INDIANAPOLIS – While Brynn King’s first indoor track and field season at Roberts Wesleyan University could only be described as fairy tale, her 2024-25 campaign was more of a lesson in perseverance.
Regardless of the route, King ended both in the same place – as the NCAA Division II women’s pole vault champion – and the 2024 U.S. Olympian did it in record-breaking fashion.
King overcame bouts with COVID, the flu and pneumonia throughout the course of this season to clear 4.66 meters (15-feet, 3 ½ inches) on Thursday at the Fall Creek Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds to break her own DII mark of 4.65m (15-3) set while winning the 2024 title.
“It was exciting and it’s kind of been coming,” King, a native of The Woodlands, Texas, said. “I’ve been sick all season and just waiting for a meet to finally be healthy, and it kind of landed at the right time.”
Indeed, it did.
The victory by King, who now owns three NCAA Division II crowns, capped a banner day for the Redhawks’ pole vault program as sophomore Sarah Ferguson registered a season-best 4.17m (13-8¼) to finish sixth and earn All-America honors.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better meet,” Roberts pole vault coordinator and three-time Olympian Jenn Suhr said. “The season has been full of setbacks with various illnesses from the start of the season.
“Both Brynn and Sarah had season PRs (personal records) and I believe performing well in championships and at the end of the year happens because we train with a focus and intensity that we bring into all meets, so we are ready for the extra intensity that championships bring.”
King, the only student-athlete from Roberts Wesleyan to win an NCAA title, certainly was dialed in.
After passing on the first five heights, the graduate student entered the competition at 4.32m (14-2), which she cleared on her first attempt.
She passed at 4.37m (14-4) and needed two attempts at 4.42m (14-6). Runner-up Kyla Davis of Pittsburg State made her first attempt at 4.37, giving her a brief advantage over King.
King immediately responded with a make at 4.47m (14-8) and surged back in front when Davis failed to clear the bar.
“I think her making that first attempt and taking the lead just kind of fueled the fire,” King said. “Coming in, I knew that I was physically capable of jumping a lot higher today. So, I think that just kind of fueled me because then I ended up clearing that and then going clean through the record. So, I think, in the end it helped me.”
Davis passed on her remaining attempts at 4.47m and both she and King both passed at 4.52m (14-10), moving the bar to 4.57m (15-feet). King, the only woman in Division II history to surpass 15 feet, cleared on her first try.
Davis missed her three attempts and, with the title secured, King then broke her own meet and DII record by soaring over the 4.66 bar on her initial attempt.
The 24-year-old Exercise Science major is usually calm and composed during meets but let loose a rare display of emotion.
“I think that was just because I have kind of been through a rough season,” King said. “It was more like, ‘All right, I’m here, I’m back, bigger bars are going to come soon.’
“I felt like I’m back on the up, so I feel like that was me feeling 100% again and being excited about that. Even more so than making the bar, I was like, ‘All right, big things are coming.'”
Entering Thursday, King’s best effort of the 2024-25 campaign had been 4.60m (15-1) while winning the Youngstown State University Last Chance Invitational on Feb. 14.
“(Roberts assistant coach) Rick (Suhr) said about a week ago was the first time I looked 100% back on the runway,” King said. “So, I had about two practices that I felt back to how I used to feel on the runway. I was able to get some good, full approach work in at those practices, try to get a little bit more endurance and get back in shape again to be able to jump in meets like this.
“Today, I felt good for probably the first time at a meet all season.”
King felt so good that she raised the bar to 4.75m (15-7) to attempt a new DII personal record but was unable to convert her three attempts.
“I’ve made that in practice a few times,” King said. “So, I’m hoping it’s just a matter of time.”
After winning the 2024 indoor title, King went on to enjoy a record-breaking outdoor season that included setting the Division II record of 4.68m (15-4¼) while winning the Texas Relays and set meet and facility records while clearing 4.60m (15-1) at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships in Emporia, Kan.
King cleared a career-best 4.73 meters (15-6¼) on June 30 at the U.S. Olympic Trials, catapulting from eighth in the standings to finish third and earn a spot on Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
King planned to celebrate her latest triumph with her parents, grandparents and sister with chips and guac at a restaurant afterwards, but, before doing so, she was proud to be joined on the podium by Ferguson.
“It was nice to have two all-Americans for pole vault,” she said.
Ferguson shines on big stage
Ferguson, a transfer from the University of Washington, enjoyed her best day as a Redhawk on Thursday.
The Lexington, Ky., rallied after two misses at 3.92m (12-10¼) before succeeding on her third attempt. She followed with makes at 4.07m (13-4¼) and 4.17 on her first tries to climb up the leader board.
She missed on all three attempts at a career-best 4.27m (14-0) but still walked away with All-America honors.
“Sarah came in seeded ninth and finished sixth,” Jenn Suhr said. “She made the bars when she had to and performed well when she had pressure on her.
“It was nice to have two Roberts vaulters on the infield to help each other. We hope to have more next year.”
Mullen 15th in pentathlon
Sophomore Jadyn Mullen was seeded 15th and finished 15th in the pentathlon with 3,014 points. Mullen also tied her school record of 1.65m (5-5) while finishing seventh in the high jump. She placed sixth in the 800 meters (2:22.88).
Mullen, a Batavia, N.Y., native and Penn State transfer, set the Roberts pentathlon record of 3,618 points on Feb. 21.
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