Rachel Baxter, a Virginia Tech All-American and pole vault program record holder, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss opening up her indoor season Jan. 16 by clearing 14-2 (4.32m) at home, becoming only the third female athlete in NCAA history to achieve 14-foot clearances in her indoor openers all four years of her career. LSU's Lisa Gunnarsson also accomplished the career mark Jan. 16 by clearing 14-10 (4.52m) at the Purple Tiger Classic, allowing she and Baxter to both join former Arkansas indoor and outdoor national champion Lexi Jacobus on the elite list. Baxter reflects on her first competition in 322 days and recovering from tendinitis in her foot that had her sidelined during the fall and limited to minimal training in preparation for the Virginia Tech Invitational. The reigning Atlantic Coast Conference indoor champion revisits her disappointment over not being able to compete last year at the Division 1 indoor and outdoor championships, especially the indoor final in March in Albuquerque, N.M., the same venue where Baxter had cleared her personal-best 14-10.25 (4.53m) last February at the New Mexico Team Open. Baxter examines the possibility of squaring off against Gunnarsson, her former teammate at Virginia Tech in 2018, at this year's NCAA indoor final in Arkansas, and shares how significant capturing an individual title would be for her career, along with the Hokies' program. She also analyzes how meaningful a 15-foot clearance would be, in addition to her quest to clear 15-1 (4.60m) and secure the qualifying standard for the U.S. Olympic Trials in June at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. Baxter recaps the 19-5.75 (5.94m) clearance Baylor's KC Lightfoot achieved Jan. 16 to set the men's collegiate indoor record and looks back on his appearance at the 2019 World Outdoor Championships in Doha, Qatar, as well as her own five opportunities to represent the U.S. in international competition from 2015-19, including a Pan American U-20 gold medal in Peru in 2017 and World University Games in Italy in 2019. She also expresses excitement over all four high school pole vault grade record holders having 14-foot marks for the first time, including Paige Sommers of Westlake High breaking both Baxter's California state and national junior class records last year by clearing 14-6 (4.42m) in February. Baxter cleared 14-3 (4.34m) as a junior and 14-5.50 (4.41m) as a senior in 2017.