Athlete of the Week: Sarah Christina

Glastonbury High School’s Sarah Christina has quickly reached new heights as a pole vaulter. 
           
Having not attempted the pole vault prior to the spring of 2021, Christina shocked even herself by winning the pole vault championship at the Central Connecticut Conference track and field finals on Feb. 6.
           
“I was really excited. My friend said my face was pure joy,” Christina said about winning the conference championship, which took place at the Floyd Athletic Center in New Haven. 
           
Christina vaulted a personal-best 9-06, besting the competition by a foot. South Windsor’s Maddie Hathorn and GHS’s Celia Ryan each reached heights of 8-06 to finish second and third.
           
The Guardians dominated the meet, easily finishing first as a team with 126.5 total points, besting runner-up Bloomfield by 55 points. 
           
Christina, a sophomore, is from Manchester. For the past two school years she has commuted to Glastonbury High as part of the AgriScience Program, which allows regional students to attend GHS and take honors and college prep classes in science-based areas. Christina’s emphasis focuses on animal and plant studies.   
           
Since coming to GHS, she has played goalie for the freshman and junior varsity soccer teams at GHS.
           
Christina said joining the soccer program was a great experience, adding, “Soccer got me new friends and doing a new sport really helps you fit in the school and community.” 
           
Last spring she added a second sport to her resume when she went out for the outdoor track and field team. 
           
It was at that point that the adventurous freshman decided to try something new. 
           
“I looked at the list and nobody I knew was trying it and it seemed very interesting,” Christina said of the pole vault. “It was really fun, so I stuck with it.”
           
She added that there was a pretty steep learning curve to the specialized sport, saying, “It may look easy, but when you’re first trying it out you need to figure out how to hold it and then you push up and you get to actually vaulting. It’s very different from what I thought it was going to be.”
           
Christina began to pick up the nuances of the sports, learning techniques from vault coach Bob Gemske and watching as 2021-GHS graduate Mallory Malz, who is currently on the University of Connecticut track & field team, won the Class LL and State Open in the pole vault last spring. 
           
After a season learning the ropes, Christina returned this winter without a lot of expectations and within a few months she was a conference champion.
           
Her improvement has been swift. Last spring she had a top vault of 8 feet. She has added 18 inches to her previous peak since the beginning of the winter season, which started just over three month ago.
           
She likened the pole vault to riding a bike, adding, “Once you do it, you remember how to do it. Also my coach teaching and encouraging me to really drive and push and get over the bar has been motivating.”  
           
Christina, who also does the triple jump, credits the team for helping her become a champion.  
           
“This team is honestly very united and we are all close and really good friends,” said Christina. “We are all encouraging of one another and there is no negativity within the team and coaches want to push you to be your best.”