Buell Takes Flight to NCAA Championships
The University of South Dakota has become a Midwestern pole vault mecca.
Over the past 20 years, Coyote track and field has developed a tradition of success in pole vaulting, ranging from conference and national (DII) titles to an Olympic games participant - coach and two-time Olympian Derek Miles.
Now, redshirt freshman pole vaulting sensation Bethany Buell of USD (St. Louis, Mo.) has become the first Coyote to qualify for the NCAA Championships and is the only athlete from a South Dakota school who will compete at the national meet on June 8-11 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Buell is ranked 12th in the country and qualified 10th in the NCAA West Preliminaries at 13'3 1/2. She had a PR, school record, and state of South Dakota all-time best of 13-9 1/4 at the Howard Wood Relays on May 6.
"This is a huge first step for our program and for her personally," said Lucky Huber, USD's head women's track and field coach. "It helps put us on the same footing as programs like Minnesota, Nebraska, etc. Though we have just one athlete competing, she represents us on that stage," Huber said.
Among American women vaulters, Buell is 10th (12th overall) in the rankings. http://www.ustfccca.org/assets/rankings/div1/2011-otf/NCAAD1_2011_outWk9_TF_NationalRankingsByEvent.pdf and http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-i-rankings
Women's Pole Vault -- Top 12
1. Tina Sutej (Jr., Ljubljana, Slovenia), Arkansas, 15-1 1/2, SEC Championships, 5/11/11
2. Katerina Stefandi (Jr., Athens, Greece), Stanford, 14-6, Stanford Invitational, 3/25/11
3. Vera Neuenswander (Sr., Jefferson City, Mo.), Indiana, 14-3 1/2, Big 10 Championships, 5/13/11
4. Samantha Sonnenberg (Sr., Waukesha, Wisc.), Minnesota, 14-3 1/2, Big 10 Championships, 5/13/11
4. Rachel Laurent (Jr., Houma, La.), LSU, 14-3 1/4, Texas Relays, 4/6/11.
6. Natalie Willer (Sr., Elkhorn, Neb.), 14-2 1/2, Big 12 Championships, 5/13/11.
7. Joanna Wright (Sr., Winston-Salem, N.C.), 14-1 3/4, Florida State University Seminole Invitational, 4/8/113
8. Melissa Gergel (Sr., Glenwood, Ill.), Oregon, 14-0 1/2, PAC 10 Championships, 5/6/11
9. Kelsie Ahbe (So., Uniontown, Ohio), Indiana, 13-11 /3/4, Big 10 Championships, 4/14/11.
10. Jessica Hemingway (Sr., Wixom, Mich.), Eastern Michigan, 13-11 1/4, Mt. Sac Relays, 4/14/11.
11. Neal Tisher (So., Mobile, Ala.), Mississippi, 13-9 3/4, SEC Championships, 5/11/11
12. Bethany Buell (So., St. Louis, Mo.), University of South Dakota, 13-9 1/4, Howard Wood Dakota Relays, 5/6/11.
12. Tara Diebold (Sr., Branson, Mo.), Oklahoma, 13-8 1/2, Arkansas Twilight, 5/6/11
As the attention shifts to Buell next week, a look at history shows that USD has had pole vaulting success in its track and field program dating to the 1920s. However, most of the success as come under the watch of coaches Huber and men's coach Dave Gottsleben since the mid-1980s.
USD has had 22 pole vaulting All-Americans, 21 (11 - women; 10 - men) while Huber and Gottsleben have been at USD. The Coyotes have had two national champions and two national runners-up. For the Coyote women, Sandy Pelkofer, former Rapid City (SD) prep, won a national Division II title in 2001 (12-03 1/2) and she was a runner-up in 2002. Sam Pribyl, who prepped at Webster (SD) High School, won the 2006 outdoor title by going a school and collegiate state record of 17-8.5. He was also the first Coyote to win an outdoor DII title. In addition,Miles was a national runner-up (16-10 3/4) while competing for USD at the 1994 DII meet. USD's first All-American pole vaulter was Steve Snyder who was fourth at 16-2 in 1983. Marci Miller, a former Rapid City prep, won the most All-American honors (2002-05) in the event with six while both Pribyl (2003-06) and Miles (1993-96) had five.
South Dakota athletes have won 27 conference titles in the pole vault, including the now defunct North Central Conference and the Great West Conference. Pribyl owns the most individual conference titles with six (two indoor, four outdoor) while Pelkofer had four (two indoor, two outdoor). Darwin Redfield was the first USD conference champ when he won three straight men NCC crowns from 1924-26.
With that tradition of excellence in the background, Buell steps onto a big stage next week, perhaps the biggest ever for a Coyote athlete.
"This is a great accomplishment for Bethany," said Huber. "This is a great step for her career-wise. It is an opportunity that she relishes," he said.
Buell, a two-time prep state champion in the pole vault while at Rockwell Summit High in St. Louis, is making her mark at USD. She has set both the indoor and outdoor school records and her vault of 13-9 1/2 at the Howard Wood Relays shattered the previous record by six inches. Already she has won three Great West Conference titles (two indoor, one outdoor) and earned five career Great Conference Athlete of the Week honors.
Buell has the speed, rhythm and coordination to really do special things, says Miles, who is the fourth-ranked vaulter in the world and placed fourth in the 2004 Olympics.
"She has a good feel about pole vaulting," said Miles, who himself has a personal best of 19-2 1/4 and has been recently ranked the top ranked vaulter in the U.S. http://www.usatf.org/statistics/topMarks/2011/outdoorTF/men.asp. He owns the best outdoor vault by a U.S. vaulter at 18-9.25 at Jonesboro, Ark., on May 22.
"I think too, she has a natural ability to pick up on things and make changes (approach). We can tell her this is what you need to do and then she is one of those athletes that can go do it," said Miles, a firm believer that a 14-foot vault by Buell is just around the corner.
Buell is an athlete with tremendous drive and passion for this sport. And, like, many of the good athletes, she is a bit restive.
"What I love about the pole vault is that there is always a higher bar. You can PR one day and be excited about it, but you always have the next one to go for. You get kind of greedy. Even when you make a height, you know it is never enough. You always want to do more," she said. "You have to keep pushing yourself."
Next Friday at 5:30 p.m., Buell will begin her foray at the DI meet at Drake Stadium.
.
While a little restless, Buell is one of those athletes that is continuing to meet lofty goals She may even push and vault her way to new heights next weekend. And, that won't be a surprise to her coaches but another piece of a legacy being built at the state's oldest campus and vaulting mecca.
Over the past 20 years, Coyote track and field has developed a tradition of success in pole vaulting, ranging from conference and national (DII) titles to an Olympic games participant - coach and two-time Olympian Derek Miles.
Now, redshirt freshman pole vaulting sensation Bethany Buell of USD (St. Louis, Mo.) has become the first Coyote to qualify for the NCAA Championships and is the only athlete from a South Dakota school who will compete at the national meet on June 8-11 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Buell is ranked 12th in the country and qualified 10th in the NCAA West Preliminaries at 13'3 1/2. She had a PR, school record, and state of South Dakota all-time best of 13-9 1/4 at the Howard Wood Relays on May 6.
"This is a huge first step for our program and for her personally," said Lucky Huber, USD's head women's track and field coach. "It helps put us on the same footing as programs like Minnesota, Nebraska, etc. Though we have just one athlete competing, she represents us on that stage," Huber said.
Among American women vaulters, Buell is 10th (12th overall) in the rankings. http://www.ustfccca.org/assets/rankings/div1/2011-otf/NCAAD1_2011_outWk9_TF_NationalRankingsByEvent.pdf and http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-i-rankings
Women's Pole Vault -- Top 12
1. Tina Sutej (Jr., Ljubljana, Slovenia), Arkansas, 15-1 1/2, SEC Championships, 5/11/11
2. Katerina Stefandi (Jr., Athens, Greece), Stanford, 14-6, Stanford Invitational, 3/25/11
3. Vera Neuenswander (Sr., Jefferson City, Mo.), Indiana, 14-3 1/2, Big 10 Championships, 5/13/11
4. Samantha Sonnenberg (Sr., Waukesha, Wisc.), Minnesota, 14-3 1/2, Big 10 Championships, 5/13/11
4. Rachel Laurent (Jr., Houma, La.), LSU, 14-3 1/4, Texas Relays, 4/6/11.
6. Natalie Willer (Sr., Elkhorn, Neb.), 14-2 1/2, Big 12 Championships, 5/13/11.
7. Joanna Wright (Sr., Winston-Salem, N.C.), 14-1 3/4, Florida State University Seminole Invitational, 4/8/113
8. Melissa Gergel (Sr., Glenwood, Ill.), Oregon, 14-0 1/2, PAC 10 Championships, 5/6/11
9. Kelsie Ahbe (So., Uniontown, Ohio), Indiana, 13-11 /3/4, Big 10 Championships, 4/14/11.
10. Jessica Hemingway (Sr., Wixom, Mich.), Eastern Michigan, 13-11 1/4, Mt. Sac Relays, 4/14/11.
11. Neal Tisher (So., Mobile, Ala.), Mississippi, 13-9 3/4, SEC Championships, 5/11/11
12. Bethany Buell (So., St. Louis, Mo.), University of South Dakota, 13-9 1/4, Howard Wood Dakota Relays, 5/6/11.
12. Tara Diebold (Sr., Branson, Mo.), Oklahoma, 13-8 1/2, Arkansas Twilight, 5/6/11
As the attention shifts to Buell next week, a look at history shows that USD has had pole vaulting success in its track and field program dating to the 1920s. However, most of the success as come under the watch of coaches Huber and men's coach Dave Gottsleben since the mid-1980s.
USD has had 22 pole vaulting All-Americans, 21 (11 - women; 10 - men) while Huber and Gottsleben have been at USD. The Coyotes have had two national champions and two national runners-up. For the Coyote women, Sandy Pelkofer, former Rapid City (SD) prep, won a national Division II title in 2001 (12-03 1/2) and she was a runner-up in 2002. Sam Pribyl, who prepped at Webster (SD) High School, won the 2006 outdoor title by going a school and collegiate state record of 17-8.5. He was also the first Coyote to win an outdoor DII title. In addition,Miles was a national runner-up (16-10 3/4) while competing for USD at the 1994 DII meet. USD's first All-American pole vaulter was Steve Snyder who was fourth at 16-2 in 1983. Marci Miller, a former Rapid City prep, won the most All-American honors (2002-05) in the event with six while both Pribyl (2003-06) and Miles (1993-96) had five.
South Dakota athletes have won 27 conference titles in the pole vault, including the now defunct North Central Conference and the Great West Conference. Pribyl owns the most individual conference titles with six (two indoor, four outdoor) while Pelkofer had four (two indoor, two outdoor). Darwin Redfield was the first USD conference champ when he won three straight men NCC crowns from 1924-26.
With that tradition of excellence in the background, Buell steps onto a big stage next week, perhaps the biggest ever for a Coyote athlete.
"This is a great accomplishment for Bethany," said Huber. "This is a great step for her career-wise. It is an opportunity that she relishes," he said.
Buell, a two-time prep state champion in the pole vault while at Rockwell Summit High in St. Louis, is making her mark at USD. She has set both the indoor and outdoor school records and her vault of 13-9 1/2 at the Howard Wood Relays shattered the previous record by six inches. Already she has won three Great West Conference titles (two indoor, one outdoor) and earned five career Great Conference Athlete of the Week honors.
Buell has the speed, rhythm and coordination to really do special things, says Miles, who is the fourth-ranked vaulter in the world and placed fourth in the 2004 Olympics.
"She has a good feel about pole vaulting," said Miles, who himself has a personal best of 19-2 1/4 and has been recently ranked the top ranked vaulter in the U.S. http://www.usatf.org/statistics/topMarks/2011/outdoorTF/men.asp. He owns the best outdoor vault by a U.S. vaulter at 18-9.25 at Jonesboro, Ark., on May 22.
"I think too, she has a natural ability to pick up on things and make changes (approach). We can tell her this is what you need to do and then she is one of those athletes that can go do it," said Miles, a firm believer that a 14-foot vault by Buell is just around the corner.
Buell is an athlete with tremendous drive and passion for this sport. And, like, many of the good athletes, she is a bit restive.
"What I love about the pole vault is that there is always a higher bar. You can PR one day and be excited about it, but you always have the next one to go for. You get kind of greedy. Even when you make a height, you know it is never enough. You always want to do more," she said. "You have to keep pushing yourself."
Next Friday at 5:30 p.m., Buell will begin her foray at the DI meet at Drake Stadium.
.
While a little restless, Buell is one of those athletes that is continuing to meet lofty goals She may even push and vault her way to new heights next weekend. And, that won't be a surprise to her coaches but another piece of a legacy being built at the state's oldest campus and vaulting mecca.
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