West Ottawa's Natalie Blake becomes one of nation's elite pole vaulters; Kayla Hintz joins her at state
Natalie Blake was hoping for a breakthrough.
After topping out at 12 feet, 6 inches, several times the past two seasons the West Ottawa pole vaulter launched herself into a new category, winning the Division 1 regional championship with a vault of 13 feet.
“It has been a long time coming,” Blake said. “The first time that I cleared 12-6 was kind of a miracle clear. I hit the bar but it stayed up somehow. Ever since then, I have tried to raise the bar but only have one inch until regionals.”
Blake let out a joyous yell before she even landed after clearing 12-9 and then again at 13-0, a mark that would have finished third in the boys meet and shattered her own school record of 12-7.
“It is good to see the payoff after putting in the hours. It has been a three-days-a-week training since last July,” Blake said. “Thirteen is a national caliber number. It is great to get that. I have been wanting to put that on our record board for a year. It is great to put it together at this big meet when everyone is reaching their goals.”
That included teammate Kayla Hintz, who finished third (10-9) and qualified for the Division 1 state meet. Both teammates were all-state performers last year and both are headed to NCAA Division I colleges to vault with Blake choosing Michigan State and Hintz signing with Illinois State.
“It has been so much fun. The bond between us has always been there and it just has gotten stronger,” Hintz said. “It has sunk in a little bit. We go 1-2 in almost every meet. You don’t see that super often.”
More: POLE VAULT REVOLUTION: West Ottawa's Kayla Hintz, Natalie Blake lead resurgence in pole vault
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Blake agreed that their bond has pushed them past limits they didn’t expect.
“It has been super exciting, especially going through the college process. A year ago, we were at a meet in Indiana. I went from 9-6 to 11-0 and coach (George) Sipes took a picture of us on Instagram and said, ‘college bound.’ And I was like, ‘there is no way.’ It has been great to see it and experience it, but so exciting to see that happen for Kayla, too. She started this process before I did,” Blake said.
Now they will end it together at the state meet.
“I have been working on fully extending my body along the poll (punching your hips and dropping your shoulders). I have been working on getting totally inverted and aligned with the poll so I shoot straight up,” Blake said. “Hopefully a repeat (of 13) plus a little bit. I am definitely in the running for a state title. I was a foot behind the state leader (Dexter’s Sophia Mettes) and now just six inches. It will be a good matchup, and she is going to be my teammate at Michigan State next year, so that will be fun.”
Hintz is looking for a matching breakthrough at the state meet. She has been as high as 12 feet and is hoping to top that at state.
“I am very happy that I made it to state. I made some improvements, it may not have shown in my height, but I moved up poles, which is really good. I am excited to do my best at state,” she said. “I feel more consistent in my run. I have been working on my top half of my jump, getting faster.”
That work epitomizes this year’s senior class, which has five track and field athletes headed to NCAA Division I programs.
“The coolest thing with this group is they have been friends since kindergarten and for me, since I moved here in sixth grade. None of us thought we would be college-bound athletes. We all have really valuable assets as individuals. It shows how much putting in the time can transform you as an athlete, and that is something I have seen in this senior group — and is something the younger girls are seeing,” Blake said.
It is something Hintz has enjoyed watching first hand.
“It makes me really proud to be part of this senior group,” she said. “I can’t wait to see what everyone does in college.”
— Contact Sports Editor Dan D'Addona at Dan.D'Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona and Facebook @Holland Sentinel Sports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Ottawa's Natalie Blake becomes one of nation's elite pole vaulters; Kayla Hintz joins her at state
