Slippery Rock pole vaulter Maddie Marshall of Mentor has breakout indoor season

As a gymnast, Maddie Marshall was always ready for a challenge.

She began the sport at age 3, and overcame any bouts of nervousness she might have had attacking the vault or beam, two of gymnastics’ most challenging events.

Years later, when she took up pole vaulting at Mentor High School, it was ready, set, go.

“I had no fear,” Marshall said.

That mindset has served her well in high school and now college, where she’s emerged as one of the nation’s top pole vaulters in Division II.

She began pole vaulting at Mentor when former coach Brian Butler recruited her for the sport.

“He taught me everything about pole vaulting,” Marshall said.

Her success in high school led to a decision — gymnastics or track and field in college?

“I knew I wanted to play sports in college,” Marshall said. “I really didn’t matter which one.”

When Slippery Rock University offered a scholarship and pursued her as a pole vaulter, she committed. It’s been a wise choice.

Marshall is just a sophomore, but through three seasons (indoor and outdoor as freshman, and indoor as a sophomore), she’s qualified for the NCAA championships three times, was the conference freshman of the year last season, won this season’s conference indoor title and now owns the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference indoor women’s mark.

Her vault of 13.1 feet Feb. 16 at the Edinboro Open set the conference mark, and obviously the school record. There wasn’t much fanfare as Marshall approached the runway and embarked on her record-setting vault.

“My coaches told me nothing except, ‘Just jump,’ “ Marshall said.

Then, after she cleared the height ...

“They were gong crazy. I was like, ‘What did I just do?’ It was pretty exciting.”

The vault qualified Marshall for the NCAA D-II Indoor Championship, but she came up short in an attempt at All-American status, as she was 16th.

Now her focus is on the outdoor season, but competing this time of the season can be tricky. The volatile weather has wreaked havoc on events and practice time outside.

“The most frustrating thing is the wind,” said Marshall, a environmental geosciences major. “It’s really difficult to overcome that, but you have to do your best.”

As with all pole vaulters, explosive drills and workouts are a key to improvement. Marshall’s goal each year is to set a personal record by a foot. Those are lofty goals, but she said it’s a way to keep her motivated.

“When your focus is getting stronger and improving technique, which our coaches are also stressing, there’s always ways to improve,” she said.

With the weather gradually warming up, Marshall is finding success during the outdoor season. In her most recent meet April 19 at the Slippery Rock Open, she won the event with a 12.8 vault.

The NCAA D-II Outdoor Championships are May 24-26 at Charlotte, N.C., where Marshall hopes to make it 4 for 4 as an NCAA qualifier, with a little extra to boot.

“The goal this spring is the make outdoor nationals, and I want to be an All-American.”

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