The wait is over. It is officially PTFCA Championship Week. With an action-packed meet on deck - we want to ensure you're as prepared as we are.
Throughout the week, we will release event-by-event previews of the action and what you can expect on Sunday. Today we have previews of the Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump and Pole Vault. Make sure to click through to each event to read event-by-event previews of the action.
Pole Vault | High Jump | Long Jump | Triple Jump
Pole Vault Preview
by John Davern
The Girls
The Girls' Pole Vault will arguably be the most entertaining championship event, as four girls are ranked in the US Top 15.
Between Veronica Vacca (Mount Saint Joseph), Maddy Kelley (Villa Maria), Katie Urbine (Solanco), Kirstin Hoffman (Kennett), and Mary Cate Doughty (Villa Maria) - the bar may reach meet record heights.
The meet record of 13-3 was set in 2020 by Manheim Township's Sydney Horn, but four girls have cleared 13-2 or higher this year.
Vacca and Kelley are ranked inside the US Top 10 with their shared height of 13-6.
The two have gone head-to-head four times this season, with Vacca coming out on top on two of those occasions. She recently cleared 13-5.25 to win the High School Girls' Pole Vault competition at the Millrose Games.
Urbine finished second, Kelley finished third, Doughty finished fourth, and Hoffman managed sixth in the event.
Vacca finished second at the PTFCA state championship last year, defeated by Urbine, before winning the PIAA 3A State Championship during the outdoor season.
The defending state champ, Urbine, has enjoyed another stellar season. Now in her senior season, she opened the year with a five-meet win streak. She improved at each meet through those first five, culminating in a lifetime best of 13-2.
Kelley is coming off a DVGTCA Meet of Champions victory and is poised to continue her run of solid jumps.
Hoffman picked up a crucial win at the Garden State Invitational last week. That vault moved her personal best to 13-2 and into the US Top 15. She has cleared 13 feet or higher at three meets this year, and it should be noted that the winning vault at last year's championship was 13 feet.
Doughty is a sleeper but has the talent to compete with the other four girls. She has improved by nearly three feet since the last outdoor season and has racked up three wins in 2023. She is ranked 28th in the nation.
Kylie Eismann deserves mention and could mix it up with the five girls previously mentioned. She grabbed a big personal best of 12-6 at the PTFCA Indoor Track Carnival.
Also, look for Sophia Hill (Radnor), Annika Flanigan (Liberty), and Hannah Shaw (Norwin) to compete for Podium spots.
The Boys
Andrew Layton (Waynesburg Central) entered the PTFCA Championship as the favorite after he cleared 15-6 at the SPIRE Ohio Preview Meet in late January. That was a lifetime best for Layton, and it currently ranks him as the US No. 39.
Layton hasn't quite replicated that performance, but he hit 15 feet on two other occasions and most recently won the TSTCA Indoor Championship Meet.
Bradon Schneider (Erie) is likely a threat in this championship battle. His progression has been noteworthy, and after opening the season with a 14-0, he has moved up to 15-1. He is undefeated in the 2023 campaign.
Breckin Swope (East Pennsboro) has been on our radar all season, and his advantage is in his experience. He has vaulted 12 meets since late October and has tied his lifetime best of 15-0 to win the PTFCA Indoor Track Carnival. Swope finished seventh at the PTFCA Championship in 2022.
Right in rhythm with Swope has been Logan Gossard (Richland). He has also competed in several meets and cleared 15-0 in Late January. Gossard has been consistent - clearing at least 14 feet in all eight of his meets.
That consistency is crucial for guaranteeing a solid finish to the season at the state meet.
Drake Risser (Lower Dauphin), Solomon Glavach (Wilmington), Joe Ryan (Northern York), and Aiden Hurlburt (Emmaus) should also mix in.
Hurlburt finished 9th at the PTFCA Championship in 2022 with his jump of 14-0.