Junior Erika Voyzey is the first female athlete in Tyrone history to win back-to-back state titles in any sport.  Voyzey tied her personal best height of 5-8 in the high jump on her way to her second straight gold medal at the PIAA State Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University on Friday, May 22.

It was not an easy climb back to the top for the Tyrone standout, as her junior season was ravaged by injuries.

“I honestly thought this season might be my last,” said Voyzey, discussing the adversity she faced this season. “It seemed like I was constantly hobbled, never able to get to the physical condition I wanted to be in. Every time my shins stopped bothering me, my hamstrings started acting up. There was always something.”

Voyzey only jumped in four meets this year, but won each time, keeping her two year undefeated streak in high jump intact.

“The best part of the whole experience was coming back to compete. After getting new jumping spikes and altering my training, all I really wanted to do was jump. I don’t know what I’d do without track in my life.”

Voyzey arrived with her fellow competitors on the Thursday before the meet. It was an unusual feeling for her heading back where she had experienced so much success a year before.  The injury, plus the added stress of defending her title made this meet extra challenging for Voyzey.

“I was never more nervous before a meet, I had to find a way to keep all that emotion inside. In the end though, I would say all that extra stress was beneficial. It really motivated me to perform at my best,” said Voyzey.

Voyzey started jumping at five feet, cruising over the bar with ease on her first attempt. She repeated the same effort at 5’2″ and 5’4″ before faltering on her first attempt at 5’6″. She pushed on in her second attempt, and after she cleared 5’8″, she had captured her second jumping title.

“I actually didn’t realize I had won at first. I got caught up in the meet I lost focus of the other girls. It all hit me at once; words could not explain how happy I was,” said Voyzey.

After securing the title and reaching her personal best, Voyzey was only jumping against herself so she moved the bar up to 5’10.25 in an attempt to break the state record but scratched on all three attempts.

“My second attempt was super close, I barely clipped it with my heals” said Voyzey, “I was a little bummed that I didn’t beat the record, but it doesn’t matter. All that’s important was that I proved to myself that I could jump as well I know I could, and I accomplished that goal.”

Tyrone head track and field coach Steve Everhart couldn’t have been more happy for Voyzey, especially considering her positive attitude despite the difficult season she had struggling with injury.

“The thing I like most about being Erika’s coach is just watching her smile and enjoy herself,” said Everhart, “She’s still like a third-grader kicking up sand in a sandbox whenever she’s healthy and jumping.  She’s also brilliant, funny, and humble, of course.”

“In fact, if it were up to me, in a post-apocalyptic scenario, I’d advise the U.S. government to harvest Erika’s DNA to repopulate the world. Civilization would be much more civilized, not to mention higher-jumping,” joked Everhart.

Voyzey joins two wrestlers, Gib Fink in 1971 and 1972 and Bruce Wallace in 1982 and 1983 as the only two-time state champions in school history.

No Tyrone athlete has ever won three, something that many expect Voyzey to do next year, along with breaking the state high jump state record, which stands at 5-10, just two inches off Voyzey’s current personal best.