Erika Willis

Photo by: Josh Armstrong

Photo by: Sierra Lyon

Photo by: Marty France

Photo by: Josh Armstrong

Class:
Senior
Events:
Pole Vault
Hometown:
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Height:
5-4
High School:
The Classical Academy
Squadron:
22 Raptors

JUNIOR YEAR | 2020-21: Matched the fifth-best outdoor pole vault clearance in Academy history during a 12’11½” performance at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships…scored for the Falcons at that meet after finishing sixth…also surpassed the 12-foot bar at the Air Force Twilight Open (12’4½”)…claimed a pair of top-three finishes...competed in the pole vault once indoors…academic all-conference selection…MW Scholar-Athlete.

SOPHOMORE YEAR | 2019-20: Competed in the pole vault during eight indoor meets...recorded a career-best clearance of 12’3½” at the Air Force Invitational...earned the team’s Field Athlete of the Week award following that meet...matched that mark at the Mountain West Indoor Championships...won the Potts Invitational and was the top collegiate finisher at the Air Force Collegiate Open (second overall)...combined for five top-five finishes...academic all-conference selection...MW Scholar-Athlete.

FRESHMAN YEAR | 2018-19: Competed in the pole vault during 14 meets (six indoor, eight outdoor)...recorded a personal-best clearance of 12’4” at the Beach Invitational during the outdoor season...also surpassed the 12-foot bar at the Colorado Invitational (12’0”, fourth) and Jack Christiansen Invitational (12’0”, third)...added a fourth-place finish at the Texas A&M Invitational...posted an indoor-best clearance of 12’0½” at the Texas Tech Shootout...placed within the top-five at the Potts Indoor Invitational (second), Air Force Holiday Open (third) and Air Force Invitational (fifth)...academic all-conference selection...MW Scholar-Athlete.

HIGH SCHOOL: The Classical Academy...two-time Colorado state champion in the pole vault (2017, 2018)...finished second to her sister (“the legendary Andrea Willis”) as a sophomore...holds the Colorado State Classification Record in that event...three-time Colorado USATF Junior Olympic champion (2015, 2016, 2017)...served as team captain during junior and senior years...four-year varsity letterwinner...two-time all-state first-team selection...earned four academic letters...member of the National Honor Society...Class Exemplar...ranked among the top 10-percent of graduating class.

PERSONAL: Full name is Erika Nicole Willis...daughter of Steve and Bettina Willis...father is a 1987 Academy graduate...has four siblings...majoring in biology...future plans include becoming a physician...served as Squadron Commander (2021), Honor NCOIC for squadron (2021), Group 3 Academics NCOIC (2020), and Superintendent of the Executioners Squadron during Basic Cadet Training (summer 2020)…Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Representative...named to the Superintendent’s List for excellence in military, academic and athletic performance every semester…endorsed for a Health Professions Scholarship for medical school...member of the Academy’s Scholars Program...member of the “500 Club” for earning a perfect score on the Academy’s fitness test...has 11 direct family members who have graduated from, or at currently at, USAFA...one grandfather was a 1961 Academy graduate, while the other served in the Air Force; both retired as O-8...great-great uncle, Eddie Dillon, completed the first-ever forward football pass at Princeton University in 1909...holds The Classical Academy’s K-12 male/female record of consecutive pushups (201 – “I was forced to stop because the school day ended”)…completed a Cadet Summer Research Program (CSRP) in the Cardiovascular Biology Lab at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation over the summer, studying the biochemical pathways in the body that lead to downregulation of transcription factors in pulmonary endothelial cells from bacterial (or viral) induced inflammation...member of Cadet Squadron 22.