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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in;line-height:14.25pt'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#333333'>AUSTIN, Texas - For three years, Charlotte Brown has been chasing a medal by<br>trying to jump over a bar she couldn't see. <br><br>The senior pole vaulte r cleared that bar Saturday, earning a third-place<br>finish at the Texas state high school championships. And proudly joining her<br>on the podium as the bronze medal was draped around her neck - her service<br>dog Vador. <br><br>Brown is blind, yet that's not stopped her quest to become one of the best<br>in an event that would seem next to impossible. <br><br>"I finally did it," Brown said. "If I could send a message to anybody, it's<br>not about pole vaulting and it's not about track. It's about finding<br>something that makes you happy despite whatever obstacles are in your way." <br><br>Brown had qualified for the state meet each year since 2013 with Emory Rains<br>High School. She finished eighth as a sophomore and improved to fourth as a<br>junior. <br><br>At her hotel room Friday night, Stori Brown tried to counsel her daughter<br>that it was important to remember that she was one of the few to make it<br>this far, whether she won a medal or not. <br><br>"No," Charlotte replied. "I need to be on that podium." <br><br>Brown was born with normal vision, but developed cataracts when she was 16<br>weeks old. That led to the first of several operations, including insertion<br>of artificial lenses. Her vision stabilized until she was about 11 when it<br>started to worsen. <br><br>By 2013, she still had pinhole vision but couldn't see color or distinguish<br>shape from shadow. Brown is now blind. While not faced with total darkness,<br>her mother described what remains as a "jigsaw puzzle" of mixed up shades of<br>light and dark. <br><br>Despite her disability, Brown takes pride in her fierce spirit of<br>independence, born out of growing up in a family with two older brothers who<br>pushed her to help herself in the rural town of Emory, about 76 miles east<br>of Dallas. <br><br>"If there's a way to do something for yourself, that's a good idea," she<br>said. "When I need to know if my socks match or not, it's a good time to ask<br>for help. Can't find Waldo? Probably need to ask for help." <br><br>Run down a track and hurtle herself more than 11 feet into the air? No<br>problem. <br><br>Brown first took up pole vaulting in seventh grade because she wanted<br>something a little "dangerous and exciting." She competes with a combination<br>of fearless abandon and meticulous attention to detail. She counts the seven<br>steps of her left foot on her approach, listening for the sound of a faint<br>beeper placed on the mat that tells her when to plant to pole and push up. <br><br>On Saturday, Vador walked her to the warm-up area and stretched out behind<br>the jumpers as they went through each attempt. <br><br>Brown missed her first attempts at 10-0 and 10-6 but cleared both on her<br>second try. She cleared 11-0 on her first attempt, then soared over 11-6.<br>She secured a medal when two other vaulters bowed out at that height,<br>leaving Brown among the last three in the field. <br><br>She made three attempts at 11-9 but missed each one. She briefly slumped her<br>shoulders and shook her head after her final attempt, then got to her feet<br>to acknowledge the standing ovation from several hundred fans she could hear<br>but not see. <br><br>"She came to win," said her father, Ian Brown. "As parents, we are thrilled<br>she got on the podium." <br><br>Brown medaled in a talented field. Sydney King, who won gold at a height of<br>12-3, has signed with Oklahoma to pole vault in college. <br><br>"I don't how many people do could that," King said. "Her story, she's what<br>keeps me going when things aren't going right for me." <br><br>Brown is headed to Purdue on an academic scholarship and plans to walk on in<br>track. Her brother Lachlan is a hurdler for the Boilermakers. <br><br>"It took me three years to get on the podium, and I finally did it," Brown<br>said. "This story . really wasn't about me. It was about everybody that<br>struggles with something."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>Becky Frankeberger<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>Butterfly Knitting<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]> Ponchos<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]> Afghans<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]> Shawls<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]> Custom Knitting<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>360-426-8389<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><a href="mailto:becky@butterflyknitting.com">becky@butterflyknitting.com</a><o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>