Carrie Kayes wraps up college pole vaulting career

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http://www.akron.com/akron-ohio-sports- ... p?aID=9897


Former Green student wraps up college pole vaulting career
8/19/2010 - South Side Leader


By Sean Patrick


Green High School graduate Carrie Kayes wraps up a successful college pole vaulting career.
Photo courtesy of The University of Akron GREEN — Following a successful career as a pole vaulter at Green High School, Carrie Kayes moved up to the collegiate level four years ago to compete for The University of Akron.
And now, with her college career completed, Kayes said she can trace the beginning of her successful sports journey back to her time at Green High School.

“My high school track coaches obviously had a lot to do with getting me started in pole vault,” she said. “Dan Gourley was the head coach who encouraged me to be involved with track and was always my No. 1 fan. Maedine Pfouts was my pole vault coach for three years and was always very supportive and there to do anything I needed her to do. Mike Murphy came out of coaching ‘retirement’ to help me my junior and senior year. He knew a lot about the sport and taught me more than anyone else the last year and a half of my high school career. I still keep in touch with all three of these wonderful people, and they have all seen me compete for Akron.”

During her high school career, Kayes said she improved her skill each year.

“My sophomore year, I jumped 13 feet, 4 inches at regionals, my last meet of the year,” she said. “There was a three-way tie for fourth place at that meet, and I was involved in a jump-off for the last spot to the NCAA Outdoor Nationals, but I lost the jump-off and my season ended. I never expected to get that far, though, so that was kind of a breakthrough for me.”

During the first meet of her junior year, Kayes set a personal record (PR) of 13-7 at the pole vault summit in Reno, Nev.

“That was unexpected to me, too, because you really never expect to PR at the very first meet of the season,” she said. “I ended up barely getting in to the indoor NCAA nationals. Unfortunately, I did not clear a height at my first national appearance, but that just motivated me. I jumped [13-9.25] in my outdoor junior season to once again barely earn myself a spot at outdoor NCAA nationals. I jumped much better this time, qualifying for finals on the first day and then placing sixth with a PR of [14-1.25]. That mark also qualified me for the [USA Track & Field (USATF)] national meet two weeks later. I jumped [13-9] there and placed 12th.”

Kayes said she entered her senior year of college with high expectations.

“I jumped [14-1.25] indoors, automatically qualifying me for the indoor NCAA championships in Fayetteville [N.C.]. I PR’d at that meet, jumping [14-3.25] and placing fourth,” she recalled. “My outdoor senior season did not go as well as I’d hoped it would — with my highest mark being [13-11] — but I still qualified for the outdoor NCAA championships and, after a very rough start, ended up placing seventh. I competed in the [USATF] national championships again my senior year, this time jumping [13-7].”

Looking back, Kayes said she “honestly can’t remember” what first sparked her interest in pole vault.

“I remember going to the head track coach at Green and telling him that I would do track as long as I didn’t have to run — just pole vault,” she said. “But I don’t know where I got the idea that I wanted to try pole vault. I did end up running, though. I ran sprints and long jumped, but definitely not well enough to compete at the collegiate level.”

According to Kayes, her biggest challenge as a collegiate athlete was keeping up with school work during the season, “Especially during those weeks that it feels like everything is due at once, but you have to do it all early because you will be gone for half the week. But there were only a few weeks a year that were really stressful like that,” she said. “Beyond that — and just committing a large portion of your life to working out and fulfilling other team obligations — I didn’t find being a student-athlete to be too overwhelming. You learn how to balance everything quickly, and then it’s just your life.”

Kayes said she feels like she has done “pretty well” at managing athletics and academics.

“Obviously, I think almost everyone could say that they probably could have tried a little harder in school, but in general I think I have done alright,” she said. “I have a 3.6 grade-point average in the exercise science program.”

In addition to her academic achievements, Kayes continued her success on the field during her collegiate career, especially during this past season.

“My best standing at a meet during my four years at The University of Akron was placing fourth at the indoor NCAA national championships my senior year,” she said. “I jumped my lifetime PR at that meet, which obviously makes it a standout for me. I was really ‘on’ that day, clearing the first five bars all on my first try. I only had one miss in the entire competition. It was a great day.”

In college, Kayes said, the most influential person for her athletic career has been Dennis Mitchell, the team’s head coach and her event coach.

“He is one of the best pole vault coaches in the country, and he knows an incredible amount about the sport,” she said. “He has reformed many different aspects of my vault in the past four years, but we still have some work to do.”

As for her future in the sport, Kayes said she plans to continue jumping for the next two years to “see where it takes” her.

“The Olympic trials are in 2012, and I think it would be an incredible experience to get to compete there,” she said. “I feel like I still have a lot of room for improvement, and I really feel like I can still jump higher. I’m not ready to be done yet.”

Of course, Kayes also has been busy making plans for her time off from the field.

“Once I graduate undergrad, I plan to get my masters in exercise physiology, hopefully at Akron,” she said. “I want to continue training with coach Mitchell, and hopefully keep working with the Akron track team. This coming year, I will be a fifth-year coach, and I will be helping with some different aspects of the team. I’m looking forward to continuing to be a part of the sport. After grad school, I’m hoping to be married and getting a real job doing something in the exercise field. I haven’t necessarily narrowed down my interests yet, so I’m not sure exactly what I want to do as far as a job goes, but I figure I’ve got some time to figure all of that out.”