ORFORDVILLE, Wis.—Parkview freshman Loralei Arnold is careful and precise with her words as she chooses just the right phrasing when talking about her ascent as one of the best freshman pole vaulters in Wisconsin.
That comes as no surprise, that frame of mind is the exact same way Arnold goes about soaring high into the air and over the bar, dominating the competition time and time again as she does.
“Loralei has been doing really well this year,” Vikings’ track and field coach Shane Suehring said. “Especially with it being her first time going through all this and the challenges of high school track versus junior high track in a technically challenging event like the pole vault as well. We’re excited and looking forward to good things.”
Those “good things” are imminent as Arnold and three of her teammates will be heading to the campus of UW-La Crosse on Friday to compete in the WIAA Division 3 Track and Field State Championships.
“It’s always exciting to end our year in La Crosse,” Suehring continued. “That’s always the goal is to get a few kids up there and to experience that spectacle because it’s an awesome experience. “Three of our four are returning, they’ve been at state before. So, we’re hoping for nice showings from them by using their prior experience and building upon that.”
Sophomore Sahara Boers-Augustine qualified in the 400-meter race by finishing third in 1:01.63 at the sectional meet in Horicon, junior Willow Crecelius ended fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (15.98) to qualify and senior Karson Redman will compete in both the 400, which he was third in (52.13), and the long jump, where he had a PR distance of 20-feet, 7-inches.
“A big goal for the other three is making finals,” Suehring said. “The three running events didn’t make finals on their previous trip there, so that’s our next step. Go after those PR’s, there’s no better way to end the season than with a personal record.
“Karson went to state in the long jump as a sophomore, and he has already had a PR this year. We’d like to get him at least one more PR for him in that event as well, that’s been his baby for a few years.”
Don’t be surprised if Arnold makes herself known to Wisconsin this weekend as well. The freshman has finished first in all 11 of the outdoor events she has competed in this season.
“Loralei is a competitive kid,” Suehring said. When you put a challenge in front of her, she wants to meet that and pass that. Pole vault is a great event for her because there’s always that next barrier right there. Whether it’s 3 inches or 6 inches, it’s always there waiting. She’s always challenging herself to improve and always wants to be better.”
Arnold started preparing for the event the summer going into eighth grade to ensure she would be able to perform at a high level come her freshman year.
“I did gymnastics and I wanted something similar to that,” she said. “I knew that the two were correlated and I was like, ‘I guess I’ll try it.’ And it just worked out. I liked that I was good at it.”
Arnold soared to a height of nine feet in her debut at the Cambridge Invitational and hit 10 feet four meets later at the Johnson Creek Trailways Duals.
“I was pretty confident because I knew I’d been working hard at it for a long time now,” she continued. “I was nervous before a couple meets, but I started to get more calm as I got more opportunities.”
The freshman had a PR of 10-feet, 3-inches at the Trailways Conference Championship in Princeton, took first at the Deerfield regional with a height of 10 feet and then matched her PR at sectionals. Her last four heights leading into state have all been at 10 or more feet.
“I’ve just been trying to stay consistent and focus on my strengths and really emphasize those,” she said.
Arnold just missed out on also advancing in the triple jump with her fourth-place PR of 33-feet, 8-inches.
“Those are two pretty technical events,’ Suehring said. “When you get into triple jump and pole vault, there are lots of little things that come into play during those events. It’s lots of repetition to learn those movements or lots of repetition to learn and change things throughout that. Her athletic background definitely played a part in that.”
Arnold said she does drills and lifts at home in addition to heading up to Waukesha for some private training.
And while the competition will be tough with some veteran pole vaulters able to soar above 11 feet, Arnold is happy she will get to experience the biggest meet of them all.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “It’s gonna be a cool opportunity. And my goals, I’m just trying to be confident and do what I know I can do and just control what I can and have fun.”
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