PEARL — Oxford senior Mollie Beth Ott had an idea that her first-place finish in the pole vault was very important to how the Lady Chargers closed out Friday’s MHSAA Class 5A state track meet at Pearl High School when some extra teammates came over to watch her last few attempts.
With Oxford ahead of Pearl by only three points (72-69) with two events left to be scored, Ott’s finish — as well as how teammate Sally Rychlak fared — in the pole vault was critical to deciding a third straight state championship for the Lady Chargers.
Ott knew that Kristen Dickerson had fallen in the 300 meter hurdles and did not record a point. She was vaulting when members of the 4×100 relay team collided and finished eighth, which meant only one point for a team that should have finished fourth. Ott also knew that 3,200 runner Audrey Dayan was held out of Friday’s meet due to an injury, meaning no additional points in an event she was seeded third in. (May 14, 2012, Page 1B)
