GROVE CITY — Hailey Hall was at her lowest point following a disastrous meet against Slippery Rock High.

The Grove City High senior pole vaulter was despondent after failing to clear a height.

“I had a huge meltdown,” Hall said. “Water works. Everything.”

The pole vault had become more of a chore than fun. She had forgotten the thrill she had received from competing, instead focusing on her failure to clear the school-record height — a goal she so desperately wanted to achieve.

Hall, who picked up the event in the seventh grade, had hit rock bottom.

“I had so much stress,” Hall said. “I had so many people coming up to me asking, ‘Did you get the record yet? Did you get it yet?’ I’d have to say, ‘No, no, no, not yet.’”

It took that failure for Hall to hit the reset button.

Her pole vault coach at Grove City, Jared Henshaw, told her she needed to get back to having fun and gave her a few days of much needed respite.

“Finally, I just said forget it,” Hall said. “If I get the record, I get it. It doesn’t matter. If I don’t get it, my parents are still going to love me.”

When she returned, Hall was a reborn pole vaulter. It didn’t take long for her to tie the school record of 11 feet.

Tuesday, Hall cleared 11-1 to break the school mark.

“Getting the no height was the best thing that could have happened to her,” Henshaw said of the Slippery Rock meet. “We went back to basics when she came back. We dropped her back down to an older pole and it started falling into place for her again.”

When Hall came down onto the pole vault mat after her record-breaking effort, she thrust her arms into the air in triumph.

And relief.

“I was so excited,” Hall said. “My coach put it at 11 and then asked, ‘Do you just want to go for it?’ He put it up to 11-1 and I got it on my first attempt.”

Hall has been a late bloomer in the event.

At this time last season, she was still stuck at 8-6. It wasn’t until the District 10 Class AAA meet that she cleared 10 feet to reach the PIAA Track and Field Championships.

She hit that 10-foot mark on her final attempt.

“We weren’t expecting to go to states,” Hall said.

At the state meet, however, the big stage got the best of her and she failed to clear a height.

“My nerves were terrible at states,” she said.

Hall, who will compete in the event at Westminster College next season, is hoping to get back and put on a better showing this season.

To get there, the diminutive Hall has to focus much more on technique in an event that usually rewards the tall and lanky competitor.

“I’m 5-4 on a good day,” Hall said. “Whenever you’re shorter, you have to be more of a technician. Luckily, I have a great coach who knows what he is doing. He’s been coaching me since the eighth grade and we have a pretty good relationship.”