Bethany Dumas Article (ME)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/s ... 0302.shtml

Cony frosh breaks pole vault record

By SCOTT MARTIN
Staff Writer

Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.


WINDHAM -- When the final runners in the boys 4x400-meter relay crossed the finish line, Bethany Dumas became the focus at the Class A outdoor track and field state championship.

The Cony freshman shined under the spotlight.

With a group of teammates and coaches to her right, and about 150 remaining athletes surrounding her, Dumas easily cleared 10-feet-3 1/2 inches on her third attempt in the pole vault to break the four-year old state record and win her first state title.

"I was a little nervous," Dumas said of having all eyes focused on her. "But who wouldn't be?"

Dumas didn't show her nerves. The freshman nearly cleared 10-6 and shattered the mark of 10-3 set by Waterville's Lauren Tebbetts in 2001. On her third attempt at 10-6, Dumas hit the bar with her stomach on the way down. The bar bounced, landed back on the standards and the crowd cheered thinking Dumas had caught a lucky break. As Dumas tried to hurry out of the pit and not disturb the bar, it fell off the standards and onto the mat. The crowd groaned, then applauded Dumas' record-setting performance.

"I thought the bar came off right away," Dumas said. "I tried to get out (of the pit), but I hesitated."

Dumas beat out Thornton senior Kat Rice, who finished second with a vault of 9-6, to help the Cony girls to a sixth-place finish. She also finished second in the javelin (114-11) to teammate Katie Rollins, who won her second consecutive title with a throw of 129-1.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/s ... 4221.shtml

Starring Roles

By SCOTT MARTIN
Staff Writer

Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

Staff photo by Jim Evans
enlarge

Cony High School freshman Bethany Dumas is the Kennebec Journal's girls track athlete of the year. She broke the state record in the pole vault (10 feet, 3.5 inches).

Bethany Dumas enjoys performing in pressure situations. The Cony freshman is at her best when everyone is watching, and her competitors are pushing her to her limits.

Dumas set the Class A state record in the pole vault with a vault of 10 feet, 3 1/2 inches at the Class A state championship meet. A week later at the New England Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Dumas finished second in the pole vault with a height of 10-6.

"I really enjoy everyone being there and watching," Dumas said. "I do a lot better when I have pressure on me."

Dumas also won the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A title in the pole vault and the 100-meter hurdles and finished second to teammate Katie Rollins in the javelin at both the conference and state championship meet. For her accomplishments, she has been named the Kennebec Journal Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Rollins, who won the Class A javelin title for the second straight season, was also considered.

Dumas performed well all season, but did especially well when the spotlight was its brightest. At the Class A state championship meet, Dumas was the last athlete competing -- in the entire meet. With every other event finished, the remaining coaches and athletes gathered to watch Dumas vault. With all eyes on her, she broke the state record.

"It takes a lot of mental toughness to perform under that type of circumstance," Cony coach Shawn Totman said. "It takes a certain type of person to push the nerves aside and do what you have to do to win. What is unique about Bethany is she was nervous and was still able to perform."

A week later, against the best competition she has faced in her young career, Dumas finished second with a vault of 10-6.

"New Englands was pretty intense," Dumas said. "There were a lot of good pole vaulters there. I wasn't used to that."

Dumas also wasn't used to running the hurdles or throwing the javelin. Before the start of this season, she only briefly threw the javelin and ran the hurdles. Dumas took a little time to learn the javelin, but once she got the technique down, she excelled. At the conference meet she took second with a throw of 117-7 and was part of a 1-4 sweep by the Rams along with Rollins, Natalie Nimon and Andrea Tyler.

"They all helped me out quite a bit," Dumas said. "I started out not knowing how to throw. They taught me all the tricks and were really supportive."

In the 100 hurdles, Dumas ran a 16.75 to win the conference title and knocked that time down to 16.46, good for fifth in the state.

"One of the things about her, after she set the state record (in the pole vault) I said congratulations and asked her how she felt," Totman said. "She said, 'Great. I can't wait until practice on Monday.' That really floored me and really impressed me. She is the type of athlete that understands you get better in practice, not in meets."

[fong520]

i thought it didnt matter if u were off the mats before the bar fell off or not and it still counted as a miss?

[rainbowgirl28]

i thought it didnt matter if u were off the mats before the bar fell off or not and it still counted as a miss?

It does not matter. People like to think it does.

[LHSpolevault]

that only counts for high jump... if you get off the mats before the bar falls.

[rainbowgirl28]

that only counts for high jump... if you get off the mats before the bar falls.

I don't think it's even a rule for high jump

[Russ]

Rainbow,

You are correct. Getting off of the pit is irrelevant to whether the attempt is ruled a successful attempt ("make") or a foul ("miss") in both of the pole vault and high jump. Apparently, it was a rule at some point in the distant past, although I have not ever seen a rule book that states this as a rule. If somebody has the time and energy, I suppose that you could head to the library and look through old rule books.

[pistolpete6994]

Regardless of the rule... ( i think its a habit her coach got her into) she is an amazing vaulter, I was at that meet and she had plenty of room to go higher. When she starts to penetrate more (her standards were at 15" and she still came down on it) she will take New England by storm. If anyone else is going to be around she will be jumping in a week or so at the USM Pine Tree Pole Vault Camp.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/s ... 6196.shtml

Dumas sets pole vault record

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

BRUNSWICK -- Cony High School sophomore Bethany Dumas shattered the girls pole vault record at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Championships Friday at Bowdoin College.

With her vault of 11-feet-1, Dumas easily broke the record of 9-6.5 set by Waterville Senior High School's Lauren Tebbets in 2002.

The vault is Dumas best of the season, bettering her old mark of 11-feet, set at the Brown Invitational earlier this year.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://sports.mainetoday.com/highschool ... id=2521903

Dumas vaults over the field
By SCOTT MARTIN
Staff Writer
Bethany Dumas approaches the indoor track and field season a little bit like training camp. Everything she does during the winter season is done with an eye toward the spring season. This season, she is specifically pointing toward the USATF Junior Olympics in July.
"Basically, indoor is about training to get ready for outdoors," Dumas said. "To me, it´s not about winning the meets, but beating my own records. One of my big goals is getting back to nationals."

Training camp went pretty well for the Cony High School sophomore.

Dumas set the girls state record in the pole vault, with a vault of 11-feet-2 inches to win the Class A state title. She also set the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference record and won the prestigous Brown Invitational at Brown University in Providence, R.I.

For her outstanding season, Dumas has been named the Kennebec Journal GIrls Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.

Dumas established herself as the top girls pole vaulter in Maine as a freshman, breaking the outdoor state record with a vault of 10-3.5 and finishing second at the New England championships with a vault of 10-6. This winter, she proved his is in a class by herself, become the first high school girl in Maine to clear 11 feet.

She is on her way to becoming the best female pole vaulter in Maine history. For perspective, Shira Paneli set the record at the University of Maine in 2004 with an outdoor vault of 11-5.75. Meanwhile, the record at the University of Southern Maine is 11-9 (indoors) set by Melissa Bellemore. At Colby, Liz Fredeick holds both the indoor and outdoor record at 11-5.75 and 11-7, respectively.

"She started out in the eighth grade doing 8-6," Taylor Harmon, Dumas´s coach said.

At 5-foot-2, Dumas is short for a pole vaulter.

To overcome her lack of height, she has worked tirelessly to increase her speed and upper body strength. Dumas is up to 115 pounds.

As Dumas has progressed, she has been forced to work with new poles. She started last season with a 10-foot tall pole and has advanced to a 13-foot pole that is rated for a 150-pound vaulter. The taller, stronger pole allows her to vault higher, but cost is an issue. According to Harmon, a pole costs about $300. Dumas has gotten help from the Calumet Club in Augusta, which has held fundraisers to help her buy new poles as well as travel to meets. Other teams have also allowed her to use their poles from time to time.

"They have been really supportive," Dumas said of the Calumet Club. "I wouldn´t have gone as far as I have if it weren´t for them."

Harmon and Dumas have become students of pole vaulting. Admittedly, they started out just knowing the basics, but as Dumas has progressed, they´ve studied the vault more and more.

Dumas said she has learned a lot watching tapes of world-class vaulters, while Harmon has asked for advice from a number of coaches.

"When I first started, Taylor and I didn´t really know anything about the pole vault, except planting and jumping," Dumas said. "Now, I´m coaching other kids."

This winter, Dumas also competed in the 55-meter hurdles. She didn´t practice the event, just ran it in meets.

Still, she finished second in the conference with a time of 9.46 seconds. She is the defending outdoor champion in the 100-hurdles.

"I need to work on my form," Dumas said of the hurdles. "I´m just not concentrating on it."

[PVgoalie101]

man i vault and hurdle too...i wish i could just go into a meet having not practiced hurdles and do that good. but yea, she's crazy good

[rainbowgirl28]

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/s ... 3470.shtml

In her first meet of the season, Bethany Dumas easily surpassed her state record height in the pole vault with a leap of 11-0, though it will not go in the record books. An athlete can only break a state record at the state championship meet. Dumas set the Class A record last spring with a vault of 10-3 1/2.