Alexa Dorricott is a girl without a home.
A home pole-vaulting pit, that is.
But that little fact hasn’t slowed the Columbia High senior one bit. Fifth at last year’s Division III state meet with a school-record jump of 10 feet, 8 inches, Dorricott has taken to the road to train for her favorite event ever since the seventh grade.
She practiced at North Ridgeville as a middle school track athlete, then switched trained to Cuyahoga Heights, though she sometimes trains at Olmsted Falls and Midview.
Why go through all the hassle?
Simply puit, she loves it.
“I started pole vaulting in middle school,” Dorricott said. “That’s what I wanted to do when I quit club gymnastics.
“That was the one thing I really wanted to do when I was in track. I knew we didn’t have it, so I kind of had to beg to get it started.”
The Columbia boys track program had pole vaulters from time to time, but interest waned considerably the last 10-15 years due to the decline of the condition of the track. Dorricott is the first pole vaulter in the history of the girls program.
“Pole vaulting is a challenge and differs from running,” Dorricott said. “I actually don’t like running very much. I’ve always heard that gymnasts were pretty good at pole vaulting, so I figured I’d give it a try.”
Dorricott missed the postseason her freshman year, suffering a badly torn left quadricep prior to the MAC-8 meet. She bounced back her sophomore year to qualify to the Division III state meet, finishing 11th with a vault of 10-0.
Dorricott plans to walk on to the Ohio State track team next year. The OSU coach said she would need to clear 11-6 to be seriously considered for scholarship money. Dorricott’s goal for this season is 12-0, which would erase serious doubts about her abilities and solidify her spot on the Buckeye roster.
“If I make it back down to the state meet again I’m hoping for the top three,” Dorricott said.
Twelve of the 16 finalists in last year’s Division III state pole vault were underclassmen. Versailles’ Amanda Barlage, the state champion and state record-holder (12-4), has graduated.
Since Dorricott has to be on the road for training two-three times per week, she has several pole vault drills for the days she’s at Columbia to help keep her skills sharpened.
She does a mock pole vault run-up by substituting an old towel for a pole vault box.
“It just helps with your whole approach,” Dorricott said. “I also work utilizing the climbing rope in the high school gym. They’re basically swing-up drills using the rope.”
Besides the pole vault drills, she also mixes in sprint and hurdle work when practicing with the Raiders.
“Pole vaulting training by myself is kind of hard because I don’t always know if I’m doing something right or wrong,” Dorricott said.
Dorricott has become a pretty good judge of how she’s doing though. Her years of gymnastics have helped, as has her natural intelligence. She ranks No. 3 in her class of 90 with a 4.46-grade-point average.
"I need to work on my approach, because I tend to drop the front end of the pole way too early," she said. "The other thing is getting all the way inverted, because I kick my feet out. I don’t get them all the way up."
Dorricott’s other obstacle is a lack of equipment. She has only two 12-foot poles to work with. Dorricott needs a 13-foot pole. Due to budget constraints, Columbia can’t buy her any more.
“I’m going to talk to my athletic director and some of the other schools that are close by to see if I can borrow some,” Dorricott said. “In the past, schools have let me borrow poles.”
She’s probably even more than willing to go pick them up herself.

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