Gino Colella of Westlake Track Club pole vaulted 12 feet, 4 inches at the Southern California United States Track & Field Junior Olympics in Norwalk.

Colella, an eighth-grader at St. Jude the Apostle School who will attend Westlake High in the fall, won the boys’ event by 3 feet, 6 inches. His performance was the third-best mark in the nation for his age group (those born in 1996 or 1997).

In addition, a second Westlake Track Club athlete, Abigail Smith of Los Cerritos Middle School, finished second in her age group in the girls’ 100-meter dash.