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TO CONGRATULATE SOMMER KNIGHT, WOODLAND HIGH SCHOOL POLE VAULTER, FOR SETTING THE STATE RECORD IN THE POLE VAULT AND FOR WINNING A GOLD MEDAL IN THE EVENT AT THE SOUTH CAROLINA CLASS AA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.
Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to learn that Sommer Knight cleared thirteen feet in the pole vault to set a new state record while helping Woodland High capture the state track and field Class AA state championship title at Spring Valley High School in Columbia on Saturday, May 13, 2017; and
Whereas, a senior at Woodland High, Ms. Knight will be pole vaulting for East Carolina University next season, trading her high school Wolverine identity for that of a collegiate Pirate; and
Whereas, she played volleyball since the sixth grade and could have played college volleyball, but when a new teacher at Woodland, Ariel Domke, wanted to coach the pole vault, an event in which the school had not previously competed, Woodland head track coach Chavez James asked Sommer if she would participate; and
Whereas, after participating in gymnastics as a youth and sprinting for Woodland on the track team, she found her athletic calling in the air with the pole vault; and
Whereas, the challenge of learning the necessary skills for pole vaulting was lessened as a result of her background in gymnastics through similarity with some of the drills, but Sommer found it to be like no other sport she had ever known; and
Whereas, as a freshman in her first season of learning to pole vault, she was getting comfortable with the movements and the event in general, but Knight made it to the state competition and placed fourth. She took fourth place again as a sophomore, but as a junior, she reached a personal record (PR) of 11-6 and took top honors at the state championship; and
Whereas, when East Carolina offered her a small scholarship with the promise of more as she improved, her record had only been 11-7. She qualified for nationals the second week of her senior season when she reached 11-9, but her goal for her senior season was to clear 12-6. When she cleared thirteen feet shortly before the state meet, she began to focus on her perennial goal of setting a PR; and
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives wish Sommer Knight the pleasure of reaching a new PR as she competes at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals June 16-18 in Cary, North Carolina, and look to hear of her continued achievements in the days ahead. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, congratulate Sommer Knight, Woodland High School pole vaulter, for setting the state record in the pole vault and for winning a gold medal in the event at the South Carolina Class AA State championship.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Sommer Knight.
This web page was last updated on June 6, 2017 at 3:28 PM