Elizabeth Schriver won her first state title on Tuesday and was Hereford's lone event winner on their state-championship squad. (Photo by Craig Amoss)
After the conclusion of the 3A girls 4x400 relay, the Northern girls led the 3A team standings with 49.50 points. North Point sat in second place at 38 points, followed by Franklin and Reservoir at 35. The Hereford girls, winners of three state titles in the previous four years (2016, 2017 and 2019) sat in sixth place with 31 points. However, there was still one event left: the pole vault.
For just about any other team in the state, making up 15 points in the pole vault at the state level would be an impossible task. For the Bulls, it played right into their team strength. They have featured the top pole vault trio in the state - Elizabeth Schriver, Courtney Butz and Vita Shats - all winter. Schriver, who hasn't lost a pole vault competition since back in early December, led the way with ten points, clearing 11'2. Butz followed up in second, beating out Atholton's Madison Garrigus.
Even with that duo, the Hereford girls still would have trailed Northern by half a point. Sophomore Vita Shats put the finishing touches on their final-event comeback by finishing fourth, pushing them up to 54 points and helping the Bulls win their fourth indoor state title (first in the 3A classification) in the past five years.
Hereford spread out the rest of their points throughout the meet. Their 4x800 and 4x400 relays finished second and third, respectively. Caroline Benda (3200), Piper Lentz (1600 and 800) and Laura Schmidt (500) all finished sixth or higher.