Rydberg finishes second in State pole vault competition

 May 8, 2025

By Clay Whittington

Belton Journal

In her final competition, Abigail Rydberg exceeded expectations.

After spending her entire high school career attempting to overcome the odds and place herself among the state’s elite pole vaulters, Lake Belton’s senior standout accomplished her goal Friday.

Inside of Austin’s Mike A. Myers Stadium, Rydberg cleared 12 feet, 0 inches to finish second at the University Interscholastic League Class 5A Track & Field State Championships, emerging with a silver medal after entering tied for the field’s sixth highest seed mark.

The ranking did not matter, though.

“I’m super excited,” she said. “I’m just glad I did my best finally. I haven’t been able to perform at my best, but today, all my hard work paid off.

“The experience of being here before lessened my nerves, and that really helped as well.”

This was Rydberg’s third consecutive appearance at state.

As a sophomore, she was seventh with a mark of 11-6, and last year, she replicated the performance, producing the same height and same spot in the final standings.

This time, however, Rydberg would not be denied a medal.

She easily cleared the first two vaults of 10-6 and 11-0 on her first attempts before needing a second try to clear 11-6 and move into the final five.

Three of Rydberg’s competitors were eliminated in the following round, and she almost joined them after failing on her first two attempts.

“Each vault,” Rydberg said, “I was moving up a pole, so I just kind of trusted it and jumped.”

Argyle senior Peyton Berry captured the championship, posting a height of 12-3 on her first attempt, and Rydberg could not match. Gregory-Portland junior Tristen Grimes was third (11-6).

Rydberg, however, was not the only Belton ISD athlete to excel at the meet.

Belton senior distance runner Olivia Brillhart and Tigers junior sprinter Christian Porter were also in attendance.

Brillhart placed fifth in the 3,200-meter run after defending her district championship in the event and earning area and regional titles, posting a time of 10 minutes, 47.39 seconds.

She became the first Lady Tigers athlete to compete at state since Ayanna Jones won the long jump championship in 2022 to win the only girls state title in Belton’s history.

Through the first six laps, Brillhart was within two seconds of the leader, but with 800 meters remaining, separation was created on both sides.

The top four held a six-second advantage over Brillhart for the final fourth of the race, while the back four each fell at least four seconds behind, and virtually nothing changed.

Austin LASA junior Eva Cragnolino (1st, 10:30.45) narrowly edged out Comal Smithson Valley junior Lilly Koenig (2nd, 10:31.62) for the gold medal, while Lubbock senior Reese Peña (3rd, 10:35.37) and McAllen senior Dana Rojas Vazquez (4th, 10:44.32) followed.

Porter placed eighth in his state debut, completing the 400 in 48.81.

Due to the threat of inclement weather, all Class 5A running events other than the 3,200 were rescheduled for Saturday, when the Class 6A and Class 1A state meets were being conducted as well.

Marshall senior De’Trevyon Goudeau collected the championship in 47.34 to beat out El Paso El Dorado junior Miguel Chapa (2nd, 47.39) and Boerne Champion senior Jamarri Bowie (3rd, 47.43).

Porter earned his spot at state as a wild card entrant after delivering the top third-place time from the four regional meets.