H.B. vaulter raising the bar

The watch means plenty to Allison Koressel — despite the color scheme.

She wears it while she trains, and it can motivate the Huntington Beach High senior to do even better.

It’s a Nike athletic watch, and she won it by taking first in the girls’ pole vault at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational on April 11. But there’s only one problem for Koressel, who has committed to continue her track and field career at UCLA.

The watch is red and gold, which looks a lot like USC colors.

“That’s the only downfall,” said Koressel, who doesn’t have many of those in her vaulting lately. She hasn’t lost all year.

Her mark at Arcadia? Thirteen feet, one inch, which was equaled by Del Oro sophomore MacKenzie Landry but Koressel did it in fewer attempts. Not only is that a personal-best and an Oilers school record, but it’s the top mark in the state this season. Nationally, it’s No. 3.

It’s also the third-longest jump in Orange County girls’ track history, behind only current Cal athlete Allison Stokke of Newport Harbor (2007) and Tori Pena of Edison (2006), who also now competes for UCLA.

“Coming into the season, with my PR being 11-8, I didn’t really think I would hit 13,” Koressel said. “I mean, it was always my goal, but it was kind of a long shot. But now that I’ve hit it, I realize I can go higher and there’s things I can change. But just to think that I was No. 1 in the state and I have one of the highest marks in Orange County ever, it’s kind of unreal, to be honest.

“I was friends with [Stokke] and she would always jump at 12 feet and I was jumping at 10-6, my highest. It’s weird to be up in their level now.”

Koressel went on to win the pole vault at the Mt. SAC Relays Saturday, with a mark of 12-2.

She might have thought her time in the sun would have never come. After finishing seventh in the CIF Southern Section Division II finals as a freshman, Koressel had wrist surgery the very next week. Her sophomore year, it was an ankle injury.

“The last meet before league [finals], I tore a ligament in my ankle,” she said. “I tried to jump at league, but my ankle wasn’t functioning. I could barely even run. It was really hard, because I was doing really well that season. I started to do better right when I got injured, so it was really frustrating.”

Last year, it was a bad back that kept Koressel grounded, although she ended up second in Division II with a mark of 11-6.

But now the team captain is healthy and she’s been on fire. In March alone, she won the Irvine Invitational (12-0), set a meet and school record at the Triton Invitational (12-6) and then first hit 13-1 at the Surf City Invitational.

There’s a video of that jump on YouTube. Huntington Beach girls’ track coach Kim Clarke watches the video to confirm what she already knows.

“She’s so humble,” Clarke said. “If you look at the video of her making the 13-1, her face was like, ‘No way!’ She’s so honest, so humble. She never has that idea of entitlement ... She’s enjoyed every second of it, but she’s not expecting it.”

Koressel, whose sophomore brother Stephen plays lacrosse for Huntington Beach, is part of a long line of Oilers girls’ pole vault excellence under the coaching of John Shirley. It has led to athletes like Chrissy Van Doornum (now competing at the University of Hawaii), Lauren Walker (Washington) and Lyndly Tamura (UC San Diego).

Koressel knew Tamura from their time in gymnastics, where Koressel was a Level 10 gymnast before she quit to focus on vaulting. She said she always looked up to Tamura, and that was a big influence in why she started vaulting.

Three years later, Shirley said he has seen the progression of Koressel to a state title contender. It’s why Shirley, who himself pole vaulted professionally after a collegiate career at Mt. SAC and Long Beach State, thinks she’s not done with those PRs this season.

“She’s made some improvements in her angle and the speed she brings in at takeoff, which are two of the main things in pole vaulting,” he said. “I think she can jump 14 feet this year.”

Longtime family friend Jack Bennett, himself a sophomore pole vaulter for the Oilers, wouldn’t be surprised.

“She deserves it,” he said. “She’s worked hard all her life. She probably works the hardest out of everybody I know on the track team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her in the Olympics.”

But Koressel? She’s just out there enjoying herself.

“At meets, mostly I just try to have fun,” she said. “I try not to think about winning or putting too much pressure on myself. It’s always fun to win, but mostly I just want to better my mark.”