Put the record books on alert, because Kourtney Rathke was flying high in 2023!
The Peak to Peak (now) senior unofficially cleared 13-10 during her junior indoor season last winter, which if was official, would've been a state record.
The Classical Academy's Andrea Willis cleared 13-9 outdoors in 2016.
Rathke's 2023 indoor - and outdoor - season hinted that the seven-year-old record could be cleared this year - she soared well over 13-feet five times outdoors, and nine times indoors.
Doing the math...
That's 14 times over 13-feet (15 if you count the unofficial 13-10...)
Editor's Note: The reason the mark was unofficial was because it came outside of competition. In other words: It came outside the rules of competition - where pole vaulters get three attempts at a height.
Additionally, Rathke did clear 13-9.5 indoors at Air Force in February, but CHSAA doesn't recognize indoor marks.
Watch Rathke clear 13-10 here:
Excerpt from:
Kourtney Rathke couldn't believe it.
She bound her hands into two tight fists of giddy excitement, covering her face as if to replay the moment as it had just played out.
A moment earlier she had left her pole and whipped her arms back as she twisted over the bar, which stood 13-feet, nine-and-a-quarter inches above the ground.
Gravity took the Peak to Peak junior, bringing her back to earth.
When she landed, the bar remained unscathed above her head.
13-9.25.
An official personal best. A meet record. A Colorado No. 1, and a US No. 8.
It was a moment of perfection that was preceded by countless hours of putting in work unseen by the masses. But in this moment, the masses were treated with the fruits of Rathke's efforts.
She dropped her hands down, revealing a beaming smile and picked up her pole. While she was still in the moment, another one awaited her - there was still work to be done.
Another bar to clear.
Rathke went on to make several teeth-clenching attempts at 14-feet. And I write "teeth-clenching" as in she nearly had it every time.
It was just a matter of inches.
A 14-foot clearance did not come on this day, though to anyone who witnessed her three attempts, it's clear that it's coming.