Kristine Felix

Baldwin • Sport: Track and field • GPA: 4.08 • College: Washington State

There were all kinds of logical reasons why Kristine Felix should have resisted the challenge of her career in 2011.

A leg injury hadn’t healed 100 percent just yet. As a junior, she could’ve waited another year to heal up physically and mentally from the devastating injury. Even with all her reps, the former gymnast was still relatively new to the sport of pole vaulting.

Yet, the temptation was too strong, her will indomitable.

Four months after suffering a broken fibula at a pole vaulting camp in California, the Baldwin star was back at it, full throttle, by the spring. Not only did the then-junior come back to compete at the highest level in the islands, she went on to break the state record with a vault of 12 feet, 6 inches, on a breezy night at War Memorial Stadium.

The sight of Felix, at 5 feet 4, speeding toward an obstacle more than 12 feet in the air made fans out of first-time watchers at the state championships since her sophomore year. Felix’s 11-8 vault broke the previous mark and gave her a first gold medal in 2010.

She capped her high school career with a first-place vault of 12 feet at the state meet at Keaau in May. With three golds in the pole vault, plus several first- and second-place finishes in the MIL 100-meter sprints, she has carved out a unique position in Hawaii track and field history.

Overcoming the lingering pain that was still in her fibula in 2011 was one hurdle. Getting over the fear of another injury — not many athletes are comfortable being airborne and vulnerable at any height — was another obstacle.

Felix will compete in the pole vault at Washington State next season and plans to major in movement studies (kinesiology).