Rockets' Bedel gets 4th in high jump
SHIPPENSBURG – The PIAA Track and Field Championships have a reputation of chewing up freshmen and spitting them out.
Not Gianna Bedel.
The Slippery Rock High freshman was unfazed by it. In fact, she seemed to thrive on the pressure.
And it showed.
Bedel cruised to a fourth-place finish in the Class AA high jump, clearing 5 feet, 4 inches, to claim her perch on the medal stand at Shippensburg University Friday morning.
“I'm really happy. I'm really excited,” Bedel said. “I was a little bit nervous. I told myself to jump the same, but this meet is way more important than the others. I just had to do what I always do.”
Bedel was able to keep her emotions in check. She didn't miss a height until she clipped the bar on her attempt at 5-5. She nearly made it on another attempt at that height, but settled for 5-4, which tied her personal-best.
“I'm really happy to get it at states today,” Bedel said.
So was Slippery Rock jumping coach Robin Springirth.
“It's amazing, really,” Springirth said. “The high jump is a very mental event and it gets in your head. Every jump she was on fire. I knew she had it in her. In the first big meet of the year, she hit a 5-4. She's been hitting 5-2, 5-3 all year. That's part of it – having the confidence you've jumped this jump before.”
Bedel shrugged and smiled when asked how she handled the pressure.
“Well, you need skills and stuff,” she said. “But after awhile, it's all in your head.
“I definitely wanted to get 5-4 again here, but 5-5 would have been nice,” she added, smiling. “Getting those first few heights (Friday) settles you down and gives you confidence. Hopefully next year, I'll come back here and get it and hopefully higher. I did get 5-6 at practice one time this year, so I know I can do it.”
Bedel has been something of a high-jumping prodigy.
She cleared 4-8 in junior high, which raised some eyebrows. It didn't take her long to rise in the event as a freshman this season.
“She's a very good observer of the event,” Springirth said. “She watches a lot of YouTube videos and can observe it, do it herself and repeat it, which is pretty impressive. That's nice to see in a kid.”
