On Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, as the CIF outdoor track and field season was just getting started, Paige Sommers, a junior at Westlake High School, broke the California state high school record in the pole vault when she cleared 14 feet, 6 inches at the Thousand Oaks Lancer Invitational.
At the time, it is the second-highest clearance by a high school girl in the pole vault in U.S. history. Her clearance broke the previous California state high school record of 14-05.50 set by Rachel Baxter (Anaheim Canyon) in 2017. Sommers' mark ranks No. 4 in prep high school history. (Now No. 5, following the June national record clearance of 14-08.25 by Leah Pasqualetti (NY) at the Stars & Stripes Big Red Barn Meet, where Sommers' cleared 14-01.75.)
This video clip pulls together Sommers' progression over 14 feet at this meet. Also check out the full coverage: