Hayley Horvath and Caroline Dannenbaum came into Friday's NJSIAA Non-Public A Championships ranked near the top of the state's pole vaulter ranking for this season. They left as two of the best in state history after staging the greatest girls PV duel in state history at Franklin High School.
Horvath, a senior at Notre Dame, came into the meet with a personal best of 12-6. Dannenbaum, a sophomore at Pingry, had a best of 12-4 on her resume.
But they both pushed eachother to new heights as they blasted through their PR's and flew over the bar in a remarkable display of aerial excellence as they battled one another all the way up to 13-6!!!
When no one made 13-6, Horvath was declared the winner on misses. She made 13-0 on her second try and Dannenbaum made 13-0 on her third try. It's the first time in state history that two girls made 13-0 in the same competition.
Horvath and Dannenbaum vaulted all the way up to a tie for No. 2 on N.J.'s all-time list and are now #28 in the nation. Only Danielle O'Reilly of Shawnee, who cleared a state record 13-3 at the 2004 Olympic Conference Championships, has gone higher than Horvath and Dannenbaum in NJ history
The Towson State-bound Horvath, who won the Meet of Champions title in the vault this past indoor season, credited a bigger pole for helping her reach new heights. Watch the video above to hear Horvath talk about her performance and her chances of breaking the state record.
There's more.
Dannenbaum is now tied for No. 1 in the nation among sophomores, and she now owns some bragging right in her family since the previous Non-Public A meet record of 12-1 was set last year by her sister, Julia. Julia, who just completed her freshman year at Washington University in St. Louis, had a great career at Pingry, highlighted by a victory at the indoor Meet of Champions as a senior in 2017.
Speaking of the Meet of Champions, could O'Reilly's state record of 13-3 fall at the M of C on June 9 at Northern Burlington?
I wouldn't bet against it.