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Ryan Simioni set the bar Friday.

Literally.

In his first effort at the CIF Southern Section Masters meet at Cerritos College in Norwalk, the Edison High senior cleared his first attempt in the boys’ pole vault at 15 feet, 4 inches.

Simioni will tell you that it was a modest mark, but what he didn’t figure on was that the mark would carry him to the Masters meet pole vault title — a first for the 18-year-old.

Friday, Simioni and Edison teammates, juniors Hillary Hayes and Meghan Foley, along with Marina senior pole vaulter Leon Roach, venture back to Cerritos College for the CIF State Track and Field Championships.

Preliminaries are Friday and event finals are Saturday at Falcon Stadium.

By setting the pole vault mark with a personal-best mark of 15-4 on his first attempt Friday, Simioni was able to win the competition although three other vaulters, Marina’s Roach who placed second, Daniel Turvey of Dos Pueblos and AJ Teunissen, also cleared 15-4 on later attempts to round out the top four places.

“I was kind of stoked to clear that first vault, but I didn’t think I’d end up in first-place because 15-4 really isn’t that high,” said Simioni, who won the Sunset League pole vault title as a junior. “I was amazed that it stood up and happy to win Masters.”

The top state’s top pole vault mark set last weekend was 17 feet by Nico Weiler of Los Gatos High in the CIF Central Section.

Simioni will see him Friday, as he makes his first trip to the state meet Friday.

“I’m really excited about it,” he said. “I’m hoping to go around 15-6 and place in the top nine.

“I look at the coming weekend as the last two meets of my high school career, and I plan on going all-out.”

Foley will compete Friday in the girls’ 800-meter race after running to a personal best 2 minutes, 10.68 seconds to finish in third place at Masters Friday.

Foley, the Sunset League girls’ champion in the 800, is seeking to become a first-time California state champion but winning the second state title of her career: as a freshman, she won the Maryland state title in the girls’ 1,600 while attending Eastern Technical High in Baltimore.

Foley, 16, is the lone Sunset League competitor in the girls’ 800 at Friday’s state prelims.

“It’s really, really sweet to be going to state,” she said. “That’s something I’ve been striving for.”

Foley said a tweak to her conditioning — she said she trained with the Edison boys’ team and improved with her weight workouts — has added to her competition confidence this year.

“I’m just really comfortable with where my training has taken me this year,” she said. “I’m more comfortable in a lot of areas with my racing.

“I just want to make a name for myself at State. I’ve been flying under the radar the past few years and I’d be happy breaking the 2:10 mark.”

Hillary Hayes is no stranger to CIF competition — or going this far into the track and field season.

The 2007 Sunset League champion in the 1,600 and the league’s female cross-country champion this past fall, Hayes, 16, will be running in the girls’ 1,600 Friday.

She almost hit a personal record Friday at Masters yet finished in 4:53.50 to place fifth in an event that garnered national attention when Woodbridge senior Christine Babcock ran to a national high school federation record time of 4:36.57 to run away with the 1,600 title.

“She’s crazy good,” Hayes said of Babcock.

So is Hayes, who also placed seventh (10:50.66) in the girls’ 3,200 at the Masters Meet.

“My goal is to place in the top three in the 1,600 and I hope to break the school record, which is 4:48,” Hayes said. “I’m so excited to be running at State and have improved a lot since last year. I’m more confident in myself and my times, and I’m looking forward to what I can do this weekend.”

MIKE SCIACCA covers sports. He can be reached at (714) 966-4611 or by e-mail at [email protected].