Veronica Vacca continued her terrific first high school season on Friday night, breaking the freshmen class national high school record in the pole vault.
The ninth grader at Mount Saint Joseph Academy (PA) cleared 13 feet, 2 inches to win the event at the DVGTCA Meet of Champions at Lehigh University's Rauch Fieldhouse. That height is a half inch better than Colorado's Anna Willis' previous freshmen class record of 13-1.5 from 2020.
All-Time Freshmen Class Pole Vault Rankings
Vacca was clean over 13-2 on his first attempt after clearing 11-6, 12-0, and 12-6 on the way up. She had some good looks at 13-6, but bowed out after three misses. It's an indoor PR for Vacca, who previously jumped 13-0 this winter.
Vacca now has sole possession of the PA No. 1 spot this winter. Last week Katie Urbine of Solanco jumped 13-0 -- now PA No. 2 -- to match Vacca's previous season best. The two will matchup head-to-head at the PTFCA Indoor State Championships next week at Penn State.
The 13-2 clearance moves Vacca up to PA No. 7 all-time. The all-time indoor PA state record was set last winter by Chloe Timberg of Central Bucks West.
Check out Vacca's winning vault above and an interview with the new freshman class record holder below.