Gruver Breaks NCAA Pole Vault Record, Batt-Doyle Sets 10k Mark

Friday, March 29

Stanford, CA

All Day

University of Washington

Stanford Invitational

Gruver Breaks NCAA Pole Vault Record, Batt-Doyle Sets 10k Mark

March 29, 2019 | Track & Field

By: UW Athletic Communications

2019 Stanford Invitational
Friday-Saturday, Mar. 29-30
Stanford, Calif. | Cobb Track & Angell Field

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STANFORD, Calif. – Since joining the Washington program last summer, it seemed like just a matter of time before two-time NCAA Champion Olivia Gruver broke the Husky school record in the women's pole vault. But in one fell swoop, and one soaring flight, Gruver broke the school record, the Pac-12 record, and the collegiate outdoor record at Stanford's Cobb Track & Angell Field. Gruver cleared 15-feet, 6.25-inches (4.73 meters) to further raise the bar for herself as a current and future star of the sport.

How about a slo-mo look?!? The video keeps improving ??

If somehow you're just tuning in to Twitter, this is Olivia Gruver clearing an NCAA Outdoor Record of 15-6 1/4 in the pole vault ??#GoHuskies // #NCAATF pic.twitter.com/0xL8wiDjt7
— Washington Track & Field (@UWTrack) March 30, 2019

Gruver's record was the major milestone for Washington on day one of the Stanford Invitational, but there were some late fireworks as well, as senior Izzi Batt-Doyle also crushed the Husky school record in the 10,000-meters and ran the No. 4 mark in Pac-12 history, covering the 25 laps in 32:20.84.

The 2017 and 2018 NCAA Outdoor Champion in the vault for Kentucky, Gruver came to Washington for her senior year to continue working with her coach, Toby Stevenson, who was named Associate Head Coach at Washington last summer. She redshirted the indoor season, so today was just her second time wearing the Husky uniform.

It was worth the wait. Gruver's mark was one centimeter better than the previous NCAA Outdoor record of 4.72 (15-5 3/4) set by Sandi Morris in 2015. Morris won the Olympic Silver Medal in 2016.

It also smashed the Pac-12 record of 15-1 by over five inches. It broke the Husky school record, in spite of a top-10 list filled with Pac-12 Champions, First Team All-Americans, and an NCAA Champion, by more than a foot (13 inches to be precise).

The native of Reisterstown, Md. posted the second-best clearance in the world this year outdoors, and also now ties for fourth in U.S. history outdoors.

The record came today simply by taking it one bar at a time.

"Coming in today I was very nervous because I've never been here and the wind was a little shaky," said Gruver. "Coach Stevenson and I wanted to take every bar one step at a time. We didn't come in thinking we've got to jump high bars. Just get consistency and actually get up to the big heights."

Here is another look at Olivia's jaw-dropping, NCAA Outdoor Record clearance of 15-6.25 ??????#GoHuskies // #NCAATF // #SportsCenterTop10 @NCAATrackField @USTFCCCA @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/fysRDB6Wca
— Washington Track & Field (@UWTrack) March 30, 2019

She entered the competition at 4.23 and cleared that on her second attempt, then had another second attempt make at 4.38. Moving up to 4.45, Gruver had her only first attempt make. She then moved the bar up to 4.61 to target the Pac-12 record, and cleared that on her second try. Then it was up to the NCAA Outdoor record, and on her second attempt that record would fall when the bar did not.

"That first bar, I made it over and I thought okay, now we can get into a rhythm and kind of just jump."

On the final clearance, Gruver says "I made it over and I looked and saw it still up there and I just jumped off the mat and ran."

Gruver and Stevenson had their eyes on the record and felt she was ready to get it at any meet.

"We've been preparing for this for a while," said Stevenson, who also coached former Stanford NCAA Champion and 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Katerina Stefanidi. "That's been a goal of ours for a few years now. She took it one jump, one bar, one tailwind at a time. You can't jump a record until you jump the bars before the record."

How high can Gruver go? "We're just going to keep jumping," she says. "Take every bar one step at a time. It was just a matter of time before we got this."

Stevenson says the indoor season was beneficial for "mixing chemicals back in the lab."

"She wants to be the best collegiate ever, and we're still not quite there," he says. "The indoor record is higher (16-0 3/4 by Demi Payne), but we had to take five steps back to take ten steps forward, and the Powells have given the jump squad the freedom to go try and be the best ever."

"It feels great that all the work we've done we kind of get vindicated," Stevenson said. "We bested the collegiate outdoor record and it's awesome. The next goal is top-12 at Regionals, see if we can defend our title. There are a lot of great female pole vaulters in the NCAA right now who don't want her to do that and it's going to be an amazing competition with these girls, but top-12 is the next goal."

There was plenty more to applaud on Friday, starting with the second school record of the day, turned in by Batt-Doyle in her first 10k run since 2017. An NCAA Outdoor finalist in the 10k two years ago, Batt-Doyle smashed the Husky indoor 5k record this season en route to 12th-place at the NCAA Indoor meet.

In her first run since that NCAA Indoor race, Batt-Doyle battled an elite field of Olympians, pros, and some of the best collegiate runners in the nation, and came through in 10th-place, fourth among collegiate athletes, in 32:20.84. That was a full 75 seconds faster than her old PR which already ranked her No. 7 in school history. It shattered the Husky record by 32 seconds, breaking Megan Goethals' mark of 32:52.78 set back in 2013. It also ranks as the fourth-fastest in Pac-12 history and the best by a Pac-12 athlete since 2013.

The feeling of running the #?4? time in @pac12 HISTORY??

Izzi Batt-Doyle collects her second UW school record in the past two months ??#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/tmsyNDIg3G
— Washington Track & Field (@UWTrack) March 30, 2019

Rounding out the night were two more excellent efforts in the 10k. Kaitlyn Neal laced up her spikes for the first time since early in the cross country season, and she looked to be in fine form as she took fifth in the second section in 33:31.43, just a few seconds off the PR she ran at West Prelims a year ago.

The first day of the Stanford Invite came to a close with a Husky victory tonight, as it was nearly midnight when redshirt freshman Tibebu Proctor sprinted away from heat two of the men's 10,000-meters and won in a time of 28:54.33. That earned Proctor a spot on his first UW top-10 list, going to No. 5 in school history.

While UW seniors were breaking records, a Husky Freshman Record also went down today, as Cass Elliott from West Seattle High School took second overall in the 400-meter hurdles in 51.13 seconds. That puts him to No. 6 in school history and broke the freshman mark of 51.53 set by Brad Goodrich in 2001.

The day got going early with a couple Husky sprinters advancing into the finals. Khalil Winfrey ran a prelims time of 10.69 seconds to move on to the final and then he took third in the final in a wind-aided 10.44 seconds, a new all-conditions best. Freshman Aaliyah Wilson ran a 100m hurdles time of 14.07 seconds to make the final, then running 14.19 in the final.

Sophomore Hannah Rusnak had an impressive day in her two events, as she ran a 100m hurdles PR of 14.12 seconds and then had two big long jump marks of 19-8 and 19-7 1/2, both wind-aided.

The men's javelin crew got to air things out for the first time in 2019 today and they were ready for it. Senior Denham Patricelli PR'd by a foot, taking second at 223-8, while sophomore Jacob Wachtendonk had a big 9-foot PR of 216-7 and freshman Zach Annanie also broke the 200-foot mark with a toss of 201-3.

The throwers also got to spin the discus today, with redshirt freshman Elijah Mason posting a strong opener of 184-4 to finish second in the discus invite. Sophomore Jonah Wilson had a small PR of 176-6, and Jose Padilla opened with a best of 170-10.

Senior Onyie Chibuogwu went 192-11 in her season-opening hammer competition, taking fourth in the invitational flight while Angel Nkwonta was close to her PR in the shot put, tossing 47-4 1/4.

The Husky quarter-milers had solid days, with senior Imani Apostol going 55.40 to take 10th on the women's side. Sophomore Evan Mafilas posted a new personal-best running 47.17 to take fifth on the men's side and Jason Palmer was just shy of his PR with a time of 48.52.

The women's 400-meter hurdlers were led by senior Carly Lester who lowered her PR to 59.77, taking second overall. Darhian Mills was third in 1:00.14, Morganne Hill took fifth in 1:01.15, and Karlee Stueckle was seventh in 1:01.68.

Sam Richmond placed seventh in the men's long jump invite today, jumping an even 23-feet into a headwind. Jelani Heath placed sixth on the women's side, with a wind-aided 19-1 1/2.

In the 1,500-meters, senior Anna Maxwell turned in a strong season-opener as she notched a time of 4:22.92. Freshman Kelly Makin ran 4:30.00. The men were led by Talon Hull's time of 3:44.78 and Nate Beamer earned a PR by .08 seconds, running 3:46.08.

Junior Julius Diehr had a significant PR in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, breaking the nine-minute mark for the first time, going 8:59.57.

At 5,000-meters, senior Emily Hamlin knocked 10 seconds off her career-best, taking fifth in her heat in 16:05.68.