It was an ordinary day. Sitting in my lounge chair with my friend Snickerdoodle next to me on the windowsill watching the squirrels and chipmunks playing outside the window. The morning newspaper had just arrived and I had made myself comfortable as I began to read the headlines. As I turned to the sports section of the paper the first thing that struck me was the headline that read "Manheim Township alum, High Point freshman, Sydney Horn places sixth in pole vault at NCAA championships."
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| College freshman pole-vaulter Sydney Horn |
Wasn't long before I had read the entire article and was pulling up the stories I had written about Sydney and her sister Mackenzie a few years ago on my blog, telling the world that these two young women will someday have their names in the paper telling of their accomplishments at the next level. Well, today is the day that the story continues for the youngest Horn polevaulter, Sydney. It was back on Sunday, May 6, 2018 that I wrote a story about Sydney who was becoming an accomplished pole vaulter having already cleared 11'8". At the time her sister, Mackenzie, had cleared 13'3" which was the best high school pole vault in the state of Pennsylvania as well as the fourth-best in the United States. Then, on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 I wrote another story telling about Sydney's career as an high school pole-vaulter. Seems that this remarkable athlete, who was one of the best high school pole-vaulters in the state of Pennsylvania by now, was not going to able to showcase her skills since the high school track-and-field season had been canceled due to the COVID-19 virus. All those hours and hours of practice and participation in track and field meets over the past few years may all be for naught. Sydney had won the Class AAA pole-vault title at the state track and field meet the previous spring and was declared an All-American and the third-ranked female in the country. She would not be able to top her sister's record at Manheim Township. Seems that she did end up going to college at High Point University which is located in North Carolina and is known for their track and field teams. Well, the story in the newspaper today told of her latest accomplishments at the nation's highest collegiate level. The previous week she had placed sixth in the pole vault at the NCAA Division 1 women's outdoor track and field championships. It was the highest finish in High Point history at the outdoor championships. But, Sydney wants more! She claimed that having to go first for each jump level was a disadvantage. "No one wants to be first in the order," she said. "It always happens because it's random, plus I was tired going into that because of travel and the time change...and running into a headwind was a little challenging." Of the 24 female pole vaulters, five were freshmen. Her height of 14 feet, 6 inches was the top mark among the rookies during the 2021 season before entering the national championships. Still, she was among the top six college pole vaulters in the country. And....she is only a Freshman! She told the newspaper that she was introduced to pole vaulting when she was in eighth grade by Manheim Township Middle School teacher Jason Lyons. Jason was a student of mine at the High School as well as coming back to teach next to me after his college years. Sydney had competed in gymnastics for about 10 years prior to that time and at first struggled with pole-vaulting.
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| Sydney pole-vaulting at Manheim Township H.S. |
While in high school she was a three-time state champion and a two-time All-American in pole-vault. Sydney finished third at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships with a school-record mark of 4.41 meters which is 14 feet, 5 1/2 inches. With the height came All-American honors. She is the first High Point student-athlete to be named a two-time All-American in the same season. She now aims to win an NCAA championship and perhaps some day be able to participate in the Olympics. Hard work does pay off and no one is a harder worker than Sydney. Look for her name some time in the near future with USA next to it! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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