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Ms. Dragomir, you can donate from your own personal funds to help the schools out. It is a free co...read more...

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West Jessamine senior Emily Dickens has a decision to make. And it’s not going to be an easy one.

See, Dickens has come on recently as a strong competitor in the pole vault. She’s also been working toward graduation. She could compete for a state title in June, or walk across the stage with her fellow students during graduation ceremonies. She can’t do both.

Dickens holds the school record in the pole vault and set the AA record for the event at the Mason Dixon indoor state championship last Saturday.

Dickens jumped 9 feet two weeks ago at the Nike Invitational, breaking her own school record. She won the event at Mason-Dixon. She cleared 8-feet, 10-inches to best the previous meet record by an inch and then took three shots at 9 feet, 3 inches but barely missed. By the end of the outdoor track season, she could be clearing 9 feet, 6 inches. And if she does that, she could very well be bringing home a state title.

That’s if she competes; a mighty big if.

“You don’t know who is going to come out of the woodwork or what might go wrong, but she is certainly a contender to win if she’s there,” West track Coach Randy Crist said.

Of all the things that could keep Dickens from traveling to the University of Louisville and competing for a state championship in June, the one most likely to do so is completely unrelated to injuries or competition. It will be her date with her diploma.

Because the graduation ceremonies conflict with the state meet, Dickens will have to choose. She will either attempt to win a state championship or celebrate graduation with her classmates.

“It’s a hard decision,” Dickens said. “It’s an unfortunate situation we have to be put in.”

Finding a new sport

Dickens hasn’t always been a track athlete. She had previously been a gymnast before changing sports. After years in gymnastics, she made the switch last year.

“I did competitive gymnastics for 11 years and it just got to be too much,” she said. “This is more fun even though it’s still competitive. It’s just something I enjoy doing.”

She cited the lack of stress and the team environment for her enjoyment.

“I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself,” she said. “With gymnastics at the level I was, I didn’t have as many friends, but now I have a team behind me. It’s just fun to be a part of a team.”

Dickens admitted there weren’t a lot of similarities between the two sports, except for one.

“You’re upside down, which you’re used to from gymnastics.”

In fact, it might have been her experience with gymnastics that led to her being such a quick study on the pole vault.

“They said gymnasts are good at pole vaulting, so I said, ‘Hey, I’ll try it,’” she said.

And she picked it up quickly, competing as Louisville last season and setting the school record. She has a chance to repeat that if she decides to.

“It’s a hard choice to make,” she said. “I’ve only been doing this a year, but I’ve been working toward it all winter. It’s something I’ve been working for really hard.”

But graduation can’t be so easily dismissed either. She also said she’s been working 12 years for her diploma.

Conflicting schedules

While this is not the first time the state meet and graduation have been so close together, it is the first time athletes will have to make decisions on which to attend.

“Three years ago, we had an afternoon session and a 7:30 graduation,” Crist said. “So a few of those kids had to get out pretty quick and get back for graduation. But most years, we had the morning or afternoon session so at 7:30 it didn’t matter.”

Two years ago, the KHSAA made a change to the state meet format that now includes an evening session.

Last year, the Colts sent 27 athletes to the state meet, including 11 juniors. All but one of those returned for this season. That doesn’t mean all of them will return, but most could. Crist also said that East Jessamine has senior athletes that could face a tough decision as well.

With a tough choice in a fairly complicated issue, Dickens is as good at summing things up as she is at the pole vault.

“It just stinks,” she said.

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