On March 11, Kieleigh Hamor competes at the Berkeley Track and Field Invitational, where she hit 2.73 meters on pole vault.
Pushing herself to the limit
Kieleigh Hamor (’22), a pole vaulter for J.W. Mitchell High School, earns the Gregg Schindler Female Student Athlete for June.
During middle school, Kieleigh Hamor (’22) started track as a way to be involved in a sport. Now as a senior in high school, she has earned the conference championships title. Hamor has been inspired by her former NJROTC officers throughout high school and is going to University of Florida on a Navy ROTC scholarship for linguistics in Spanish. Her best meet this season has been against Sunlake where she beat her personal record. Hamor worked hard to improve and make her last year of high school track the best.
“My technique is so much better. My height is obviously showing that it went up drastically from previous years. Very specific parts of my technique that I was never able to fix in the previous two years, I fixed this year,” Hamor said.
Hamor has been working on being more comfortable with her running approach and making sure she’s using the right equipment when she jumps.
Mr. Alan Parmenter (FAC), the track and field coach for Mitchell, nominated Hamor for Gregg Schindler Female Student Athlete of the month.
“Kieleigh Hamor has been a pole vaulter and high jumper for Mitchell for three years. Her level of care for her own athletic development and helping to develop other athletes who look up to her has been exceptional,” Coach Parmenter said.
Hamor took a break from track after two years in middle school, then went back for another three years. She makes sure to prepare for her meets by knowing how far back she needs to start her run, how many steps she’s going to take for her run, and making sure she has all the poles ready for the whole team.
“I make sure I have all my little things, like I wear an armband, so I just have to pack everything. I also switch our practice bar with the actual meet bar so I can get over something called ‘bar shy.’ I just kind of make it more real for myself,” Hamor said.
Hamor had a goal for the year to reach 10 feet. She worked to improve her jump and reached 9’8”. Congratulations, Kieleigh Hamor for being selected for Gregg Schindler Female Athlete of June.