Kinch reaching sky high in pole vault

RITZVILLE – In a sport that requires speed, power, agility and a dose of courage, Lind-Rizville senior Sydney Kinch is having some early season success in the pole vault.

Kinch won the event at the Ray Cross Invitational Track meet at Ephrata onMarch 26, clearing a height of 9 feet.

Then on April 1, she won the pole vault at the Glenn Wolf Invitational in Deer Park, clearing 8 feet 6 inches.

And most recently, she placed third at the Van Kuren Invitational in Cheney on April 16, again clearing 9 feet.

She was out-vaulted in Cheney by two girls – one from Bonners Ferry and the other Coeur D' Alene, Idaho – who both cleared 9 feet 6 inches.

Asked how she started the sport, Kinch says, "A cousin was doing it when I was in seventh-grade."

Kinch also talks about the influence of a family friend, John Kragt, a Ritzville Class of 2003 graduate who competed in the heptathlon (a combination of seven track and field events)at Spokane Falls Community College, and later for Univserity of Alabama's Crimson Tide.

This season is her only full season in track and field since her freshmen year.

There were no spring sports in 2020, her sophomore year, due to coronavirus-shutdown mandates.

"It was really frustrating," she said. "I just lifted weights and worked out, to be ready for all sports." Last year 2021 brought a shortened season, as school districts compressed a year's worth of sports into just a few months, during the spring, again to coronavirus-related orders.

Kinch says her personal best vault is 9 foot 6 inches. She could jump to new heights before this season is over.

The Class 2B girls state meet record is 12 feet 4 inches, set by Scout Cai of Colfax in 2016.

Pole vaulting isn't her only event.

She had some strong finishes in the 100 meters, and won the long jump event at Deer Park, with a leap of 15 feet 10.25 inches.

Area residents will have a chance to watch Kinch and the rest of the Bronco track team at the Undeberg Invitational here April 30. The competition begins at 11 a.m.