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Arkansas Sisters Lexi Jacobus and Tori Hoggard Hope to Make More Pole Vault History at NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships

Published by
DyeStat.com   Mar 9th 2019, 5:41pm
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Hoggard and Jacobus look to become first female teammates in any event to both earn All-America indoor honors in four consecutive years, lead Razorbacks to first indoor team crown since 2015

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

They are daughters, two of the five children raised by Amy and Brent Weeks in Cabot, Ark.

They are twin sisters, Lexi Jacobus eight minutes older than Tori Hoggard.

LEXI JACOBUS AND TORI HOGGARD POLE VAULT SUMMIT INTERVIEWSEC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS INTERVIEW

They are wives, Lexi marrying Arkansas multi-event athlete Derek Jacobus in August 2017, one month after Tori tied the knot that summer with Seth Hoggard.

They are pole vaulters, both national high school record holders, with Tori boasting the indoor mark at 14 feet, 4 inches (4.36m) and Lexi clearing the outdoor standard of 14-7.50 (4.45m) during their senior year at Cabot High in 2015.

And if all goes according to plan Saturday at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala., they will conclude their final NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships as the most decorated teammates in women’s collegiate indoor track and field history, each securing All-America honors for the fourth straight year and leading Arkansas to another national team title.

“They are two great athletes, but even better people,” said Arkansas women’s coach Lance Harter, who is looking to guide the Razorbacks to their second indoor crown in five years.

“They truly have the perfect life. They’re smart, good looking and elite athletically, and they keep it all in perspective and remain humble.”

Hoggard and Jacobus arrived in Fayetteville after Arkansas captured its first national indoor championship in 2015, part of an exceptional incoming class that also included Payton Chadwick, the reigning indoor national champion in the 60-meter hurdles.

They immediately made an impact by contributing to the Razorbacks’ first national outdoor title in 2016, with Jacobus becoming the first freshman female athlete in Division 1 history to sweep both indoor and outdoor pole vault championships.

“I remember watching the women win the indoor NCAA title my senior year of high school and getting so excited that I would get to be a part of that the following year. It was the first ever national title for the women, so it was an extremely special victory,” Hoggard said. “Then the next year when we won the outdoor title, that was also something really special. I basically joined the team at a time when winning seemed like the only thing to do.

“Since then, we have won six of seven SEC team titles and been runner-up at indoor NCAAs twice. It would be absolutely amazing to finish the indoor season the way it should, with another team title. Our nationals team has a lot of seniors on it, so for us, it will be our last go-around. It would be the end to a perfect senior indoor season.”

Arkansas has remained in contention since its 2015 indoor championship, securing second in 2016 and last year behind Oregon and Georgia, respectively, along with a fifth-place finish in 2017.

But with its deepest and most versatile lineup in Harter’s tenure, led by Hoggard, Jacobus and fifth-year senior Desiree Freier in the pole vault, Arkansas could finally celebrate another championship moment and potentially eclipse its program-record 63-point performance from four years ago.

“When we won the outdoor title in 2016, I don’t think I fully understood how special and rare winning a national title is. We had such a phenomenal team, that we were able to easily win the title as we had done all throughout the year at the SEC meets,” Jacobus said. “Now, after competing for 3 1/2 years as a Razorback, and finishing runner-up twice now, I realize how stinking hard it is to win a team title. It takes a team full of talent and everybody going out and competing extremely well to put together a championship team.

“I know we have a group of women fully capable of finally capturing this indoor title we have been so close to twice now, and I couldn’t be more excited to give my all in hopes of capturing that team title. It would be such a special moment to finish my senior indoor season as a national champion.”

Winning national individual titles has been part of Jacobus’ legacy, with the 2016 U.S. Olympian looking to become the first female athlete in Division 1 history to secure three indoor pole vault championships, the first coming at the CrossPlex in 2016.

Jacobus is also trying to equal the career achievement of Indiana State’s Kylie Hutson (2009-10) by capturing her fourth national pole vault crown overall and producing a sixth indoor championship in nine seasons under veteran assistant coach Bryan Compton.

“If I were to win another indoor title, I would be proud to be able to add more to the legacy that Compton’s pole vaulters have created at Arkansas. If either Tori or I capture the title, I will be ecstatic either way,” said Jacobus, who has followed Tina Sutej (2011-12) and Sandi Morris (2015) in capturing national indoor titles for Arkansas.

“It seemed so easy (as a freshman) and of course it was exciting, but coming back now three years later, you realize this doesn’t just happen. It’s an extremely special moment.”

A moment that became even more significant for both sisters when they struggled in the aftermath of their freshman year success, with Hoggard placing fifth and Jacobus tying for seventh place at the 2017 indoor finals in College Station, Texas.
But they rebounded in historic fashion last season, becoming the first teammates to produce a 1-2 finish in the women’s pole vault at a Division 1 indoor final, an achievement they hope to duplicate Saturday.

“Indoor NCAA 2017, Lexi and I came into the meet ranked 1 and 2 in the country. That was the first time we both felt confident that we could go 1-2. Unfortunately, we both had an off day, and it didn't happen,” Hoggard said. “Flash forward a year, I believe we were ranked 2-3, so we knew we had another good chance to go 1-2 if we both had a good day. That meet was our meet. It was one of the best feelings I have ever had. We flew home that night and could hardly contain our excitement the whole way back to Fayetteville.

“I want that feeling again, and to finish 1-2 would mean that we are finally consistently jumping at the top ranks together. It is a rare day when we both jump 15 in the same meet, which I feel like is what it is going to take to have the outcome we want, but we are working our hardest to make it a regular occurrence. We both feel healthy and confident and ready to jump high.”

Jacobus and Hoggard offered a glimpse of their potential Feb. 23 at the SEC Indoor Championships when they both cleared 15 feet in the same competition for the third time in their careers.

Jacobus elevated to the No. 2 all-time collegiate indoor performer by clearing 15-4.25 (4.68m) and Hoggard, the No. 5 indoor performer in Division 1 history, had a 15-1 (4.60m) clearance.

Together, Hoggard and Jacobus have combined to produce exactly half of the top 42 clearances in collegiate indoor history.

“If Tori and I go 1-2 this weekend, it would be so special. That was our biggest goal when we began college, going 1-2 at a national championship, but doing it twice would be so so special. Our goal together, along with Des, is to capture as many points as possible to contribute to the team title,” Jacobus said. “You have to tell yourself you can do it. If you want to jump 15-6, you better believe you can do it. At the back of the runway, you can’t be second-guessing yourself and asking ‘Can I make this bar?’ You have to be like, ‘I’ve got this bar. I can do it.’ The same goes for finishing 1-2 or 1-2-3 at nationals, you’ve got to believe you can do it.”

Jacobus and Hoggard are trying to become only the second female teammates in Division 1 indoor history to sweep the top two spots in their event in consecutive years, joining USC triple jumpers Wendy Brown and Yvette Bates in 1987-88 and South Carolina’s Dawn Ellerbe and Lisa Misipeka in the weight throw in 1996-97.

“It is such a special moment to stand on the podium with your twin sister at a meet like NCAAs and even SECs. Obviously to go 1-2 is the goal, but even to both be on the podium would be an amazing feat,” Hoggard said. “The excitement when we both are jumping at those heights, it’s just a different vibe and a different energy. We both feed off each other’s energy and it’s just awesome.”

Arkansas is the only Division 1 program to have three pole vaulters earn All-America honors in the same year indoors, first achieving the feat in 2003 and again in 2017 and 2018 with Hoggard, Freier and Jacobus.

But if Hoggard and Jacobus can both place in the top eight again, they would become the only women’s teammates to both be recognized as All-Americans in four consecutive years in any event in Division 1 indoor history.

“I hadn’t thought about it before, but it is something special when you can place at every indoor NCAA, and to both do it four years in a row would be incredible,” Hoggard said. “Three years we have stood on that podium together, and we plan to make it four on Saturday.”

Regardless of the outcome, the twins just want to keep the pole vault title in the family, especially with talented challengers like San Diego State fifth-year senior Bonnie Draxler, Virginia Tech sophomore Rachel Baxter and Akron junior Lucy Bryan all capable of contending for the championship.

“I love that being twins we’re competitors, but we love to see each other succeed, so whether it’s her having a great day and if she wins this weekend, then I’m going to be just as ecstatic for her as she would be for me if it was the other way around,” Jacobus said. “We’re competitive, but we also like to encourage each other and want the best for each other.”

If the biochemistry majors are able to deliver their best again in Birmingham, then it could be the perfect ending to the indoor careers of Hoggard and Jacobus, not just in the pole vault, but as members of another national championship team.

“They are perfect in the classroom, they are perfect teammates to all their teammates and they are both married with perfect husbands,” Harter said. “They represent themselves, their university and the entire state with great pride. It’s been an incredible four years with them.”



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