Pole Vaulters headline big weekend for VU at Indoor Nationals

TOPEKA, Kan. – Vincennes University freshman Julia Do Armaral Salvi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) continued the Trailblazers' storied tradition of pole vaulting Friday at the 2023 NJCAA Indoor National Championships, coming away with the Individual National Championship after besting the field with a height of 3.80 meters.

Fellow freshman Ysnaira Dos Santos Vieira (Brazil) joined Salvi on the podium after placing third, reaching a height of 3.50 meters.

"The VU Track Program had an incredible meet at the National Championships this weekend," VU Head Track and Field Coach Marty Rogier said. "We had a lot of highlights, with an individual National Champion, eight athletes earning All-American honors and two VU schools records."

"Julia and Ysnaira le the way on Friday with a first and third place finish in the pole vault," Rogier added. "I was very happy with the girls because they have had to really battle through a lot of changes since arriving here in January from Brazil. I'm proud of Julia because she has raised her PR by over a foot in two months and has trusted in a lot of changes to make that happen. She also did a great job of handling the pressure of a championship meet, coming from behind to win the meet with a 3.8 clearance on her second attempt, moving her into third on the All-Time VU list."

"Julia earned the 10th National Pole Vault Title for the women's program at VU," Rogier said.

The first day was also a big day for the Trailblazers runners, with the VU men's Distance Medley Relay team of freshmen Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.), Desroy Jordan (Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) and sophomores Trent Faulkner (Wheatland, Ind.) and Mathew Keitany (Kenya) placed sixth overall with a final time of 10:01.17, setting a new Vincennes University school record.

Freshman Daisie Kinnett (Wheatland, Ind.) placed 11th in the 5000 meters with a time of 19:05.98 and sophomore Ian Boit (Kimilili, Kenya) placed 25th in the 3000 meters at 8:56.60.

Freshman Olegs Kozjakovs (Riga, Latvia) got off to a slow start in the men's Heptathlon, starting the weekend with a 15th place finish in the 60 meter sprint with a time of 7.55 seconds, before quickly bouncing back to place sixth in the long jump at 6.42 meters, first in the shot put at 14.06 meters and seventh in the high jump at 1.81 meters.

Kozjakovs finished day one of the Heptathlon in fifth place overall with 2,744 points.

The Trailblazers returned to the track on Saturday to close out the two-day Championship event and got off to a great start with Isaac Stanford placing 16th in the mile at 4:15.72 and Keitany placing 27th at 4:20.08.

Keitany joined with Trent Faulkner, Desroy Jordan and sophomore Ernest Momodu (Indianapolis, Ind.) to compete in the 4x800 relay, placing fifth as a team with a final time of 7:46.84, setting a new school record in the process.

Freshman Madison Davis (Chesterton, Ind.) placed 16th in the shot put at 11.26 meters and sophomore Brittany Page placed 12th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:33.44.

Olegs Kozjakovs closed out the Heptathlon Saturday with an eighth place finish in the 60 meter hurdles at 9.03 seconds before taking the top spot in the pole vault at 4.38 meters and ending with a 13th place finish in the 1000 meters at 3:02.81.

Kozjakovs placed fourth overall in the Heptathlon, scoring 4,845 points in the events, good for third most in VU history.

"The men delivered another outstanding performance Friday in the Distance Medley Relay," VU Assistant Track and Field Coach Tyler Steigenga said. "Isaac led off the DMR by running a brilliant 1200 leg in 3:01. He handed off in third place to Desroy, who ran the fastest leg of all the 400 runners in the race at 47.2 seconds and moved VU into second. Trent ran a 1:57 in the 800 and gave the baton to Mathew in fourth place. Mathew finished off the DMR running a 4:15 in the 1600 crossing the line at 10:01.17 and breaking the previous school record by five seconds and earning the relay team All-American status."

"Shortly after the DMR, Daisie ran the 5000m in a new PR of 19:05," Steigenga added. "She ran an even and steady race as she always does and moved up throughout the race to finish 11th."

"Brittany Page put herself into position to PR and qualify for the final in the 800m prelims, but finished a few seconds off her PR at 2:33," Steigenga said.

"Desroy ran what would have been the second fastest 400 in VU history but was disqualified for running a couple of steps on the lane line. It was a tough break for such a big event," Rogier said. "Olegs competed Friday and had a very good first day of the Heptathlon. He was in fifth position at the end of day one. I felt like he might have left a few points on the table with a couple big jumps in the long jump that he barely fouled on and maybe had a bigger high jump in him. He was really under a lot of pressure to try and complete the last event of the day and then try to turn around and compete in the open Pole Vault. He actually was seeded fifth in the pole vault but there just wasn't enough time to get ready after already competing in four events of the Heptathlon."

"Madison competed Friday but had a tough day in the shot put," Roger added. "She was attempting to use a new technique that she just wasn't quite ready for. But I still believe it will serve as a good experience as she prepares for the outdoor season."

"The second ay was also very exciting," Rogier said. "Olegs completed the second day of the Heptathlon, finishing fourth and earning an All-American. He made up a lot of points by easily winning the pole vault and shot put events."

"In the 4x800 relay the men improved on their finish from the previous day in the DMR," Steigenga said. "They placed fifth and ran a six-second school record of 7:46.84. Mathew anchored his second relay to earn All-American status and had another great kick to hold off the sixth and seventh place teams."

"An hour and a half after the relay, Mathew came back in the second heat of the mile and finished with a three-second PR," Steigenga added. "It was an impressive effort after having to put a lot of his energy into his first two races."

"Isaac ran I the third and fastest heat of the day," Steigenga said. "After his fantastic opening leg of the DMR Friday, he had very high expectations of himself in the mile. He didn't quite meet them, but he's got a lot to be proud of this season. His training and racing potential were limited this season as he was dealing with illness for six weeks. The fact that he was able to accomplish what he did is amazing. He has a bright future ahead of him."

The VU Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field teams greatly improved on their NJCAA rankings heading into the National Championships with the VU women's team placing 13th overall with 16 total points and the VU men coming in 17th with 12 points.

The 2023 NJCAA Indoor Team National Championships were captured by New Mexico Junior College on the women's side and South Plains Community College on the men's side.

"Coach Steigenga and myself are very proud of how this group performed," Rogier said. "We are very excited for the coming outdoor season to try and build on the success we had during the indoor season."

The VU Track and Field teams will have a little bit of time to rest, recover ad celebrate a tremendous Indoor season before switching gears and heading outdoors, kicking off the 2023 Outdoor season Saturday, March 25 when VU hosts the Bill Smith Challenge.

RESULTS

TEAM RESULTS

MEN'S RESULTS

VU – 17, 12 points

WOMEN'S RESULTS

VU - 13, 16 points

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

MEN'S RESULTS

DMR

Stanford, Jordan, Faulkner, Keitany – 6, 10:01.17

3000m

Ian Boit – 25, 8:56.60

Mile

Isaac Stanford – 16, 4:15.72

Mathew Keitany – 27, 4:20.08

4x800 Relay

Faulkner, Jordan, Momodu, Keitany – 5, 7:46.84

Heptathlon

Olegs Kozjakovs – 4, 4845 points

WOMEN'S RESULTS

5000m

Daisie Kinnett – 11, 19:05.98

Pole Vault

Julia Do Armaral Salvi – 1, 3.80m

Ysnaira Dos Santos Vieira – 3, 3.50m

800m

Brittany Page – 12, 2:33.44

Shot Put

Madison Davis – 16, 11.26m