Jenn Suhr, pole vault stars soar in Lyndonville

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Jenn Suhr is a silhouette in this photo, where she cleared 15 feet, 7 inches in the pole vault tonight during a competition on the second hole of the White Birch Golf Course in Lyndonville. That vault was the heighest mark cleared by the six competitors.

Jenn Suhr sprints with a 15-foot-long pole as part of the pole vaulting competition tonight in Lyndonville.

LYNDONVILLE – Jenn Suhr cleared 15 feet, 7 inches in a pole vaulting competition tonight in Lyndonville. That matched her Gold Medal winning height last August at the London Olympics.

About 300 people watched Suhr and five other pole vaulters at the White Birch Golf Course. Suhr won the event, the New York Invite Series. Medina resident Janice Keppler was second with a 14-foot, 6-inch effort.

Other competitors included Heather Hamilton, the top-ranked vaulter in Canada; Claire Dishong of Brockport and Cornell University; Linda Hadfield of Utica and Tennessee University; and Erin Champion of Tennessee University.

(I’ll have more on the event later, including comments from Jenn Suhr.)

Medina resident Janice Keppler reacts after clearing14 feet, 6 inches, good for second place in the New York Invite Series, which will take place again next Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the White Birch Golf Course.