re spectively: Krystal Schneider won both the discus and shot put and leads the conference in shot put with her throw of 44-5. This is three feet far ther than her previous personal record and is also the third best throw ever at CCC. Becky Holliday once again broke the national junior college record in the pole vault, raising the mark all the way to 14 feet. That amazing vault puts her third in the nation in college pole-vaulters. With all of the success that his team is having, Head Track Coach Jack Kegg is only slightly surprised at how well his team is doing. “We knew that this group was really talented when we recruited them, but they’ve exceeded expec tations,” said Kegg. “Some of our sophomore women have improved more than we would have guessed. They are probably the biggest sur prises.” With this kind of talent it should be pretty easy to do well at the championships, but Kegg is em phasizing teamwork. “Something that’s going to need to happen for us to be successful at the NWAACCs is for us to come together as a team, and that doesn’t always happen. But they’ve done a very good job right now of working together,” said Kegg. “I think that both the men’s and women’s teams will be where we want them to be in three weeks.”
