It comes with the usual challenges, the constant training, daily practices and nerves of district-wide competition. But it also adds additional obstacles to the array, placing a target on your back the size of Pennsylvania and giving your competitors added fuel as they push to dethrone you.

Those factors were just the tip of the iceberg for Bellefonte senior Victoria Schellenberg, who sacrificed a lot to get back to the top of the podium at Altoona last Tuesday. On top of that aforementioned pressure and scrutiny, the pole vaulter made the difficult decision to quit a sport she loved – wrestling – and switch to online courses in early February.

It’s a decision she doesn’t question now, with every additional practice proving essential in her capping off her career at districts as a four-time champion, though it was certainly difficult at the time. All the hurdles and sacrifices paid off where they counted, making her senior title all-the-more surreal.

“I was just in disbelief that I was able to do that because of all the challenges I’ve faced in the past year, and the self-doubt especially,” said Schellenberg after adding a second District 6 medal to her senior stint on Wednesday.

TIM WEIGHT/or The Express Bellefonte’s Victoria Schellenberg competes in the District 6 Class AAA pole vault competition. Schellenberg won her fourth consecutive District 6 gold medal to qualify for states again.

“A lot of hard decisions were made to get to where I am today. Lots of stress, lots of keeping myself in line. And making sure every day, I treat it like a chance to get better.”

Between maintaining good grades and working to improve as a wrestler, the grind got to be overwhelming for Schellenberg.

She wasn’t getting the proper sleep she needed and wasn’t satisfied with how much focus she was able to put into her athletics, the latter which was especially worrying given this is her last hoorah. She isn’t planning to compete in college.

Ultimately, Schellenberg chose to forego the second half of her year of in-person classes, and online classes have greatly helped her balance things out. And after competing in the Williamsport Showcase in late January for wrestling, she hesitantly called it quits on a sport she’d grown to love, just three weeks before districts.

“It was out of worry for pole vault, and it was a really tough choice,” said Schellenberg on the decision. “But I am thankful for my wrestling coaches and Coach Maney. Without them, I honestly wouldn’t have gotten where I got (last Tuesday).”

TIM WEIGHT/or The Express Bellefonte’s Victoria Schellenberg competes in the District 6 Class AAA pole vault competition. Schellenberg won her fourth consecutive District 6 gold medal to qualify for states again.

Even with that added focus, Schellenberg had her struggles surpassing her junior season’s highs. After hitting 11-1 at last year’s district meet and 11-0 at states, the senior couldn’t quite breach that barrier through the weeks leading up to districts, peaking at 10-6 through the regular season and 10-9 at LHACs.

Notably, 11-0 became a requirement to secure district gold last Tuesday. In fact, it became the requirement just to challenge for it.

With State College’s Ella Raish hitting an 11-0 before Schellenberg, Schellenberg first had to hit 11-0 just to extend her chances. She’d miss her first attempt before something clicked, and she’d finally that barrier again on the second.

“I was stuck in what we call the bucket for the longest time. I just couldn’t get my head back in invert,” said Schellenberg, referring to the upside-down portion of the movement and a fault within it.

“But yesterday, something clicked, and I got my feet rolled up over my shoulders. The second I hit that position and saw blue sky, I knew I was up and over. If you hit that just right and feel the pull load, you know you’re gonna make it.”

Still, failing to surpass that would’ve meant gold for Raish, with the Little Lion making it on an earlier attempt. The event workers at Mansion Park moved the bar up to 11-6, and though that wasn’t a jump she had hit throughout her career, that turning gear remained.

On her second attempt, Schellenberg cleared it, making it four straight district meets where the Red Raider has posted a PR. Raish failed to clear it in three attempts, and the gold was hers.

“I was like, ‘Okay, on this next one, I’ve got it,’ and when I went over it, everything just stopped,” said Schellenberg on the moment. “It was like everything around me froze, and I was in complete shock.”

When Schellenberg says she couldn’t have done it without wrestling and her wrestling coaches, those two jumps were precisely what she was talking about.

To clear a mark she hadn’t hit throughout the season, on the big stage no less, it took a healthy amount of mental fortitude. Schellenberg feels she got that through her two seasons of wrestling and credits her coaches for helping her hit that next gear.

“Honestly, I want more pole vaulters out there to give wrestling a shot, just for that mental discipline,” said Schellenberg. “You don’t have to be the best at it, but it will get you in really good shape, super strong and super endurant.”

“Nothing’s harder than a wrestling practice in all reality. That’s the hardest thing to go through,” she added.

Having hit that high at districts last week, Schellenberg is hoping to carry it forward. On Friday at Shippensburg, she’ll be officially closing out her track and field career barring any last-minute shifts, and she hopes to close it out on a high note.

“I’m hoping to finish my senior year out really well, hoping to get that 13-0,” said Schellenberg. “I was over 12 yesterday on a 12-7 pole. I wasn’t even on a 13-foot pole yet. So, once I get comfortable on that 13-foot pole, I’m looking to hopefully get top five at the state meet this year.”

The Class AAA pole vault kicks off at 9 a.m. on Friday.