It seemed almost predestined that Kansas University pole vaulter Andrea Branson would take center stage at the Kansas Relays.
After all, the meet organizers took care of the logistics by placing the finals of both the men’s and women’s pole vault invitational on a platform smack dab in the middle of the Memorial Stadium turf.
Branson came through with the performance part by winning the competition with a vault of 13 feet, 10 inches. The feat, which set the Relays record and was the second-best mark in the NCAA this year, was aided by an unusually involved Relays crowd, which cheered Branson to success on three of her final seven attempts.
“It was so awesome,” said Branson, who just barely missed clearing her final attempt at 14-13/4. “Every time I came down the runway it felt like I was being carried by everybody cheering. I had never competed in a meet like that before. It’s one of the few meets where I’m going to remember the entirity of it.”
Branson’s accomplishment came in a unique setting for the pole vault. Using a temporary runway built with elevated platforms, both the men and women competed at the same time in the event, which lasted nearly three hours.
“It made me feel like the underdog,” Branson said. “I didn’t really feel any pressure. I’d look at the heights the men were jumping and I’d think that mine weren’t that high.”
Branson clinched her victory by outdueling Jennifer Hoffer, who competed unattached, as the bar was raised to 13-5. Following a failed attempt by Hoffer on her first try, Branson sailed clear on her first attempt. That bettered Branson’s mark of 13-41/4 in the NCAA Outdoor last spring.
After Hoffer failed to clear the bar on her final two attempts, Branson was left as the lone competitor in the event on the women’s side. Allowed to choose her next height, Branson elected to attempt 13-10.
After failing on her first attempt, Branson sneaked over the top of the bar to clear the height. The result, which brought a roar from the crowd and prompted Branson to embrace coach Rick Attig, broke Stacy Draglia’s 1996 Kansas Relays record of 13-61/2. Draglia is currently the world record holder in the women’s pole vault with a mark of 15-1.
“I wasn’t even really thinking about it,” Branson said. “I was thinking more about how I needed a good approach.”
Branson made three more attempts at 14-13/4 but failed on each one. On her final attempt, Branson was nearly successful but touched enough of the bar to send it tumbling down.
“I must have just brushed against it,” said Branson, who immediately watched the replay of her final attempt on the Memorial Stadium jumbotron. “It couldn’t have been much.”
A four-time All-American, Branson continued her string of success this season. So far, she has placed first in four meets after placing fifth in the pole vault at NCAA Indoor.
However, that success hasn’t kept Branson from maintaining a sense of humor. Branson, who attended Shawnee Mission West High School, christened the Kansas Relays by transplanting several fish from Potter Lake into the steeplechase pit.
“It’s a runner’s thing, so I’m not sure I really understand it,” Branson said. “All I know is that I was told that fish end up there before every Kansas Relay. I think the water’s probably cleaner there than in the pond.”