Last week I had the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Division III
national championship in Nebraska, representing University Of Dubuque (Spartan). I was very confident heading into the
Championships as my vault
practice sessions prior to the championship went well. I was hoping to
finish on top of the podium. At 4.90m/16'0.75" there were three vaulters remaining. One cleared the height on his first attempt. I missed my first attempt at 4.90m/16'0.75'' and cleared it on my second. The other competitor made 4.90m on his third attempt. The bar then moved up to 4.95m/16'2.75''.
Looking back, as I sat in 2nd place, I would finish no worse than third and with a personal best of 5.10m cleared just weeks prior, I should have passed at 4.95m and taken the time to refocus for the following bar at 5.00m. In the meantime, if things remained the same, I would have watched the two other vaulters fall out and at 4.95m while I would be vaulting for either a clean victory or a bronze.
However, after Michael from University of Chicago and Rob from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse missed their first attempts at 4.95m, I decided to attempt the bar as I could have taken the lead at that height with a clearance on my first attempt (I had one miss at 4.90m and Michael had a clean scorecard which gave him the lead). Unfortunately, that didn't happen and all of us fell out at 4.95m. I ended the meet in the silver medal position. The lesson I learned after reflecting on the meet, is to trust my gut feel and pass the height when it's necessary.
Nonetheless I had my best indoor season ever. From a conference championship to runner-up at nationals, I couldn't have asked for a better indoor season as I had two lifetime best marks at 5.03m/16'6'' on February 1st and a 5.10m/16'8.75'' jump at the last chance meet in Platteville.
I am stronger and faster than I've ever been on the runway. My vault technique has improved to the point where I sit and watch my vaults after practice or after a meet and I can't believe I'm the one doing it. I worked hard over the fall and it feels nice to see the results show.
Two lessons learned throughout indoor season:
1)Trust my gut feeling when I'm on the runway.
2) Focus on myself and not worry about the other competitors because at the end of the day I am trying to raise my bar, not theirs.
Nevertheless it's time to go back to the drawing board to break things down and come back fresh to dominate outdoors. My goal for this outdoor season is to keep improving on my vault technique and consistency on the runway. When I take care of these details, the higher bars will come.
Once again I would like to say thank you to my coaches, teammates, friends, fans and family for all the positive energy going into the meet and throughout the season. If all goes well outdoors and I keep raising the bar like I did throughout indoors I should be right on track to make the 2016 Olympic team for my country (The Olympic B qualifying standard is 5.60m/18'3''). Your continued support to meet this goal is deeply appreciated. Again, thank you.
There's a link on how the Pole Vault Champ felt coming into the meet.
