Pogorelc is soaring to new heights

GRAND RAPIDS—As a freshman, Ginger Pogorelc had no interest in the high jump.

As a sophomore, Pogorelc is soaring to new heights.

Pogorelc advanced to the State Class AA Meet in her first full season as a high jumper, then she cleared 5-feet-5-inches in St. Michael-Albertville to place third in the event.

For that reason, Pogorelc has been the Mesabi Tribune and Herald Review Girls Track Athlete of the Year.

Pogorelc wasn’t even interested in the event at first until the end of her freshman year.

“She approached me at the end of the season and said, ‘I might be good at this,’” Meredith Rothstein, who was one of her jumping coaches, said. “I said, ‘Give it a try.’ She gave it a shot late in her freshman year.

“She didn’t have a whole lot of experience, so that made it extra fun to see the success she had with such limited experience.”

Pogorelc also got a little push from her father, Roger.

“My dad told me to do it, but I was always, ‘No,’ but I would be walking around a meet and see the jumpers and thought, ‘I could do it. It seemed to be fun, so I asked my coach if I could try it.”

Pogorelc competed in three meets, including the section meet, and cleared 4-10, a personal record and placed fifth.

Being a soccer and basketball player, Pogorelc never worked on it during the offseason, but when her sophomore year came around, she set some high goals.

“I told my coaches that I wanted to go to state,” Pogorelc said. “After placing fifth the previous year, I knew I could be in the top or hit the meet requirement height. That’s all I thought about.

“At practice, I would stay later than everybody else at practice. I wanted to work for it.”

In her first indoor meet last spring, Pogorelc hit another personal record at 5-0.

That would catapult her into a nice season.

“As soon as I did that, that got me going,” Pogorelc said. “It helped me throughout the rest of the season. It boosted my confidence.”

Pogorelc averaged around 5-0 and 5-2 during the season, depending on the weather conditions.

She invested in high-jump shoes, and her coaches, Rothsten and Kevin Johnson, pitched in to show her the ropes of the event.

“They were phenomenal,” Pogorelc said. “They had the knowledge, and that helped me out this year. They stayed after practice to help me out. I appreciated that very much.”

At practice, just before the section meet, Pogorelc jumped 5-3, but at the section meet, she placed at 5-1.

“That got me excited heading into state,” Pogorelc said.

According to Rothstein, working with Pogorelc was a pleasure.

“She’s a great kid and extremely coach able,” Rothstein said. “She’ll do whatever you ask of her to do what it takes to get there. She has a natural ability. She doesn’t let the pressure get to her. She handles that side of it well.

“After a couple of month of high jumping in May (2023) and a few months this year, the progress she’s made, she’s a natural.”

At state, the starting height was 4-9, but at practice that week, Pogorelc was jumping at 5-2 and 5-3.

She passed on that first height, then started her meet at 4-11.

“That was the perfect height to go at,” Pogorelc said. “It got me going. I still had a lot of adrenaline in me. For me, the more I jump, it definitely drains my energy. That saved my energy for the higher heights.

Pogorelc kept that momentum going, clearing 5-1, then 5-3, making that final height on her third attempt.

“I had never cleared that height in a regular meet, so it was intimidating,” Pogorelc said. “A bunch of girls were getting knocked out at 5-3, so that’s when I started thinking about getting on the podium.

“If enough girls get knocked out at that height and I clear it, I’m on the podium no matter what place I was in.”

After 5-3, the bar was raised to 5-5.

Pogorelc wasn’t sure she could jump high enough to clear that height.

“I didn’t know what to think,” Pogorelc said. “I had never set the bar up that high in practice. I was intimidated.”

Pogorelc missed on her first two attempts, so she had to dig down deep to clear that height.

“I was close,” Pogorelc said. “They took videos of me, so I would go up to her (Rothstein) and go through it in slow motion.”

On attempt three, Pogorelc took a deep breath, and she told herself, ‘I got this.’

She cleared the height.

“I had already proved myself just to be able to PR,” Pogorelc said. “I was shocked and overwhelmed. I was so happy. Having my family and friends there to support me, that helped me out.”

Rothstein was there as well, trying to keep her positive the whole time.

“I told her that there’s no bars attainable, especially if you hit the one before,” Rothstein said. “I told to have fun with it. She was already happy with her PR, so anything beyond that was fun.

“She stepped up. There’s something special about her. She can reach that peak height and get everything out of her jumps. She put it all together.”

She did it with tired legs as that lactic acid was starting to build up.

Rothstein, who jumped in high school, knows a thing or two about that.

“It’s not fun,” Rothsten said. “She did a good job blocking that piece of it out. It was cool that she pulled it off with tired legs.”

With three jumpers left, the bar went up to 5-6, and that’s where the day ended for Pogorelc.

“Once it gets to three, they raise the bar an inch up from the previous height,” Pogorelc said. “I was happy with my attempts, but my legs were a little sore. One of the other girls and I knocked the bar down on all three attempts, but the other girl made it over.

“I was so pumped and excited. Now, I think about the high jump all of the time. I’ve already set my goal to break the school record (5-6 ½).”

Pogorelc isn’t taking anything for granted, however.

“Next year, I will work and try to make it to state again,” Pogorelc said. “Maybe during my senior year, I can win state. I will work hard and try my best because nothing is guaranteed.”

Rothstein wouldn’t put anything past Pogorelc.

“The sky’s the limit for her,” Rothstein said. “With such limited jumping and hitting those impressive numbers, I’m not going to put a number on it.”

Joining Pogorelc on the all-area team are her teammate Emma Thomsen; Lola Champlin of Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin; Tara Hertling, Mileena Sullivan, Jorie Anderson, Brynn Babich and Jocelyn Strukel of Hibbing; Allison Fink of Rock Ridge; Hailey Johnson, Olivia Pascuzzi and Zoe Plombon; and Violet Udovich, Lydia Schulz, Sarah Visser, Grace Latourell of Ely.