In January of 2016, Bluffton University's Terrill Webb (Kenton) had yet to clear 12' in the pole vault. Qualifying for the NCAA national championship was just a dream.
In the space of the past 5 and a half months, she has become a two-time All-American, risen to a tie for 3rd at the outdoor national championship and is scaring 13 feet as a PR. Thursday's Division 3 NCAA Outdoor National Track and Field Championship was the culmination of that meteoric rise.
In a field of 22 competitors who just would not give up, establishing PR after PR clearances, Webb brought her A game and was a contender from her first clearance.
"We decided to come in at 11' 11.75" (3.65 meters) to minimize the number of jumps on her legs. We knew with the high temperatures and the depth of the field, we would need strong legs deep into the competition," said vault coach Clint Dillon.
"While national fields are always talented, this one exceeded my expectations. The field did not begin to thin until 12' 8" (3.85 meters). With clean first attempt jumps from the opener through her fifth bar, Webb was never less than 3rd in the competition and for at least two-thirds led it. In the end, it took equaling her PR to finally establish her tie for the third best jump in this exceedingly deep field."
"It was a crazy field! All the women stepped up and to finish third feels amazing! It was special to have three other Ohio girls in the meet, knowing how much we have pushed each other throughout the year, and then to compete together at this level made it even more fun," said Webb.
"I'm also really proud to be representing Bluffton on a national level and I'm looking forward to some of my teammates joining me next year."
"Looking to Terrill's senior year, she is hoping to break in to that "4 meter club" (clearing 13' 1.50") and continue her climb up the podium," continued Dillon. "It is extremely rewarding to coach a girl like her, who is willing to work so hard and make the commitment to get to this level of success. It makes my part of the job fun. You have to have talent to get to this level, but if you don't put hard work with it, you won't reach these heights."
While this wraps up the Beaver track and field campaign, the coaching staff is looking forward to working with the talent that will be coming in this fall in the 2016 recruiting class.
