BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — Quincey Turner, a Bartlesville pole vaulter, broke the school record twice in the last two months of her junior year. But in mid-March, that dream was almost cut short.
Quincey remembers watching pole vaulting in the Olympics when she was young. The "daredevil" sport called to her, before she ever knew vaulting was in the family.
Her dad Tracy was a vaulter at OSU. When Quincey wanted to start vaulting in middle school, he became the Bartlesville middle and high school coach.
Three years later, his daughter was training for a state title.
However, during a practice over spring break, that training took a scary turn.
On the last jump of the day, Quincey was vaulted sideways into a vertical post. She fell down along the post, and her arm was impaled by a bolt.
Tracy, sitting just feet away, had to pull his daughter's arm off of the bolt, which had gone an inch into her forearm.
Tracy had to hold Quincey's arm like a makeshift tourniquet while he called an ambulance.
Neighbor Kaz Ammons, an Oklahoma Wesleyan University basketball player returning from the NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament, heard the crash and scream. When he went over to investigate, he saw Quincey lying in a pool of blood, with her father's hand stopping the spurting wound.
Quincey was rushed to a Tulsa hospital. In the ambulance, she says she "felt the Holy Spirit wash over me", bringing her peace and saying "I'm making you ready". In that hectic moment both she and her father felt the same peace, but they say the miracles were not yet over.
Upon performing surgery to assess the damage, doctors found the injury was not arterial, and the bolt missed everything vital in Quincey's arm. The doctors said she could return to vaulting. A week and a half later, she wrapped her arm, and picked the pole back up.
Tracy says it did not take long for his daughter to get back to the level where she was before the accident. His observation must have been correct, because just two weeks after Quincey returned to vaulting, she broke the Bartlesville High School record - twice.
On May 15, Quincey will compete for a state title. She qualified by winning her regional and putting up the third-highest jump in the state. Both of those accomplishments came in the two months since her injury.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
