WESTFIELD — Alena Maes-Polan saved her best for last.
The Frontier Regional School senior went out with a bang on Thursday. Maes-Polan cleared a personal record of 10 feet even in the girls pole vault, taking eighth place on Day 1 of the MIAA All-State Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Westfield State University.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Maes-Polan, whose previous PR was 9 feet, 9 inches. “At the beginning of the season, I wanted to break 10 feet. The fact that it all came together today was fabulous.”
Maes-Polan was joined in the 10-foot club by Mahar senior Sienna Moore, who also cleared 10-0 and wound up 10th overall. Frontier junior Ayla Starr tied for 16th with a top clearance of 9-0.
Westford Academy’s Megan Frazee won the pole vault at 11-6.
The fact that Maes-Polan even had a crack at 10 feet wasn’t a given about an hour earlier on Thursday. Vaulters get three attempts to clear a height before the bar is raised six inches, and she missed her first two attempts at 9-0.
“I was giving myself heart palpitations,” Maes-Polan said with a smile.
Once she cleared 9-0 on her third and final attempt, she was able to relax just a bit and continue on in the competition. She actually cleared 10-0 on her very first attempt, but was unable to vault 10-6, ending her afternoon.
“That third attempt is so very stressful but once you get it, it’s such an amazing feeling,” she explained.
Frontier girls track coach Bob Smith said Maes-Polan, who began vaulting as a seventh-grader, has been a dedicated athlete during her tenure with the Redhawks.
“I think this was a real accomplishment for her and a great way for her to cap off an outstanding career,” Smith lauded. “Both (Maes-Polan and Starr) are incredibly dedicated. I have to make them stop vaulting at the end of practice every day. Most days they’ll just look at you and go, ‘just one more?’ That attitude is what got them (to the All-State meet).”
Maes-Polan will attend Hampshire College next year, and she said she’s hoping to continue her vaulting career there.
While the Franklin County contingent largely hung around the pole vault area on Thursday, Greenfield senior Theo Popusoi was competing on the track at the All-State meet. Popusoi, who will be back on Saturday when the boys take their turn at competing in the pole vault during Day 2 of the competition, bettered his seed time in the 400-meter hurdles by 0.16 seconds. He took 16th place in the event, crossing the line with a time of 59.49 seconds.
Noah Stegmeier of Acton-Boxborough won the 400 hurdles with a blistering time of 55.82 seconds.
Several Franklin County athletes will be in competition Saturday at Westfield State, including Frontier star Jack Vecellio who will attempt to break the state record in the pole vault as the No. 1 seed in the event.