EDN GIRLS FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Meet St. Anthony pole vaulter Allison Geen

Jun. 23—TEUTOPOLIS — Allison Geen is the 2023 Effingham Daily News Girls Field Athlete of the Year.

The St. Anthony junior pole vaulter leaped to new heights with the Bulldogs this past season. She cleared a personal best height of 11-feet-7-inches at the 37th Annual Tuscola Open in late April, advanced to the Class 1A State Final Meet for the third-straight year and earned sixth place at the state meet after a jump of 11-feet-0.25-inches.

Geen cleared the mark after missing her first two tries.

The bar was then raised to 11-feet-4.25-inches and she was tasked with clearing it on her third attempt, again. This time, though, the stars didn't align, as Geen missed the clearance and settled for sixth.

Despite how the day ended for Geen, though, father and St. Anthony boys track and field head coach Art Geen won't let her sulk. He wants her to learn and improve from it.

"I won't let her make excuses," Art said. "There are no excuses; you either put forth the effort or you don't. She's been around that her whole life; if you lose, you lose."

The senior-to-be wants more, as well.

After all, pole vaulting is all Allison lives for.

Art said it best, too.

"She's been pole vaulting since fifth grade and fell in love at a very young age," he said. "She couldn't pole vault in fifth grade because St. Anthony only allowed it in sixth grade, but she lifts every day for that and even on vacation, she's lifting for it; she watches her diet and doesn't do anything else. She quit all of her other sports just to do pole vault. She truly loves that the most."

EDN Sports Editor Alex Wallner asked Allison a series of questions.

Below is how she answered those.

AW: What have you learned over the years as a pole vaulter?

AG: "To lift weights a lot, run and — with the technique — it's all about form."

AW: What does being your own coach mean to you?

AG: "I'm hard on myself — a perfectionist — so I'd say I push myself more than anyone else could."

AW: Describe your routine.

AG: "I'm trying to talk to my teammates or trying to talk to the other competitors and get amped up. I'll think of a song and I'll sing the song in my head so I don't overthink everything else because I've been practicing this for over four years; I just have to have fun."

AW: You weren't happy with your last jump at state. Talk about what you can do to improve that.

AG: "I got to have confidence. I got it in me. I have the strength and the form; I just have to have the right mindset."

AW: Talk about working with former Teutopolis pole vaulter Isabelle Hemmen in the offseason.

AG: "We spent a lot of time in the offseason and a lot of time now training for next season. We push each other, train together and live together, but then we spend time away from the sport, too."

AW: How has PV Junkies Jump Club helped you?

AG: "They've pushed me and seeing them all at state felt like another practice. We just had fun and you jump higher whenever you have fun."

AW: What is your main goal for your senior year?

AG: "I want to get on 13-6 poles, get a 12-9 or 13-0 and break the school record and I want to win state."

AW: What would breaking a school record mean to you?

AG: "That would be crazy. Kristin Slaughter holds it right now and she went to the University of Illinois and my dad is up there now, so it would be kind of cool seeing both of our names up there."

AW: What would it mean to surpass your dad?

AG: "Bragging rights."

AW: Talk about the multi-colored hat that you wear.

AG: "That was my 'good luck' hat. I got that in grade school. It was protecting me from the sun and blocking out the haters."

Contact EDN Sports Editor

Alex Wallner at 618-510-9231 or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.