Sami Ice jumps up to runner-up spot in Div. III pole vault

Forget the positions, the medals and the All-Ohio honors that come with competing at the state track and field meet. For Waynedale junior Sami Ice, there was just one goal.The talented pole vaulter wanted only to clear the 12-foot mark, something she had not done in competition coming into the state June 3-4 state meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus. Ice came through in a big way, topping the 12-foot mark and earning a runner up finish in Div. III for her time and effort.“I knew it was going to be pretty tough coming in, but I just wanted to clear 12-feet. I didn’t care what place it was,” Ice said. “It feels awesome. This is the best place to do it.”As competitors began dropping out as the height of the bar increased, Ice found herself in a dogfight with eventual champion Callie Ruffener of Colonel Crawford and Emily Paden of Buckeye Trail.Ice’s only miss through 12-feet came at 11-04, where Paden missed twice before clearing that height. Meanwhile, when Ice easily cleared 11-08, Ruffener missed her first jump. That meant Ice now held the tiebreaker on misses, which put her in a great place. It took Ruffener three tries to clear 12-feet while Paden missed on her first attempt before clearing the 12-foot mark. Ice calmly pulled off a beauty on her first attempt, the 12-footer marking her PR. With the height moving up to 12-04, it was now at a point where the vaulters could all miss, meaning that ice would win the gold on the strength of the misses, should each jumper fail.Ice got very close on one of her three attempts but narrowly missed clearing the bar. Paden also faltered at the height, meaning Ice had rapped up at least a runner-up spot. However, on her second attempt Ruffener skied high, clearing the bar, meaning she had captured first place.Having cleared 12-feet on her first attempt, Ice was in prime territory to win had nobody cleared 12-04. “I knew I was in pretty good shape there,” said Ice, who could sit back and wait to see if anyone cleared that height. Ruffener did, but having cleared 12-feet, it was enough for Ice.With the champion being a senior, the door is certainly open for Ice to step up and grab the top spot next year as a senior.“I’m hoping to go at least 12-08 next year,” said Ice, expressing her huge expectations as she enters her senior season of high hopes.Should that happen, it could well be enough to give the two-time All-Ohioan one more bucket-list medal to add to her growing collection.Ice is now a two-time All-Ohioan in the pole vault, having finished fifth last season as a sophomore. Seeing herself move up three spots into the runner-up position was exciting for Ice, and now the next-year senior will be eyeing a move up of one more spot, which would earn her the ultimate prize.