Between jumps, Churchill’s Addison Kleinke does what most other pole vaulters do. She listens to her coaches.
But then she does something most other pole vaulters don’t. She runs over to her 10-year-old sister, Brynn, who doubles as Kleinke’s coach and personal photographer. Brynn shows Kleinke photos of her jump to point to where she messed up. Then the two do a special handshake.
“We go over and we do this thing where we pinky promise and we like kiss it to lock it in and go butterflies fly away,” Kleinke said.
The handshake, Brynn said, started as a way for the 15-year-old Kleinke to calm her younger sister’s nerves before jumps (she also pole vaults). The years have turned it from a ritual for Brynn into something that focus’ Kleinke, especially when she’s facing elite competition.
“It’s just something that we’ve always done,” Kleinke said. “She always just kind of does that and then tells me, ‘You got it. You know how to do this. You’ve done this in practice so many times.’”
The handshake with her sister/coach/photographer is just one more abnormality of Kleinke’s freshman season, which was anything but normal. The freshman came away from the OSAA Class 5A track and field state championship meet on Saturday at Hayward Field with a legendary performance and a pole vault state championship.
Kleinke’s best jump was 13 feet, 4.5 inches. It’s a new state record for Kleinke, who previously set the bar at 13-1 in early May.
“It feels amazing because it’s such a great environment,” Kleinke said of coming to Hayward and winning a state championship as a freshman. “And I feel like there’s definitely a little of pressure since there’s so many, like, amazing people here. It felt great to be able to live up to the environment.”
Kleinke’s day ended at 13-7, a height that she never really got a good attempt at. Her personal best is 13-6, which she hit in eighth grade (which is why it’s not recognized as an Oregon high school record).
The highlight of Kleinke’s day, however, came as she attempted 13-4.5. And the highlight is because of how easy she made it look as she cleared it on her first attempt. Kleinke said her mind was completely clear in her jump, especially surprising as she admits she’s one to stress about the bar.
“I was just trusting myself and trying not to pay attention to the bar,” Kleinke said. “I’m definitely somebody what likes to know where the bar is at all times. Even though I was super curious, I was trying to stay out of my head about it. Like I knew where the bar was but it wasn’t something I was thinking about. So I was just trying to do the same job that I did last time. It worked out.”
The last time Kleinke was in Hayward Field was for the Oregon Relays, and event that saw her compete against some elite opponents. She finished third at the event with a jump of 12-5.5. But she saw competition against the likes of Hana Moll, who the Washington state championship with a jump on Saturday of 14-7.
Kleinke said the experience in the Oregon Relays proved valuable for her as she prepared for the state championship meet.
“I was just focusing on what they were doing. The top girls, like how they were staying warm, how they were staying out of their head. Just like their procedures and stuff really helped me. And I guess it gave me a little bit more drive to continue to reach the goals that I wanted to reach.”
The Oregon Relays was also one of the only times this season where Kleinke was able to compete against opponents who were pushing her. On Saturday, Kleinke didn’t compete against anyone as she was able to pass all the way past 12 feet. The next highest jump by a Class 5A opponents was La Salle Prep’s Madeline Obuchowski, who finished second with a jump of 10-11.75.
“I feel like it’s always been a competition with myself. So that’ll always continue,” she said. “It’s not like I was looking to beat anybody or a record. The records and the medals are great, they’re like icing on the cake, but really the competition’s with myself. I feel like that’s how I’m able to carry this through.”
— Nik Streng, nstreng@oregonian.com, @NikStreng