Rice junior pole vaulter captures NCAA title
Colwick ups the competition 

BY JAY JAMESON
Special to the Rice News

Rice junior pole vaulter Jason Colwick is a two-time NCAA champion after capturing the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field title at Arkansas’ John McDonnell Field June 12. Colwick cleared 18 feet, 8.25 inches to win the gold. He previously won the 2009 NCAA Indoor championship with 18-4.5.
 

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“It was a great night to jump with perfect weather conditions,” Colwick said. ”Scott Roth (University of Washington) put the pressure on, but I was able to clear my height. It was great competition all around.”
 
A native of San Marcos, Texas, Colwick came into Friday with the nation’s No. 1 mark and fourth in the world for 2009 at 18-9.25. The opening height started at 16-8.8, but Colwick passed until 18-0.5, which he cleared on his first attempt. He then passed on the next height of 18-2.5, before clearing 18-4 on his first try.

After passing on 18-6.4, Colwick easily cleared what proved to be the winning height of 18-8. After clearing 18-8, he moved the bar to 19-1.5, which would have been a new NCAA meet record, but he missed on all three attempts. Roth cleared 18-2.5, but missed his first attempt at 18-4. Roth then passed on his last two attempts at 18-4. He then had only two attempts remaining to clear 18-6.4, which he did not.
 
Friday’s competition was originally scheduled to start at 3 p.m., but inclement weather pushed everything back. With time to kill, Colwick took the opportunity to see a movie — appropriately, the new Disney 3-D animation “UP.”
 
“If I was going to see any movie, it might as well be ‘UP,'” Colwick said.
 
So up Colwick went, and down he landed in the record book as an NCAA outdoor champion. Colwick became Rice’s first NCAA outdoor champion since Ryan Harlan won the 2004 decathlon with a school record 8,171 points. Colwick is also the university’s first pole vault title winner since Dave Roberts won in 1971 (17-6.5), 1972 (17-3) and 1973 (17-4).
 
Colwick now turns his attention toward Eugene, Ore., for the 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championship June 25-28. The championship will decide who will represent Team USA in August at the 2009 International Association of Athletics Federations World Championship in Berlin.
 
— Jay Jameson is an assistant sports information director for Rice Athletics.