By BUDDY HURLOCK
Staff reporter
05/18/2002

FELTON -- In her first competition against the state record-holder, Jessica Mohr upset Kim Rusk to win the girls pole vault on the first day of the Delaware Division I High School Track and Field Championships.

The meet concludes today at Lake Forest High.

Mohr, a Sussex Tech senior who resides in Milton, cleared 9 feet, 9 inches. Rusk, an Alexis I. du Pont junior, set a state record of 10-6 at last weekend's New Castle County championship meet.

Mohr and Rusk were the last two in the field when the bar was set at 9-6, one inch below the meet record set by Christiana's Rachel Alley last year. Only Mohr cleared the bar.

Mohr's third and final vault at 9-9 was a heart-stopper. As she made contact with the bar, it bounced soundly twice - but directly up and then back to rest.

The gasps of the nearly two dozen spectators who remained for the last event turned to cheers.

"That was really wild. I really thought [the bar] was going to fall off. But it was so amazing. I've seen so many vaulters have lucky jumps, but it'd never really happened to me," said Mohr, who until last weekend's Henlopen Conference championships had never cleared nine feet.

"That was a big breaking point for me, so [Friday] is just unbelievable."

Mohr will vault next year at Messiah College.

After her make at 9-9, Mohr had the bar raised to 10-7 and missed three times.

In the girls discus finals, William Penn senior Lateefah Vaughn edged Brandywine sophomore Aysha Gregor, 132-11 to 131-9.

McKean junior Mandy Stille won the girls long jump at 17-0 1/4 .

Winners of boys finals were Delcastle senior Wendall Raulston (high jump), Newark senior Louis Broyles (long jump) and William Penn senior Carlton Rose (shot put).

Caesar Rodney won its third straight championship in the 3,200-meter relay, in 9:56,79, with senior Jill Hajec, freshman Jenay Friends, and sisters Kasheka Codner, a sophomore, and Kashante Codner, a junior.

Salesianum won the boys 3,200 relay for the fourth straight year and eighth time in the last nine years.

Glasgow junior Kamilah Salaam had the fastest qualifying times in girls trials for the 100 (12.29), 100 hurdles (14.83) and 200 (24.69). Dover senior Jason Lilly led qualifiers for the boys 100 (11.07) and 200 (21.48).

The News Journal/GARY EMEIGH

They're set to go at the start of Friday's Division I 4x800-meter relay at Lake Forest.

 

The News Journal/GARY EMEIGH

Salesianum anchor Tom Lord heads toward the finish line and victory in the Division I 4x800 relay.