From:
http://goducks.ocsn.com/sports/w-track/ ... 03aaa.html
Leading the way, redshirt senior pole vaulters Becky Holliday and Niki McEwen claimed first and fifth-place finishes with marks of 14-5 1/2 and 13-5 1/4 in their final collegiate meets as Ducks. Both marks stood as their highest NCAA efforts, while Holliday broke the meet record by 1 centimeter / a quarter-inch with her third-best ever mark, while missing her three tries at 15-0 with solid attempts on her way down on each
"It's a big relief to finally get it over with," Holliday said. "It's been a nerve-ending stretch. To train hard for two years for one day creates so many expectations and pressure. Also factor in whole bunch of friends and family coming to see me that I didn't want to let them down. A lot of them had never seen me vault, so I wanted to give them my best performance in a place that is special to me."
Born in nearby Penryn, Calif., (approximately 20 miles northeast of Sacramento) and a one-time Auburn, Calif., resident, Holliday topped the best-ever NCAA outdoor field that featured four 13-9 1/4 clearances courtesy of Arizona junior Connie Jerz (second, 14-1 1/4), Georgia sophomore Fanni Juhasz (third, 13-9 1/4) and Akron's Kira Sims (fourth, 13-9 1/4).
The former Clackamas CC transfer and Sparks, Nevada native passed at the opening height of 12-9 1/2, followed with first-attempt efforts at 13-1 1/2, 13-5 1/4 and 13-9 1/4. She then converted her second attempts at 14-1 1/4 and 14-5 1/4, then passed at 14-7 1/2 once the competition was won, before moving four inches higher for her first cracks at 15 feet. Holliday never trailed in the competition and was in a tie with Arizona's Jerz at 14-1 1/4 as both made their second tries. Once Holliday made her second try at the next height of 14-5 1/4, Jerz moved up to the ensuing height of 14-7 1/2 for her final try (after two misses at 14-5 1/4), but hit the bar on the way over the bar.
"Coming in I wanted to get all my first attempts," Holliday said, "because the field is so competitive and you want as much help with the tie-breakers as possible. You never know when somebody else will pop one so you have to be ready to respond. There's so much talent at this meet that anybody can get on a roll and has the tools to jump 14-10. I was pretty nervous out here during the prelims on Wednesday so Mark (Vanderville, assistant coach) said I really needed to try and stay as relaxed and calm as possible. But I had so much adrenaline so I tried to channel it into the competition.
Saturday's late-afternoon conditions - with an acceptable slight breeze and moderately warm temperatures - proved a stark contrast to the men's final on Friday that featured stronger sidewinds and headwinds. Holliday's biggest nemesis proved her own body as early concerns about dehydration gave her a momentary scare.
"My legs started cramping up early and I had to get so some electrolytes in me before it settled down," Holliday said. "I was so nervous during the day, that I had problems keeping fluids in me and it caught up with me on the second bar. But once the Gatorlytes kicked in at 13-5 I was a lot better. When I went up to 13-9 I had a lot more confidence although I needed to use my legs more. At 14-1 I went up poles and lost a little confidence until I saw Connie (Jerz, Airzona, second) make it and that got me going again. Having someone from Pac-10 clear it gave me confidence - our athletes always step up at nationals."
On her final attempts at 15-0, nearly all of the crowd of 10,400 turned their attention to the north end for Holliday's attempts at a would-be third school record in the past four weeks, with a Hayward Field-like rhythmic clap giving her extra momentum. "It was a long event, and I needed a little help to get pumped up - they were great and so supportive. I've only jumped here once before, back in 1997 when I was a junior at Golden West (a June high school all-star meet), so I made sure I watched some video tapes of others jumping here at the 2000 Olympic Trials to help get me going and familiar with the venue, and I could feel a difference."
Holliday capped a impressive stretch run that featured school and meet records and wins in the Pacific-10 Conference Championships (14-6) and West Regional (14-8), while the latter mark also netted her the outdoor collegiate record and a sixth-place ranking all-time among Americans. However, she'll have little time to rest on her laurels with the USA Championships up next week in Stanford next weekend with the top three finishers earning a trip in August to the World Championships in Paris, France. However, Sunday's effort proved a fitting finale after she opened the year with a height of 12-5 1/2, and sported an indoor season best of 13-2 1/4 after the first month of the season.
"I had to take some steps back indoors, but it paid off," Holliday said. "Mark (Vanderville, assistant coach) has created an awesome coach-athlete relationship. He's given me the strength to be more independent and handle meet situations on my own. I used to be so reliant on others, but I'm maturing. He's been willing to give and take, and he was right on again today when he told me we needed to go up a pole.
Career-wise, she claimed her fourth All-America honor in as many appearances after scoring an Oregon indoor school record in the 2003 collegiate finale indoors (14-3 1/4), and similar All-America honors as a junior in 2002 outdoors (third, 13-5 1/4) and indoors (seventh, 13-9 1/4). Altogether in her two-year career for the Ducks, she posted eight meets at 14 feet or higher, both indoors and outdoors in 2002 and 2003 - five of them coming since the Pepsi Team Invite in April.
Also claiming All-America honors, fellow redshirt senior Niki McEwen missed tying her all-time best NCAA finish by only one place (fifth, 13-5 1/4), and claimed her fourth All-America in seven appearances indoors and outdoors.
McEwen passed at the opening height of 12-9 1/2, then made first attempts at 13-1 1/2 and 13-5 1/4, then narrowly missed her three attempts at 13-9 1/4 - a mark that would have stood as her second-highest mark ever.
"I felt great and on the runway and I was able to balance the excitement and focus of my last NCAA meet well," McEwen said. "One important thing was that I made the transition from 13-6 to 14-6 poles which I did at the last height on my final try. It was good to get on it in a meet and start getting more familiar with it, especially with USA's ahead. I think if I had one more jump I would have gotten it rolling and made it."
With the pole vault wrapping up its fifth year as a collegiate event, McEwen wrapped up a career as one of the event's pioneers, and owned the overall school records as a sophomore in 2000 (13-5 1/4) and matched it again as a true junior in 2001. In 2002, she hiked the indoor mark to 13-9 3/4 with Becky Holliday, then redshirted the outdoor season that year. Indoors in 2003, she netted her first 14-foot bar at the Pole Vault Summit to open the year in January (14-1 1/4), then just missed her first 14-foot outdoor clearance at home in the Pepsi Team Invite in April (second, 13-11 1/4).
"I definitely felt more mature this year. At the start of the season, there was no question or doubt about going to nationals. I automatically planned on it and doing the training I needed to try and do well here. It's amazing how fast it's gone by. My most memorable moment was going 13-5 1/4 that first time as a sophomore - that seemed so high back then. I was lucky to come into a sport that was developing as I was, so I could progress as the heights went higher. Nowadays the freshmen have to be ready to go pretty high from the start to place high at nationals.
In her previous seven NCAA trips, she claimed a trio of All-America honors, already in 2003 (indoors - fourth, 13-11 1/4) and indoors in 2000 (fourth, 13-5 1/4) and in her outdoor debut in 1999 (fifth, 12-9 1/2). The former school record holder posted a breakthrough season . At the Pac-10 level she took second twice (2003-13-3 1/2, 1999-12-7 1/2), and added seventh in 2001 (12-11). She owned the school record as a sophomore and junior with her clearances of 13-5 1/4 in both 2000 and 2001, before she and Holliday upped the record indoors in 2002 to a then mark of 13-93/4.
Looking ahead, McEwen will likely stay close to her training nest in Eugene with Holliday to continue her transition to the post-collegiate ranks, and will also look forward to the USA finale next week.
"Stanford should be fun next week, although it can be a tricky place to vault sometimes since then can have a steady sidewind," McEwen said, "but it seems like it's normally less this time of year. After that, I'm looking ahead to staying around here to aim for next year's Olympic Trials. I also start to build up my 2000 hours I need as a certified nurse before I start nursing school somewhere in Oregon. It'll probably take 1 1/2 years or so before I can start grad school, so it will be nice to stay in a familiar place that has supported so far."
My team did awesome 
Good job to Becky 
I hope Kate is OK! 
