Mackenzie Fields begins her quest for the NCAA indoor pole vault title on Saturday at the national championship indoor track and field meet, held at the University of Arkansas’s Randal Tyson Track Complex.
The women’s pole vault competition will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. It will be one of the final field events of the meet.
“We are very excited about Mackenzie competing at the NCAA championships,” said head coach Susan Seaton. “She and (assistant coach) Kris Mack have worked extremely hard to prepare and we will challenge for an All-American title.”
Fields enters the competition with the eighth-best mark in the nation this season after clearing 13′ 11.25″ (4.25 meters) at the BIG EAST Conference championship meet on February 17. She actually won the BIG EAST title after being the only competitor to clear 13′ 3.5″ (4.05 meters). After making at 13′ 11.25″, she took at shot at the conference meet record of 14′ 1.75″ (4.31 meters) but missed on three attempts.
Fields’ marks has been progressing higher as the season has gone on. She won at the SPIRE Institute Collegiate Opener in December at 13′ 1.5″ (4.00 meters) and then came back after the semester break at win again at that height in early January at Kent State University’s Doug Raymond Invitational. She posted a new season best at the University of Kentucky’s Rod McCravy Invitational on January 26, finishing second at 13′ 9.25″ (4.20 meters). She equalled that mark the next weekend at the Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York City and then topped posted her school-record effort at the BIG EAST meet.
Fields’ senior season represents a comeback from foot surgery that sidelined her all of last season. Since then, she has launched an assault on the UC record book that not only has given her the all-time indoor mark, but also eight of the top 10 pole vault performances in UC history. Only teammate Sarah Rasnick has other marks on the top 10 list.
From: http://www.gobearcats.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/030813aab.html
