KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
COLLEGE STATION, TEX. ? Indiana State junior Kylie Hutson is the NCAA Champion in the women's pole vault, outlasting all competitors and winning the title with a vault of 14-feet-3.25-inches (4.35 meters).
“I'm still shaking,” Hutson said. “It's just amazing. I came here not looking for a championship, just to improve on my personal best. This was the most relaxed I have ever been in a championship meet.”
Hutson had to wait out the final three vaulters who had a chance to take the title away from the Terre Haute, Ind., native.
“I really don't watch them,” Hutson said of her competitors. “I may see them heading down the runway but I don't watch what they do. It helps me to relax more if I don't watch.”
Jeff Martin, Indiana State assistant coach who was recently named the Great Lakes Region Assistant Coach of the Year, said that Hutson was as composed as he has ever seen her.
“She had a good warm-up and looked very good in clearing the fist height,” Martin said. “She looked very good throughout the competition, very composed and she kept it together.”
Hutson is ISU's first women's national champion since Holli Hyche won the 55 and 200 meters at the 1994 NCAA Indoor Championships. The last national champion for Indiana State was Aubrey Herring, who won the men's 60 meters in 2001.
Sycamore junior Lauren Martin (Schaumburg, Ill.) placed in a tie for 15th in the triple jump with a leap of 41-feet-7-inches (12.67 meters).
“It was okay,” Martin said of the competition today. “I had hoped for a little more but I did my best and that is all I can ask for of myself. This really makes me ready for the outdoor season. It was a great experience and I am just more pumped up for the outside season.”
The Sycamores, who were ranked 31st in the nation in the final poll by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), finished the NCAA Indoor Championships in a tie for 22nd along with Louisville, TCU, Colorado and Hampton. Wichita State tied for 35th with six points, Southern Illinois tied for 41st with five points, Indiana tied for 56th with two points and Notre Dame tied for 60th with one point.
