FOOTBALL PLAYER TRIES NEW SPORT : PALMDALE GIRL INCHES UPWARD IN POLE VAULT.Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News Palmdale track and field coach Steve Wilson Steve Wilson can refer to:
That's where he found Carolina Giesseler, a 5-foot-3-inch wide receiver on the sophomore football team with no prior experience in track. Wilson, though, never doubted that Giesseler would be a good candidate for the competition just recognized by the California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (abbreviated CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states; however, it differs from others in that it covers most high schools in the state of as an official event last year. ``If you can play football, you can do the pole vault pole vault Track-and-field event consisting of a vault for height over a crossbar with the aid of a long pole. It became a competitive sport in the mid-19th century and was included in the first modern Olympic Games. ,'' Wilson said. ``You need that same fearless mentality and athletic ability. When I watched how tough she was in football, I knew she would be a good pole vaulter.'' Giesseler, now a junior, had planned to try out for the cheerleading The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. squad her sophomore year but opted for football after playing for the first time in a co-ed physical education class. Despite receiving her share of bumps and bruises, the 125-pound Giesseler made it through summer workouts and worked her way into the starting lineup For the line of action figures, see . A starting lineup in sports refers to the set of players actively participating in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes , catching three passes in the season's final game against rival Littlerock. ``All the guys on the other teams get surprised when they find out I'm a girl,'' Giesseler said. ``It's like `Oh, my God, it's a girl.' It's funny because they get so mad and frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: when I beat them and catch a pass.'' Giesseler knew nothing about the pole vault until she was approached by Wilson, her biology teacher, who gave her books and videotapes to study the sport. But Giesseler said she never considered turning down Wilson's offer to go out for track. After all, it could not have been much worse than football. ``I took some real hard hits and got knocked down a lot,'' Giesseler said. ``A lot of my friends thought I was crazy and should have been a cheerleader. But I like challenges, so I decided to give the pole vault a try.'' This year, Giesseler decided to drop football because of the greater risk of injury associated with the larger size and weight of the players at the varsity level. Giesseler's size, though, has not been a detriment in the pole vault. Giesseler cleared 8-6 in her first year of pole vaulting pole vaulting: see track and field athletics. as a sophomore, finishing fourth in the CIF-Southern Section Division I finals and advancing to the Masters Meet, the qualifying meet for the state championships. This year, Giesseler placed fifth in the National Scholastic Indoor championships in Boston and has broken the school record three times. She eclipsed Mikee Stafford's record of 9-0 by a quarter-inch in a Golden League meet against Highland in March. Two weeks later, Giesseler broke the record twice at the Pasadena Games at Occidental College History The Birth of Occidental College Occidental College (commonly referred to as Oxy) was founded on April 20, 1887, by a group of Presbyterian clergy and laymen. , raising the standard to 9-4. Wilson credits Giesseler's progress to experience and improved technique. By switching to a longer pole, Wilson believes, the former gymnast has a good chance to reach the 10-foot barrier. ``What she did last year was more mentally rather than from technique,'' Wilson said. ``She is learning to stick to the pole when she vaults rather than sit on it when she approaches the crossbar.'' Giesseler and Wilson both concede she will need to raise her personal best at least several inches to reach the Masters Meet for the second year in a row because of the rapidly increasing quality of competitors in the event. Last week at the Arcadia Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. , Giesseler finished 12th in the invitational girls pole vault, featuring the top vaulters in the country. She will face another quality field at the Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (commonly called Mt. SAC; pronounced as the word "sack") is a community college located in the Los Angeles suburb of Walnut, California, next to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona which is just over a hill. Mt. Relays on Saturday. ``The girls were jumping real high at Arcadia,'' Giesseler said. ``When I played football, I told myself I would not quit no matter how hard it got. In the pole vault, I never put my head down, and tell myself I can go higher.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Palmdale High's Carolina Giesseler rejected cheerlea ding 1. ding - Synonym for feep. Usage: rare among hackers, but commoner in the Real World. 2. ding - "dinged": What happens when someone in authority gives you a minor bitching about something, especially something trivial. "I was dinged for having a messy desk." for football, and now she's a pole vaulter. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion