PITTSBURG, Kan. -- Kutztown University track & field pole vaulter
Joe Jardine (Mohrsville, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) shattered the KU school record and earned himself All-American status en route to a sixth-place finish at the NCAA DII Indoor track & field championships hosted in Pittsburgh, Kan. Saturday evening.
The Mohrsville, Pa. native easily cleared the bar at 4.89m and 5.04m, before jumping over the bar at 5.14m (16'10.25") on his first attempt to break the school record. The previous best record of 5.09m (16'8.75") was held by Paul Schmitt and had stood since 2001. Jardine joins 1987 National Champion Mike Cantrel, Schmitt (2000, 2001), Will Hodges (2010), Lanny Buck (2015), and Xavier Feliciano (2019) as the Golden Bears to earn indoor pole vault All-American status.
Vlad Malykin of Harding won the title with a jump of 5.60m (18'4.5"), followed by Thomas Nieto of TAMU-Kingsville, who cleared the bar at 5.34m (17'6.25").
Jardine and the Golden Bears open the outdoor season at the Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational hosted in Lynchburg, Va. on March 22-23.
