Dingler’s career vaults into a higher gear
The clearing in the woods where Carson Dingler trains is like her second home.
There isn’t a quarter-mile running track for several miles in any direction at her training location near a rural intersection in southern Monroe County. But there is an elevated runway that leads to a padded pole vault jump pit, along with some industrial-sized fans, some benches and some gymnastics equipment — rings and such — to help develop upper-body strength.
It’s the place where Dingler has developed into one of the top high school pole vaulters in the country.
Dingler’s no stranger to local media attention. Three GHSA Class A private school championships at FPD — the most recent title setting an all-classification state finals record — provide evidence of that.
But Dingler’s story is no longer just a local one. For the second straight summer, she’s taking part in age-level international championship competition. And since the start of the month, college coaches have been able to call her as part of the recruiting process.
Things are starting to change in Dingler’s life. And that has meant making some choices to further her pole vault career.
Moving on up
As a freshman in 2014, Dingler set a GHSA Class A private school championship meet record, clearing 12 feet, 7 inches.
Her meet-winning performance as a sophomore, 12 feet, topped all competitors in her classification by 3 feet despite falling short of a personal best.
Since then, she more or less has broken away from the pack. Dingler cleared 13 feet early in her sophomore season at a meet in Griffin. At the state finals in Albany in early May, she cleared 13-2, a height that was 20 inches better than anyone cleared in GHSA finals competition this year.
Her closest high school competition in Georgia came from the GISA ranks. Becky Arbiv of Weber set a GISA championship record by clearing 13-1 1/2 . Both performances took place at Hugh Mills Stadium, with Arbiv’s mark coming one week before Dingler’s performance.
They wound up competing against each other in mid-June at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina, a meet that serves as sort of a tournament of champions for high school track and field. Dingler and Arbiv went 1-2, with Dingler setting a meet record by clearing 13-8 1/2 and Arbiv tying for second at 13-4 1/2 .
“I had a pretty great season,” Dingler said. “I’m No. 2 in the nation right now, and I won indoor and outdoor nationals. That’s pretty cool. And now I get to travel the world for a couple of weeks.”
West Coast influence
Last summer, Dingler qualified for her first international competition, the IAAF World Youth Championships, an under-17 event in Cali, Colombia.
Dingler and her American teammate, Rachel Baxter of Anaheim, California, finished as two of the five vaulters who finished at 12-7 1/2 . Baxter placed ninth, while Dingler finished 10th.
It was an educational experience for Dingler, one in which she and Baxter became friends.
“It was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” Dingler said. “Aside from the competing part, I made a lot of friends and life memories. Between the food and the competition and exploring the cities, it has been really fun.”
Baxter, who cleared 14-3 at a regular-season high school meet in late April and cleared 14-2 in the California Interscholastic Federation championship meet, has a higher personal best. But Dingler is right there, matching Baxter again at the USA Track and Field Junior Outdoor Championships on June 26 in California. Both cleared 13-9 1/4 , with Dingler achieving a personal best.
It was Baxter who took gold in the USATF meet, as she cleared the winning height on her first attempt while Dingler did so on her third. But they will be teammates again in international competition, as they will represent the U.S. in the IAAF World Junior Championships, the world track governing body’s under-20 competition, July 19-24 in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
“It’s really cool to have a friend who shares the same mindset,” Dingler said. “She’s always there for me, whether I need to talk about pole vaulting or (other) struggles. Friendly competition is always fun. We push each other, definitely.”
Trying to live the dream
As Dingler’s pole vault career develops, she and her family are starting to move into a situation that many Olympic hopefuls know all too well: trying to make finances and every-day living mesh with the dream of trying to make it on the world stage.
Trips to national competition and elite training facilities in the U.S. are one thing. Making it to international meets raises the expense bar exponentially.
“It will probably be over $8,000,” Dingler said when asked about the trip to Poland later this month.
Her family is making some sacrifices. Her parents sold a large house they had lived in near Bolingbroke and moved into a smaller house in Forsyth.
They also have chosen to test GHSA transfer rules in the name of trimming expenses. After spending three years at FPD, Dingler has withdrawn from the private school — where tuition is listed as $13,820 for the 2016-17 academic year — and has enrolled at Mary Persons, a public school where she hopes to compete on the track and field team in the spring as a senior.
“It will be a big change,” Dingler said. “I’ll just have to adapt. I’ll be fine.”
The GHSA has yet to rule on her eligibility. Since the Dinglers moved within Monroe County, her public school service area did not change, something that usually has to happen in order for a transfer to be ruled valid. There is, however, an appeals process should a negative eligibility decision be initially made.
They also have branched out into fund-raising. Dingler has a social media presence on Twitter and Instagram (@_cheetahpv), and they have started to get involved in crowdfunding efforts that many athletes in her position have gone through to in recent years.
They also have started a website: www.youcaring.com/
“We’ve never done this before,” Dingler said. “We’re just trying it out.”
Looking ahead
One thing Dingler might not have to worry about funding is her college education.
On July 1, Dingler’s phone number became fair game for college track and field coaches as the recruiting process began in earnest.
Dingler said she is keeping an open mind when it comes to the program for which she wants to compete. She will be plenty busy this month with preparation for world juniors, but she isn’t shying away from the recruiting process, either.
“I’m definitely open to looking at any college,” Dingler said. “Anyone who is interested and wants to talk, I’ll talk with them and see what their school is all about.”
Track and field signing dates mirror the dates for basketball. There’s an early period that runs Nov. 9-16, and the second period begins April 12.
How would Dingler fare at the collegiate level? Quite well, should she continue to build on her numbers from the New Balance and USATF meets.
Taking the 13-9 1/4 mark she achieved in June in California, Dingler would have finished third at the ACC championships and fifth at the SEC championships, and she would have finished between sixth and 11th at the NCAA championships, where five other vaulters posted the same height.
There’s also the possibility — should the GHSA rule her eligible — that she could give the National Federation of High Schools record a run. It’s a mark that isn’t the national junior record — Lexi Weeks of Cabot, Arkansas, cleared 14-7 1/2 a year ago in an Independence Day meet — but it’s still a big number.
Through the 2014-15 school year, the NFHS record was listed at 14-2 3/4 , set by Morgann LeLeux of New Iberia (Louisiana) Catholic. Both Weeks (Arkansas) and LeLeux (Georgia) went on to compete in the SEC, with Weeks winning the national championship as a freshman this year.
“My technique has gotten a lot better in the past year,” Dingler said. “I’ve learned how to work different things in the right way. It’s definitely helped me a lot.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2016 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Dingler’s career vaults into a higher gear."