Both athletes clear 15-9.25 (4.81m) at community event at new facility in South Carolina, becoming first American pair to each clear that height in same outdoor competition after feat had previously been achieved by U.S. vaulters four times indoors; Pasqualetti ties for fourth by surpassing 14 feet for fifth time

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

PIEDMONT, S.C. – Two friends and U.S. women’s pole vault champions with plenty of history between them added another significant chapter to their professional resumes Wednesday at the Acadia Invitational, sponsored by Zenni Optical and part of the “Live Stream Games” series coordinated by World’s Greatest.

In the first official competition at the UCS Spirit “Pink Panther” pole vault pit and runway showcased in the intimate setting of the Acadia housing community, fewer than 150 spectators, athletes and officials witnessed a memorable achievement by meet host Sandi Morris – who built the new facility during the spring along with her father Harry Morris – and fellow Nike athlete Katie Nageotte.

Morris and Nageotte became the first pair of American female vaulters to each clear 15 feet, 9.25 inches (4.81m) in the same outdoor competition, both sharing the world lead during the abbreviated season as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

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Nageotte entered the competition with a 15-5 (4.70m) clearance from Saturday at Life University in Atlanta, with Morris clearing 15-3.50 (4.66m) on July 9 at the Inspiration Games at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The Acadia Invitational was shown on a delayed broadcast Thursday on ESPN's YouTube channel.

“Between the setup itself and all the hard work my family, and especially my dad, put into this, it just means so much to see it all come to fruition and host a world-class competition. The night couldn’t have turned out any better between myself and Katie both jumping 4.81m, and I think we’re both very happy with that mark,” said Morris, who achieved a world-leading mark for the second time in her career in her home state, along with a 16-2.75 (4.95m) clearance in 2018 at her annual Liberty Bridge Jump-Off.

“That was the goal with the whole event, just to make people smile and give people something to be excited about in these unprecedented times and give athletes like myself and Katie opportunities to jump. It couldn’t have turned out any better.”

Morris cleared the bar on her first attempt to secure the victory, with Nageotte extending the competition following a third-attempt clearance.

Both athletes had strong vaults at 16-1.25 (4.91m), with Nageotte’s best opportunity coming on her first try and Morris enduring a near miss on her second attempt at the event that served as a substitute this July for the Liberty Bridge Jump-Off in an effort to reduce the amount of fans in attendance and practice social distancing as all spectators, officials and meet personnel were required to wear masks throughout the competition.

“As a vaulter, you know when it’s a good jump and you know when it’s close, and so I was like, ‘We have this.’ And so while maybe it didn’t come today, it’s there and it’s in that pole,” said Nageotte, who cleared 15-9.25 on a 4.45, 18.9 flex pole compared to Morris making the same height with a 4.45, 18.7 flex pole.

“I think I’m most excited about the fact that I did not feel good today. It might have been a combination of just competing a few days ago, driving today, I’m not quite sure. I did not feel great all warmups and all meet, but it just goes to show that when you focus on executing and your cues, and for me, it was just, ‘cover ground these first few steps and then be able to accelerate through.’ It was just a big confidence boost knowing that no matter how I feel, I can still have good days.”

There have been four occasions where multiple American female vaulters have cleared at least 15-9.25 in the same indoor competition, with Morris involved in all of them. Nageotte won the 2018 U.S. indoor title in Albuquerque, N.M., with a 16-1.25 clearance to edge Morris at 15-11.25 (4.86m) and Jenn Suhr at 15-9.25.

The other three times involved only Morris and Suhr, including this year’s indoor championship meet in Albuquerque, along with the 2016 World Indoor Championships and U.S. Indoor final, both held in Oregon.

The only previous outdoor women’s pole vault event held on American soil that produced at least two marks of that magnitude was the 2018 Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., with New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney and Suhr both clearing 15-11 (4.85m).

“We both have more in the tank and we’re excited because this was an opportunity you can’t recreate with training,” Morris said. “So just getting your main competition on the runway with you and putting up a crossbar and having the neighborhood there to support us is why we jumped so high and I’m just so excited about it.”

With Morris achieving first-attempt clearances on her opening six bars, including 15-9.25, Nageotte had to remain efficient throughout the competition by twice passing on heights, including 15-1 (4.60m) and 15-7.25 (4.76m), in order to conserve energy.

“Just seeing Sandi, it’s her meet and she’s a gamer and she looked good today, so I knew she was going to be on,” Nageotte said. “I was like, ‘OK, she’s going to be good, but how can I stay with her and how can I try to beat her?’ The best way for me to do that today was taking fewer jumps at the lower bars because I knew I had the height in the poles, so that was why we chose to pass today.

“It was more so how I was feeling. I knew I didn’t have a ton of jumps in me, but I knew I had some good jumps in me. It was way less strategic in terms of winning and much more of how I can get the most out of me today.”

Oiselle professional Megan Clark, representing New York Athletic Club, placed third by clearing 14-9 (4.50m), an improvement from her 14-6 (4.42m) season-opening effort Saturday at Life University.

Orchard Park NY graduate and Kent State signee Leah Pasqualetti tied for fourth by clearing 14-1.25 (4.30m) on her first attempt, before missing three tries at 14-5.25 (4.40m).

It marked the fifth clearance of at least 14 feet this year and third this summer for the national prep outdoor record holder, who achieved her lifetime-best 14-8.25 (4.48m) effort June 27 to also achieve the all-time American U-20 outdoor mark at the Vaulter Club Vaulter Magazine Stars and Stripes Big Red Barn meet in California.

“I’m happy we’re starting to get a little more consistent at 14 (feet). Hopefully our next goal is to get consistent at 14-6 and above, and that will take time, but we’re ready to put the work in,” Pasqualetti said. “The first one felt great (at 14-5.25), the next two, I think I got a little excited and my feet got away from me and went out towards the bar, so definitely the first one felt the best and hopefully it will be there the next time we try.”

The trip to South Carolina with Warsaw Pole Vault Club coach Mike Auble marked the fourth competition in 15 days for Pasqualetti, who also cleared 14 feet July 8 at the D.C. Vault meet.

“This was kind of the culmination of our road trip and the high point, so let’s just get after it and have fun and make this a meet to be remembered,” Pasqualetti said. “This was definitely the happiest meet we’ve ever been to and our excitement was so high going in and just to meet all the girls who we’ve looked up to for so long, nothing compares to it.”

Pasqualetti tied with collegiate outdoor record holder and University of Washington graduate Olivia Gruver, a two-time NCAA Division 1 outdoor champion at Kentucky in 2017-18 before moving to Seattle. Gruver, who also cleared 14-1.25 on her first attempt Wednesday, placed third Feb. 15 with a 15-5 clearance at the USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, trailing only Morris and Suhr.

“I really didn’t know what to expect, but they blew away all of my expectations. Every single one of them was so sweet and so welcoming, and they were helping me with anything I needed help with. They were really just being like older sisters that were always there and that was something very special,” Pasqualetti said. “It was definitely the highest I had ever seen women vault in person. Seeing Katie and Sandi get after it, that was incredible.”

Eastern Michigan graduate Natalie Uy matched her personal best by clearing 14-1.25 on her second attempt. Uy had previously cleared the height June 16, 2018, in Spain, but the mark Wednesday will count as the official national record for The Philippines, since the reigning Southeast Asian Games gold medalist hadn’t established the country as her competing nationality until last year.

American Megan Zimlich cleared 13-7.25 (4.15m) on her third attempt, Irish talent Ariel Voskamp Lieghio also achieved a third-attempt clearance at 13-1.50 (4.00m) and Canadian athlete Robin Bone didn’t clear the opening height.

Fellow Canadians Alysha Newman and Anicka Newell were both scheduled to participate, but didn’t compete. Newman, the Canadian indoor and outdoor record holder at 15-9.75 (4.82m), endured an ankle injury in training Friday and didn’t make the trip to South Carolina.