Six years ago, when Maggie Waites took her first pole vaulting lesson, her mother had no idea what the family was in store for.

Six-hour road trips for practice sessions. Weekends spent in mediocre hotels to watch her daughter compete at some far-flung meet. The physical pain of injuries and the emotional pain of seeing her deal with it.

All of it led up to Wednesday, and made every single second worthwhile.

Sitting at a table in the St. Aloysius library, surrounded by family and most of her classmates, Waites signed a letter of intent to vault for Division II Texas A&M-Commerce.

“It’s a sweet sadness,” said her mother, Stacey Waites. “I know I’m going to miss her. I’ve never missed a track meet. She’s never vaulted when I wasn’t there. I feel very accomplished and happy for her. She’s ready.”

Maggie Waites certainly seemed that way when discussing her reasons for picking Texas A&M-Commerce. Besides having a good track program and a dedicated pole vaulting coach — something not every school has — she said it was the best fit academically.

Waites has a 4.0 GPA and plans to major in biology as part of Commerce’s pre-med program

“Out of all the decision I had to make, I looked at the pros and cons and where I fit in, and Commerce fit me the most academically. They’re big for their biology program, and that’s what I want to do is be pre-med,” she said. “It feels amazing to one, know I have a decision, and two, to know I’m going to college for pole vaulting.”

Waites picked Commerce from a list of finalists that included Samford and Alabama-Huntsville. She said Mississippi State made a late pitch in March, but she’d pretty much made up her mind by then and it wasn’t a good fit anyway.

Besides being a better fit academically, Waites said Commerce was more on her level from a competition standpoint. She’s cleared 12 feet, 1 inch this season, which is the best height ever for a girls pole vaulter in Mississippi, but still about two feet short of the Southeastern Conference standard.

“You have to jump 14 feet to be competitive in the SEC. We thought I could get there, maybe by my sophomore year,” Waites said. “Commerce is more oriented to me and helping me get better.”

Waites has been a vaulting prodigy since she took up the sport. She won the Class 1A championship as a seventh-grader in 2010 and repeated in 2011 and 2012. As a freshman, she set the girls’ overall state record.

The next two years were followed by disappointment, though. Nagging soreness and some mental fatigue plagued her during her sophomore season, and a bad day at the state meet last year kept her from reclaiming her title.

Despite being one of the best girls vaulters in any classification over the last two seasons, Waites hasn’t won a state championship. That’s something she’s dedicated herself to fixing.

She gave up her other primary high school activity, cheerleading, to concentrate on vaulting. She’s eaten, slept and breathed the sport for six months and cut a swath of destruction through any competition thrown her way.

She cleared 12 feet at a meet in Alabama in February, and increased that to 12-1 at the Warren Central Best in the Field meet last month. On Tuesday she took it easy and cleared 11 feet to win the Division 7-1A championship, the first step on the road to the MHSAA state meet at Pearl High School on May 8.

“The state meet is what I’ve been working toward,” she said. “I really want to leave something in the state of Mississippi behind. My state record is something I really want to set.”

Her family and friends who have supported her throughout the journey would like to see it too. Her mother drove Waites to practice and meets for years. Her stepfather, Ronnie Ingram, had a pole vault pit installed at their house so she could practice more often. Her father, Kearney Waites, and grandmother Dot McGee have been vocal cheerleaders who attend a lot of meets.

Wednesday was a thank you to them, as well as the high point of her personal journey, Maggie said.

“My mom has always been my best friend, and she stayed that way all the way through pole vault after pole vault. I don’t think she’s ever missed a meet. My dad is always there taking pictures when he can,” Maggie said. “I can’t thank them enough for being there, for all the money and car rides.”