Standout Roush sisters vault to sky-high success

What’s it like to be a track and field mother when not one, but two of your daughters, just happen to be among the elite pole vaulters in the Palmetto State?

 

When you are Amanda Roush and your daughters are Philip Simmons High School standouts Reagan and Ashley, you don’t pay attention to your Garmin watch – you know, the contraption that tells you how well you slept the night before or how many calories you burned in a jaunt around the neighborhood.

 

For her, it was a different category.

 

“It was stress,” Amanda Roush said. “It indicated I had too much stress and needed to take a break.”

 

It didn’t happen then, and it’s not going to happen this spring as Mom and Dad, Ryan, anticipate a memorable finish about to unfold. Reagan is a senior, and this is her final season of track and field with the Iron Horses. Ashley is a sophomore, so the next few weeks could provide the last chance for a victory lap at the prep level.

 

Reagan signed a national letter of intent on April 30 and will matriculate to Samford University, a leading Christian university located in Homewood, Alabama.

 

“I have a bunch of friends from around the state who have gone there,” Reagan Roush said. “Some of them said I should visit. I made an official visit, and they offered me a spot.”

 

She has a personal best of 12 feet in the pole vault. She has shone at the state championships, but injuries have sidelined her dreams two times.

 

Reagan broke her arm during a meet as a freshman leading up to the state meet, and rebounded to win a silver medal at the 2022 state championships. Last spring, she was recovering from surgery and missed out.

 

Sister Ashley started her rookie season last spring with an impressive performance, winning the silver medal at the state championships.

 

She has a personal best of 12 feet, seven inches, which is in the top three for sophomores in the country.

 

Ashley is described as the ultimate competitor by her coach, Emma Santor. She wants to clear 13 feet at the state meet, but points out she’s already reached her goal, which was 12-7.

 

“If we’re at a meet, they are going to be on the victory stand, one or the other,” Santor said.

 

The sisters shine in the classroom. Both are ranked in the top five percent of their class, and take honors classes with GPAs that top 5.0.

 

They have something else in common. They both are coached by the legendary Lowcountry coach, Tom Reagan, who holds track and field camp in the Park West area.

 

“I owe that guy,” Santor said with a laugh. “That guy has provided us with a lot of easy points.”

 

The track and field season will culminate in the next couple of weeks. The Iron Horses host the Region 8-AAA championships on May 4. The Lower State Championships are slated for May 11 at Camden High School and culminate on May 17 at Lower Richland High School, when the South Carolina High School League crowns its state champs.