Liberty's Noe clears height to make states; Costello also flies high

By Jeff Malmgren

By Jeff Malmgren

Times-Democrat Staff Writer

Pole vault was a fickle event for Lindsey Noe at Friday's AAA Northwest Region meet.

One minute she faced elimination, needing to clear her third and final vault at 9 feet, 6 inches to secure a state berth; the next minute she breezed over a 10-foot bar to match her Liberty track and field record.

Noe's timely vault at 9-6 and subsequent personal-best vault of 10-0 led to a fourth-place finish at the University of Virginia's Lannigan Field.

"She puts so much pressure on herself. She thinks she just has to do so well," LHS coach Dan Thompson said. "When she relaxes and comes in and just vaults, she’s a lot better."

Noe had a fairly hectic schedule at regionals, though.

For example, while in the pole vault warm-up line, "Third and final call for the 300 hurdles," was announced and Noe had to jog over to the starting line on the track.

A disappointing 300 hurdles race ensued for both Noe (11th) and Liberty teammate Rachel Coaxum (13th).

Then Noe, who also finished ninth in the 100 hurdles, had to quickly return to the pole vault area and make her first attempts.

Her first few vaults went fine, but at 9-6, a height Noe has consistently cleared all season, she hit the bar on her first two attempts. Thompson pulled her aside and said, "You're a pole vaulter now. You've just got to relax a little."

Apparently, that reminder was all Noe needed.

Fauquier's Katie Lewis also placed in the pole vault, but missed out on a state bid. She took eighth with a height of 9 feet, while Liberty's Jessica Libby didn't clear a height.

The boys pole vault competition had an equally large contingent from Fauquier County, with Liberty's Miles Costello placing third (13-0) and teammate Thomas Novak taking 11th (11-6), while Liberty's Michael Loy and Fauquier's Alex Pinelli failed to clear a height.

Costello's 13-foot vault matched the school record he set during indoor season and was a personal best for the outdoor season, but it gave him no shot at finishing first. E.C. Glass' Daniel Inge, the favorite at this weekend's Group AAA state meet, cleared 16 feet and that was even 4.75 inches short of his best.

The nationally-ranked vaulter (who will attend Clemson) crushed a Northwest Region meet record previously set at 14-10 in 1991 by James Wood's Tommy Cooke.

“That kid from Glass is the real deal," Thompson said.

Meanwhile, after clearing 13 feet, Costello had a strong vault at 13-6. He did not clear the bar, but added confidence that he can at state, where he'll again face the season-long challenge of finding a suitable pole to use.

Liberty does not own a pole that fits Costello and it's been a meet-to-meet struggle to find something of endurable length.

Costello borrows the closest thing to the size he needs at each meet.

"We just haven’t gotten the pole that he needs to be using consistently so he can get his best out of the pole," Thompson said. "But we're working on it."