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MONTGOMERY: HiTOPS/Packet Athlete of the Week

Davidian surprises with Group IV pole vault win

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Maddie Davidian is looking forward to a return to the girls track and field Meet of Champions on Saturday.
   ”I went last year in winter season and outdoor season,” said the Montgomery High School junior. “This will be my third Meet of Champs. I’m mentally prepared for all the competition.”
   Davidian placed ninth at the MOC to close last spring, not long after she cleared her personal-record 11-feet-6 in the Skyland Conference Championships. Davidian figures to be able to finish higher in her return to MOC competition. She was only seventh in the Group IV pole vault last spring and had to get in on a wild card.
   ”I feel like it’s possible to get a medal this year,” Davidian said. “It would be a dream come true.”
   One of her dreams already came true to get her back to the MOC. Davidian shocked the field when she won the Group IV state championship Saturday by clearing 10-feet-6, the same height as pre-meet favorite Marlena Sabatino of Hillsborough, but Davidian had fewer misses.
   ”I never thought it would happen,” Davidian said. “Marlee was always a lot better than me. I always wanted to be like her because she’s such an amazing vaulter. I had no idea I won until everyone came up to me and told me I won.
   ”I was in shock. It was amazing. I didn’t know how big of a deal it was. Now I know it’s a great feeling.”
   Davidian is the first girls group pole vaulting champion from Montgomery, and she and fellow pole vaulter Tracy Prentice are the lone Cougar girls to advance to the Meet of Champions.
   Maddie Davidian is the HiTOPS/Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
   ”She was surprised,” said MHS head coach Tim Bartholomew. “I guess it was a surprise. She’s capable of jumping higher than she did too. I knew she would be in the mix. I kind of took for granted the Hillsborough girl would do well.
   ”Maddie jumped well. I think she made a lot of her jumps on first attempts. She did a good job.”
   Davidian still isn’t satisfied with her vaulting this season even after her first big-meet win of the year. She was hoping to be jumping higher going into the spring season.
   ”This season, I haven’t been doing as well as I was supposed to be doing,” Davidian said. “I’ve tried everything to try to jump consistently 10-6. Hopefully by outdoor season, I’ll be back up to 11-6. I’ve been training hard.”
   She certainly got a boost of confidence after winning the group title only three years after she took up the sport in the winter of her freshman year.
   ”I am a former gymnast,” Davidian said. “One of my friends did it and she told me to try and it looked like a lot of fun.
   ”Once I started as a freshman, I was doing well for being a beginner. Then through sophomore year, I jumped from 8-6 to 10, then to 11-6. I made a lot of progress sophomore year and now I’m trying to get up to where I used to be.”
   Davidian was steady in the Group IV meet. She and Sabatino were the only jumpers to clear 10-6, and Davidian’s focus made the difference.
   ”I came in at 9-6 and I didn’t miss any heights,” she said. “I got all the heights on my first attempt.
   ”At 11, I started to bend my pole a lot so I needed to go up a pole. I’m not strong enough to get on a 130-pound pole. I wouldn’t swing up all the way at the top, so I couldn’t make it.”
   Davidian continues to work at the pole vault. She goes once or twice per week to Vertical Assault in Bethlehem, Pa. The rest of the time, she works with a good group of pole vaulters at Montgomery, though that can be tough in the winter.
   ”We mix and match,” Bartholomew said. “They’ll do some sprint work. They’ll do one and two steps and working on their form. There are not a lot of full runs in the winter. They’re working on their abs and core in the weight room and things like that.
   ”She’s been pretty steady,” he added. “This winter, it’s been tough. You don’t get a lot of jumps. Our pit is outside. There’s not a lot of work she can do. Even the poles don’t bend as much in the cold. She goes to camps once a week to get some extra jumping in. I think she had a strong winter. She got better at the end when it mattered the most.”
   Davidian is seeing progress as she looks to return to the 11 and 11-6 jumper she was last spring.
   ”This season, I’ve been trying to focus more on my running technique and form,” Davidian said. “Over the summer, I got a lot slower. My run isn’t as good as it was in the outdoor season. I’ve been focusing on getting my knees high and being fast down the runway.”
   Davidian would love to see it all come together for the MOC. She comes in with the experience gained over the last three years and two previous MOC appearances. But this will be her first time competing as a group champion.
   ”On Saturday, I’m just looking to clear opening height and consistently jump 10-6,” Davidian said. “Eleven would be great. I’m just lucky to be at Meet of Champs this year.”
   The Cougars feel lucky to have Davidian to represent them. She’s been someone they can always count on meet after meet to place highly, and at the group meet she shocked everyone.
   ”I always expect her in the top two or three at the worst,” Bartholomew said. “She’s been pretty consistent. This winter hasn’t been the best by her standards, by what she holds herself to. But I’m still pleased with how she competed this year. She came through when it counted. She gets another week of jumping. She did very well.”