In late April, Tom Jordan, meet director for the Prefontaine Classic Grand Prix, announced that only pole vaulters who had cleared a height of 15-feet would be eligible to compete in this season’s meet.
Except, of course, for Becky Holliday, because of her local status.
Two weeks after Jordan’s announcement, Holliday, a diminutive yet talented pole vaulter for the Ducks, is stuck with a decision.
Should she vault at the meet even though it is just a few days before the NCAA Championships in Baton Rouge, La., or take that Sunday off to prepare?
The decision may be a bit more complex than that, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t giving it a serious thought.
“That’s the world’s best coming to Hayward Field, and it’s my home field,” she said. “Last year, when the Prefontaine came, I almost got into it. That just amazed me. If I got a chance to do it this year, I think I would want to. I think it would be the best thing for me.”
It wasn’t always going to be that way for the junior from Sparks, Nev.
Holliday starred at Reed High, claiming the Nevada state prep title as a senior and finishing fourth the year before that. That earned her a trip to Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham.
However, Holliday would never compete for the school, citing problems with the coach at the time. She decided to transfer in December.
“When I went there, the coach said a number of things he was going to do but didn’t go through with them,” she said. “Come December, it was either transfer or go home. I took that year off, worked, and took it as my redshirt year. It was just a bad decision on my part.”
Holliday was lucky though, at the time, to find Rick Baggett. The pole vaulting coach at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Baggett had once coached Holliday’s high school coach, Todd Freitag, as well as current Oregon volunteer coach Mark Vanderville.
In two years at Clackamas, Holliday set a personal record of 14-4, was second best last season among collegians and participated at the World University Games in Beijing, China.
All of her accomplishments came during a tough and unstable time in her life.
“I saw her through some very formidable years, and she was willing and able to make that progression,” Baggett said.
Now came the hard part. Georgia, UCLA, Arizona and Nebraska all came calling, hoping to get the vaulter to attend school. Holliday had a made an impression on some of the nation’s best track and field programs.
But there was also Oregon. The Ducks suffered through a 60th place finish last season at the NCAA Championships but were on the rise.
Besides, if Holliday was to choose the in-state school, it would offer her a chance to vault at prestigious Hayward, as well as opportunity to stay close to Baggett. In addition, she would be coached by Vanderville, who had a history with her former coach.
Oregon won.
Baggett was happy to see Holliday stay in Oregon.
“Mark has a consistent philosophy of what I have,” Baggett said. “I wanted to direct Becky into a similar program, so that’s where we were directing her.”
So far, in five months of competition for the Ducks, Holliday has broken the Oregon record at 14-1.25 and is currently second in the nation among college vaulters. At one point she was tied for first, and she is still only two inches behind the nation’s leader, UCLA’s Tracy O’Hara.
Then there’s Oregon head coach Tom Heinonen. He isn’t a bit surprised at her early success.
“She’s doing wonderfully,” he said. “We expected there to be a period of adjustment. In the last month or so she’s really got rolling. She expects to vault higher, and I think she will.”
Holliday agrees.
“I’m adjusting quite well,” she said. “Once I am more comfortable with the place, the better I am going to be able to pole vault.”
Holliday is a world-class athlete. In addition to having the talent, Holliday has the mental capacity to succeed at the collegiate level. Some argue that may be her strongest suit, the thing that helps most when trying to clear 14-5 and then possibly 15-feet.
“She’s a gifted and talented athlete,” Baggett said. “She has the ability to focus. When she gets into a practice it’s all business.”
With the Oregon Twilight on Saturday, the season may be ending for some of Oregon’s track and field quotient. That is anything but true for Holliday.
Next week, she will take on some of the West Coast’s finest with O’Hara and Arizona’s Amy Linnen at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships in Pullman, Wash. Following that, the three will meet again at the NCAA version a week later.
Is there an NCAA championship in the works for Holliday?
“Tracy is such a consistent vaulter. I think I’m consistent too,” she said. “I think it’s going to be between me and her. We’re the ones that can show up knowing that we have a good chance at winning. Amy shows up thinking she has a good chance of winning, but is such an inconsistent vaulter.”
Of course, there is the specter of the Prefontaine Classic. Both Holliday and Heinonen were unaware of Jordan’s decision to enroll Holliday if she so wished.
Holliday was intrigued. So was Heinonen. However, he isn’t quite sure if she will be able to participate.
“As exciting as it would be, I can’t believe we would have her vault on Sunday and again on Wednesday (at the NCAAs),” he said. “I would think about it, but she’s a Division I athlete, and four days vaulting in another meet before the championships would be an odd proposition.”
Either way, Oregon is happy to have her.