There's No Limiting Boyne City Vaulter
May 4, 2018
By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half
BOYNE CITY – Anna Harmeling is a smart, multi-talented, grounded 18-year-old.
Well, grounded except when she’s tracking her speed down the runway, then hurtling her 5-foot-5 frame into the air to clear a bar in the pole vault.
It’s an event in which she’s become quite accomplished. In a meet last Thursday at Harbor Springs, the Boyne City senior broke her own school record three times, clearing 11-6, 11-9 and finally 12 feet.
Harmeling is now the fourth vaulter in the state, and the first in Lower Peninsula Division 3, to clear 12 feet this weather-abbreviated season, according to athletic.net.
“Going for four PRs in a day is tough – she almost had 12-4,” Ramblers pole vault coach Andy Bryant said. “It’s an emotional rollercoaster. You’re celebrating one jump, but then you have to quickly re-focus for the next.”
That breakout afternoon was a confidence builder for Harmeling, who admittedly has struggled adjusting to a bigger 13-foot pole. She went 11-1 a year ago to break Katie Martin’s school record, but then had trouble finishing jumps and exceeding that height, including during the indoor season, as she tried to transition to the new pole.
“I was stuck there for almost a year,” she said.
Then, the Ram Scram at Harbor Springs happened.
“She’s finally getting comfortable with the longer pole,” head coach Andy Place said. “We’re excited for her. It’s been an adjustment. You need a longer pole to go higher, but you have to adjust your steps, and when to bend the pole. There’s a technique to it.”
Even at Harbor Springs, Harmeling reverted to her old pole to clear 10-6.
“Then, (Bryant) said, ‘OK, you’re going back to the new pole,’” Anna’s mother Andrea said. “It just clicked for her after that.”
“I had to apologize to Anna afterwards,” Bryant said. “I didn’t celebrate that much when she went 11-6 and 11-9 because I knew she was going to make 12.
“I told her when she changed (poles) she had to be patient. The timing is different. It’s hard to jump from one pole to another. But I knew once she started to get it down, the heights would come - and it finally happened. It’s a lot of stress off her shoulders now. She knows she can do it. Now, it’s working on the technical things that college vaulters work on.”
Like form.
Harmeling said with better technique she could have cleared 12-4 that day.
“I had the height, but I need to work on tightening my form to keep pushing that record up,” she said.
How high can she jump? She doesn’t know.
“I don’t know what my limits are,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve reached my peak. There’s more to learn. And I’m going to keep trying until I hit those limits, which is hopefully never.”
It’s been an interesting journey for the Stanford-bound Harmeling – and Bryant, who recruited her as a freshman.
Since few athletes gravitate to pole vaulting, Bryant, a science teacher at the high school, looks for students who are athletic and coachable.
This was an exception: Harmeling was not an athlete.
But Bryant, who had her in class, saw potential.
“Physically, I probably wouldn’t have approached her,” he said. “She was a teeny little freshman who had never played sports. But I saw her determination in the classroom, how she attacked her academics. I thought let’s give this a try. She’s a clean slate. She has no bad habits (from playing other sports).”
Bryant, who has been coaching the sport 20-plus years, had to not only convince Anna, but her parents Mike and Andrea, too.
“We went to a parent-teacher conference and met with the science teacher,” Andrea recalled. “My husband and I are doctors, so we’re science people. We were excited about the conference. Andy Bryant was her science teacher. When we walked in he said, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, she’s good. She’s fine with science. Now, has she chosen a sport?’ My husband and I looked at him and said we’re not really sports people. I said we think of math as a sport.”
“That’s part of why Anna wanted to try it – to prove to us math wasn’t the only sport,” added Mike, laughing.
“(Bryant) said he thought she would be really good at pole vaulting. It sounded interesting, so we said, ‘Sure, why not, let her try.’”
Pole vaulting is not an easy event to learn. Anna quickly found that out.
Boyne City has a vault box in its gymnasium floor so vaulters can work on their craft during the offseason. Training sessions typically draw vaulters from across the region, who come to train with Bryant, a former vaulter at Central Michigan University.
It’s also a testing ground for new vaulters to see if they will like it before spring practice begins.
Harmeling, however, had research to do first.
“I had to look it up online and watch a video,” she acknowledged. “I didn’t understand the concept. That first day wasn’t good at all. I had no idea what I was doing. I was terrified trying my first jump. But, I thought, I can’t end it on a bad day. I, at least, have to do well enough before I quit.”
Well enough was good enough for Bryant.
“That first practice I ran her through some preliminary drills, and she just floored me,” he said. “I remember telling my wife I haven’t been this excited about a kid in a long time. She’s not only coachable, she’s smart.
“When you meet her, you can see that determination in her eyes. I could tell the first week of school (her freshman year). She is a kid who will find a way to get more out of an assignment, more out of a question, than you intended. You ask any teacher and they’ll say she challenges you in a good way. You put something in front of her and she’ll make it better. She’s always pushing that limit. That’s the quality I zeroed in on.”
Harmeling tackled pole vaulting like she does her classwork – with a vengeance. If she wasn’t practicing or working on plyometrics, she was in the weight room gaining strength.
“A lot of young athletes today want the quick hit,” Bryant said. “They want to be No. 1 with minimal work. It’s so refreshing to see a kid work her tail off to reach her goals. In season, out of season, she’s there. Now, she has a great chance to win at the state meet.”
Harmeling finished fourth at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals the last two years.
It took one year to make her way on to Bryant’s classroom wall, where he posts pictures of vaulters. He started with collegiate and world class vaulters, but he’s gradually replaced those with his own jumpers. The standards: Boys must jump at least 12 feet, girls 10.
“He told me, ‘If you jump high, I’ll put your picture up here, but you have to work hard,” Harmeling said.
Bryant started the board to attract interest in the discipline.
“Kids look at the wall and begin to understand what it’s all about,” he said. “Then they’ll say, ‘What’s the story here?’ That’s the hook. That’s when I say, ‘Want to try it?”
Today, Harmeling, a team leader, owns the school record that Martin, a 2004 MHSAA champion, had previously set at 11 feet.
“I thought that record would stand for a while, and it did,” Bryant said. “But as soon as I saw Anna as a freshman I remember telling her parents when they were trying to understand what pole vaulting was about that if Anna doesn’t challenge for a state title, there’s something wrong with my program. That’s the kind of kid she is. If you want to know how good your program is, you put Anna through it, and you’ll find out because this kid does everything you ask.”
And more.
Harmeling is also the lead runner on the 400 relay, and Tuesday in the Boyne City Invitational she tried the long jump for the first time after the pole vault was cancelled due to strong winds.
“She has never long jumped and had not practiced it,” Place said. “She used her pole vault approach … and won the event with a jump of 15-6, which makes her one of Boyne City’s top four jumpers ever. A 15-9 is the MHSAA state qualifying mark in Division 3, so after some practice we may have her jump again.”
Off the track, Harmeling, who carries a 4.048 grade points average, excels in other curriculars, too. She was the technical director for the Rambler Sports Network, which broadcasts football, basketball and volleyball games online. She was a section leader for the Rambler Rowdies, one of three finalists for the MHSAA Battle of the Fans VII championship. She was a state champion in a DECA business competition that qualified her for the international career development conference. And she plays stand-up bass in the family band that performs around the area.
“That’s kind of who she is,” Andrea said. “She’s not afraid to try new things – and when she does she goes all out. It’s been fun to watch. We would not have predicted any of these things for her when she started high school. She starts them, loves them and she’s good at them.”
That’s what happened when she needed to pick up some arts credits and came across a TV production class.
Bryant is a broadcaster during basketball season and works closely with Harmeling.
“She sits in the truck with all the TVs and camera angles (usually four cameras) coming into that feed, and she is the one picking out the camera shot, talking in my ear when to go to replay, when to go to commercial. She’s coaching me.
“I told her teacher, if you take her, she’ll be running this thing in a year. And she was.”
“I loved it,” Harmeling said. “I’m still part of the program now. I’m helping edit a final senior year video. It’s such an interesting platform to be part of because it’s so high-paced. I got to work with great people. It’s so interesting to learn the people side – figure out what the viewer wants to see, how things should be visually organized – and the technical side of programming. It’s like a puzzle.’
As for the family band, Mike is a banjo player in the Horton Creek Bluegrass Band. He also plays in the family band with Anna (stand-up bass), Katie (fiddle), Megan (guitar) and Ben (guitar).
Katie, a junior, and Megan, a freshman, play on the Ramblers soccer team. Ben, a seventh-grader, also plays soccer.
Anna, after posting a 1550 out of 1600 on the SAT, is off to Stanford in the fall. She also was accepted at Harvard. The Harmelings visited Stanford in February.
“I loved the people, the campus, the academics,” Anna said. “It was amazing. It became my dream school.”
Plus, it had something Harvard couldn’t offer in the winter – warm weather.
Harmeling has touched base with the Stanford track coaches about the possibility of walking on. That didn’t seem too promising until she cleared 12 feet last week.
“They told her to keep them posted so when she popped 12 one of the first things she said is, ‘I’ve got to send the Stanford coach an e-mail,’” Bryant said. “I don’t know if there’s a coach in the country that wouldn’t take a 12-foot walk-on.”
If it happens, it would be awesome, Harmeling said. If not, academics will keep her busy and she’s interested in contacting the school’s broadcasting program, too.
“I would love to work in sports broadcasting,” she said.
She’s also interested in international business.
There’s so much in the air right now, including how high she can go in the pole vault.
“Fingers crossed at this point,” she said. “I’m just trying to have fun and see how high I can go and not put any number in my head I have to reach.”
Dennis Chase worked 32 years as a sportswriter at the Traverse City Record-Eagle, including as sports editor from 2000-14. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Boyne City’s Anna Harmeling prepares to begin her pole vault approach. (Middle) Harmeling clears the bar during a meet. (Below) Harmeling points to her spot on coach Andy Bryant’s board of honored pole vaulters. (Photos courtesy of Anna Harmeling.)
VIDEO: Boyne City’s Anna Harmeling clears 12 feet for the first time during a meet April 26 at Harbor Springs. (Video courtesy of Anna Harmeling.)
Preview: Watch for Falling Records
June 2, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
If there is one theme that can be drawn across all seven MHSAA Girls Track & Field Finals to be run Saturday, it’s probably this:
There are plenty of standouts who have climbed the medal stand before – and could knock down a number of records on their way back up.
Read on for some of the teams and individuals to watch at Saturday's girls meets. Click for meet information including all qualifiers and come back Saturday night for results as they come in. Check out MHSAA.TV for live streaming of running events from both peninsulas, available with subscription.
LP Division 1 at East Kentwood
Top Regional scores: 1. East Kentwood 193, 2. Ann Arbor Pioneer 174, 3. Rockford 169½.
Ann Arbor Pioneer: Last season’s runner-up could score major distance points with junior Anne Forsyth, whose 1,600 (4:47.74) and 3,200 (10:21.92) top times are the fastest in the division this season. Senior Alice Hill’s top 800 time ranks among the top four, and junior Britten Bowen’s top 100 dash and 100 hurdles times both rank second and she’s the reigning champion in the latter. The 3,200 relay has the fastest time (9:02.69) by 17 seconds, and the 400 relay has come in second fastest.
Oak Park: The three-time reigning champion could be in line for a fourth straight title paced again by speedy relays – the 400 (47.38), 800 (1:39.03) and 1,600 (3:53.01) have run the division’s fastest times in those events this spring, and the 3,200 (9:19.68) has the second-fastest time. Senior Tamea McKelvy has top-three times in both the 100 and 200, and senior Carlita Taylor has the second-fastest 300 hurdles time. Dorriann Coleman is the reigning 800 champion.
Rockford: The Rams also could make a move on the title powered by relays. All four have run times that rank among the top five in LP Division 1 this season; the 800 and 1,600 relays have run the second-fastest times this spring.
Anavia Battle, Wayne Memorial senior: Battle finished fifth in the 100 and second in the 200 last season, and her top 100 time this spring (11.53) would push the all-Finals record.
Landon Kemp, Greenville senior: The reigning pole vault champion already holds the all-Finals record of 13 feet, 4 inches, and the second highest vault this season of 12-9 – plus the best long jump by more than five inches at 18-11 after finishing second in that event last season.
Taylor Manson, East Lansing senior: After finishing fifth in the 200 and second in the 400 last season, Manson enters this weekend with the fastest times in the division this season in both races – 23.90 and 54.96, respectively.
Grace Stark, White Lake Lakeland sophomore: Stark has run top-10 times in LP Division 1 in the 100, 200 and 100 hurdles, and that hurdles time (13.54) is especially notable because it came a week ago and would break the all-Finals record set in 2003.
Quiara Wheeler, Grand Blanc senior: After winning the discus championship last season by five feet, she has the best throw in the division this season (153-4) by more than four feet.
LP Division 2 at Zeeland
Top Regional scores: 1. Dearborn Divine Child 210, Ada Forest Hills Eastern 144, Zeeland East 137.
Holland Christian: Junior Kayla Windemuller is the reigning champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 and has the fastest times in the division this season in both races, 4:55.82 and 10:38.49, respectively, and is part of the the fastest 3,200 relay time (9:28.19). That 10:38 would set a meet record.
Lansing Waverly: The Warriors are coming off their first MHSAA team title, and could add a second with the top 400 (50.04) and 800 (1:44.88) relay times in the division entering the weekend after winning both last year. Freshman Priscilla Trainor has the third-fastest times in both the 100 and 200, and junior Malin Smith has the longest shot put (45-9¼) and second-longest discus toss (140-5).
Zeeland East: The Chix finished fifth last season and could make a move led by junior hurdler Suenomi Norinh, who has top-five times in both races in the division this spring. Sophomore Aliyah Boeve has top six throws in both, and Norinh has the top high jump (5-9¼) and second-best long jump (17-6¾) in LP Division 2. She won the high jump last season, and her best this season would break the meet record.
Jakarri Alven, Grand Rapids Catholic Central sophomore: The reigning champion in the 400 and runner-up in the 200 has run top eight times in the division this season in those races and the 100.
Ieisha Davis, Romulus senior: After placing third twice and runner-up in a third sprint last season, Davis is seeking her first title with the second-fastest times in the 100 and 200 and ninth-fastest time in the 400 this spring.
Zoe Eby, Carleton Airport senior: Eby has the fastest 100 (11.97) and 200 (24.35) times in the division this season, and the 200 would be a meet record while her best 100 would threaten the record in that race. She won the 200 and finished third in the 100 last season.
Casey Korte, Gaylord senior: Last season’s long jump champion (and fourth-place finisher in the high jump) has posted jumps among the top seven in the division this season in both events, although she is not doing high jump this weekend.
Gabriella LeRoux, Spring Lake senior: The reigning pole vault champion is tied for the top vault this season (12-0) and also will run on a top 800 relay.
LP Division 3 at Comstock Park
Top Regional scores: Clinton Township Clintondale 221, Pewamo-Westphalia 170, Saugatuck 168.
Adrian Madison: The Trojans finished second last season, 3½ points back, and have the firepower to take the next step. Senior Megan Rosales ran on two winning relays and was runner-up in the 300 hurdles last season, and she has the top times in the division this spring in that race (44.77) and the 400 (57.56).
Pewamo-Westphalia: The Pirates won in 2013 and 2015, making this their season again by that pattern. They should be able to back up that hope led by senior Brenna Wirth, whose fastest 200 time (25.74) is tops in the division this season while she also ranks among the fastest in the 100 and 400. Three relays also have posted times among the top four in the division.
Shepherd: Picking a third team to rise in this division is tough because the top performers are spread out over a number of possible contenders. But the Bluejays get the call because of the potential scoring of sophomore Amber Gall. She has the division’s top time in the 800 this season (2:14.83) and also ranks among the top performers in the 1600 and 3,200 and as part of 1,600 and 3,200 relays that have posted times among the top four in the division.
Adelyn Ackley, Hart sophomore: After winning the 3,200 last season as a freshman, Ackley could be in line for more. She has the division’s best time in that race (10:29.45), the second-fastest in the 1,600 (4:54.31) and also ranks as part of a top 3,200 relay. Her best 3,200 individual time would break the meet record by six seconds.
Hannah Hall, Millington junior: The reigning champion in the high jump has the division’s top jump this spring at 5-6, two inches higher than when she won a year ago. That jump Saturday would tie the meet record.
Brooklin Klopf, Montrose senior: As a junior, Klopf won the shot put and didn’t place in the discus, but she enters the weekend with the top throws in both this spring: 44-4½ and 143-6, respectively.
Kasey Staley, Clare senior: Staley broke the meet record last season winning with a vault of 12-4, and she’s gone 12-6½ this spring.
Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic junior: Her top 3,200 time (10:31.03), while second to Ackley’s, also would break the meet record by four seconds. Theis also has the top time this season in the 1,600 (4:53.74).
LP Division 4 at Grand Rapids Houseman Field
Top Regional scores: 1. Fowler 208, 2. Manton 193, 3. Muskegon Western Michigan Christian 147.
Fowler: The Eagles are going for their second straight championship and fourth this decade. Fowler won last season with three relay titles but no individual wins; those relays are again strong, but sophomore Alyssa Vandegriff in particular has a chance to shine individually. She has the second-fastest time in the 100 hurdles and 10th-fastest in the 300, and the top high jump (5-3). The 1,600 relay (4:08.89) also has the fastest time for that event this spring.
Pittsford: The Wildcats’ lone top-two team finish in this sport was a runner-up in Class D in 1994, but they have the standouts to make a run. Most notably, the 400 relay (52.33) and 800 relay (1:49.72) have run the fastest times this season in those events, and senior Maddie Clark – runner-up in discus last season – has the top discus toss (138-3) by 16 feet and the second-farthest shot (36-11). Senior Katie Clement’s 11-0 top pole vault is a foot better than the field.
Southfield Christian: A pair of standouts will give the Eagles a chance to move all the way up from eighth last season. Junior Chika Amene has the top times in the 100 (12.58) and 200 (25.71) and second-fastest 400 (58.21) in the division this season. Junior Kaelin Ray has the fastest 300 hurdles (46.42) and third-fastest 100 hurdles times.
Baleigh Irelan, Reading junior: Irelan has posted only the eighth-best time in the division in the 300 hurdles – but her winning time last season would be the best.
Erika Lechner, Harbor Springs senior: Last season’s shot put champion has added nearly four feet to that title-winning throw with her best this spring being 45-10 – nine feet farther than the rest of the pack. She’s also a discuss contender.
Mary Leighton, Mendon senior: The reigning 100 hurdles champion also set the meet record last year at 14.93 seconds. She has the division’s best time this season (15.40) and the fourth-best in the 300 hurdles after finishing fourth a year ago in that race.
Samantha Saenz, Concord junior: Her division-best time in the 1,600 (5:05.69) is more than 10 seconds better than the rest, and she’s also among the top six in the 3,200 and 800 after winning the 1,600 and finishing third in the 3,200 last year.
Ava Strenge, Battle Creek St. Philip senior: Strenge will try to add at least one more title to a celebrated career. She finished first in the 3,200 last season, has the fastest time this season (11:02.79) by nine seconds and the second-fastest in the 1,600.
UP Division 1 at Kingsford
Top Regional scores: 1. Marquette 75, 2. Sault Ste. Marie 49, 3. Houghton 47.
Marquette: The Redettes have won six straight U.P. Division 1 titles and remain favorites even after graduating some stars last spring. Marquette won all four relays at its Regional, and senior Izabelle Peterson was first in the 200 and second in the 100 after winning both races at last season’s Finals.
Sault Ste. Marie: The Blue Devils tied for second at the Finals last season and finished second to Marquette at this year’s Regional, but had the winner in three of eight running events in the latter. Senior Courtney Arbic was a relay standout at last year’s Finals, but enters this one with a first place in the 800 and second place in the 400 at the Regional.
Olivia Allen, Kingsford sophomore: The reigning 400 champ and 200 runner-up won both races and was second in the 100 at her Regional.
Jenny Brandt, Escanaba senior: She won the discus last season by eight feet, and won it at her Regional by 17 in addition to finishing third in shot put and high jump.
Clara Johnson, Negaunee junior: She won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 at her Regional, setting herself up well to add to last season’s Finals title in the 3,200.
Sydney Mills, Gladstone junior: The reigning high jump champion won that event and was second in the long jump at her Regional.
Kendra Monette, Houghton junior: She’ll be favored to win the shot put again after doing so by nearly five feet a year ago and by more than five at her Regional; she also won the 100 at the latter.
UP Division 2 at Kingford
Top Regional scores: 1. Ishpeming 70, 2. St. Ignace 64, 3. Munising 50.
Ishpeming: The Hematites have won the last two championships and return two significant scorers for one last high school meet –reigning discus and shot put title winner Marissa Maino, and reigning 800, 1,600 and 3,200 winner Khora Swanson. Junior Katie Loman won both hurdles races at the Regional and could make another sizable contribution.
St. Ignace: The Saints are going for their fifth championship this decade and after finishing third a year ago. Junior Linnie Gustafson is the reigning high jump champ and has gone 5-3, three inches higher than at last year’s Finals. Sophomore Emily Coveyou also will be key to contention; she won the 200 and 400 at her Regional.
Taylor Bryant, Newberry senior: She won the 100 hurdles in Division 3 last season but is competing in Division 2 this time. So far, so good: she won the 100 and 300 hurdles at her Regional.
Emmy Kinner, Iron River West Iron County senior: She’s won seven individual Finals titles, including the 100, 200 and 400 two straight seasons. She won all three at her Regional, two races by significant margins.
UP Division 3 at Kingsford
Top Regional scores: 1. Lake Linden-Hubbell 91½, 2. Stephenson 64, 3. Pickford 59.
Lake Linden-Hubbell: The Lakes should make a good run at their first Finals title since 1994. Junior Laura Lyons was the long jump champion by five inches last season and posted top-four finishes in the 400 and 200; she won all three and the 100 at the Regional, where the Lakes took first in four of five field events and three of four relays.
Stephenson: The Eagles are seeking their first title – and top-two finish – since 1993. Their highest placer last season was a third in the 200, but that could change with sophomore sprinter Amanda Starzynski riding the wave of Regional championships in the 100, 200 and 400.
Ashtyn Buss, Engadine junior: After winning the shot put and finishing runner-up in discus a year ago, Buss helped her team to a Regional title with wins in both events.
Camryn Croasdell, Rock Mid-Peninsula freshman: She’s a reigning champion despite being a freshman, having finished first in the 200 last year as an eighth grader. She took first at her Regional and also finished second in the 100.
PHOTO: Newberry’s Taylor Bryant charges over a hurdle during last season’s U.P. Division 3 Finals. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)