Members of Pole Vault Team Travel to National Summit
12/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Dec. 30, 2008
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Eight members of the Air Force pole vault team will open the season this weekend at the 2009 National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev., on Jan. 2-3. Air Force will be represented by four juniors, two sophomores and a pair of freshmen.
The junior class will be represented by Melissa Beerse, Nick Frawley, Myles McDowell and Joel Nolan. Beerse is the Academy record-holder in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault, while Frawley earned All-America status last season with a second-place finish at the national outdoor meet and is ranked third (indoors) and fourth (outdoors) on the program's all-time rankings.
McDowell recorded the third-highest clearance last year during the outdoor season and the team's fifth-best during the indoor campaign. Nolan, who returns to the Academy after serving on a mission for the past two years, is ranked among the program's top-10 all-time list for clearances during the outdoor season.
The sophomore duo of Rachel Miller and Rachel Simmons made an immediate impact on the Falcons' record book during their first year. Miller cleared the third-best all-time mark during the indoor season (and sixth-best during the outdoors), while Simmons set the Freshman Class record and is ranked second in both the indoor and outdoor events.
Two newcomers, Tawny Lambuth and Kimber Shealey, will join the pole vault squad at the national competition. As high school seniors, Lambuth placed eighth at the California 4A championships, while Shealey was the Georgia 5A state champion.
Action at the Pole Vault Summit begins on Friday, Jan. 2, with clinics, breakout sessions and the elite meet. The main competition portion of the weekend activities begins at 8:30 a.m., on Saturday, Jan. 3, and lasts all day.
The rest of the Falcons' track and field team begins action on Friday, Jan. 16, with the annual Air Force All-Comers Meet at the Academy's Cadet Field House.
Players Mentioned
