Photo by Jake McNeill: Fairmont pole vaulter Ellie Perkins clears the crossbar during the MSHSL Class AA State Track and Field Championships in St. Michael last Saturday.

ST. MICHAEL – Ellie Perkins’ pole vault performance at last Saturday’s MSHSL Class AA State Track and Field Championships was filled with adversity from the literal jump.

A typical regular-season meet sees Perkins enter the competition near the end. At the state level, however, the sophomore was thrown into the talent pool less than an hour after things kicked off, taking away the traditional two-minute warm-up and throwing all individuals into the first crossbar height.

“What was different is she didn’t have that warm-up period,” Fairmont pole vault coach Crystal Hanson said. “It had been about 50-minutes since the competition started when she took that first jump. Typically, she’s had a couple of minutes to get loose, and here she came in kind of cold.”

Hanson said this might have been one of the factors in Perkins missing the initial 10-foot jump of the competition. But Perkins didn’t change anything with her approach. Having been at this stage twice before, she knew what it took to keep pushing through her routine. Not letting anything faze her potential.

The response was composed. Perkins cleared the opening leap before passing the 10-06 mark with ease on her first attempt. She said her goal was to take each attempt with patience and rely on her talents.

“The beginning was frustrating,” Perkins said. “I feel like not letting how it started control the rest of the meet was important, and just focusing on one jump at a time. I was just keeping it all within what I could control, which helped a lot.”

“Ellie’s had the benefit of being there before; this was her third time at the state meet. It’s really nice to have seen it before, when you haven’t been to a stage like that, and there are a lot of people there,” Hanson said. “Last year, they vaulted indoors; in her eighth-grade year, they were outside. So she’s actually seen both environments.”

Perkins faced another setback after again missing an opening attempt, this time at 11 feet. But, like before, she continued to take things one leap at a time. The second sprint down the runway saw Perkins surpass the crossbar without any errors. It showed her she had what it takes to battle adversity.

“Clearing 11 feet felt good. It showed I could respond under a more tense moment, and not let it define how the rest of the meet would go,” Perkins said.

The final clearance of the morning practically sealed a top finish among the Class AA athletes. Perkins took the previous momentum to 11-06 feet, not needing a do-over, but rather, clearing it in one grand attempt.

Her ability to pass this height in fewer tries than Autumn Deutz from Marshall and Milaca’s Taylor Bockoven was the deciding factor in her third-place finish, beating last season’s performance by two spots.

In a year that saw seven first-place meet finishes, setting the Fairmont High School program record (11-07) and a steady improvement from her freshman campaign, Perkins’ showing at the final state meet was just a cherry on top. A perfect way to end the season.

“I think it was a good way to end the season,” Perkins said. “It showed growth, not just physically, but mentally. Being able to push through the meet that didn’t start how I wanted to, and still finish strong.”