The great thing about track and field is that athletes can be in a bit of a slump, but all it takes is one great effort in the right competition and you can make your entire season a success.
Take the case of Idaho State pole vaulter Brielle Davis. She wasn’t exactly underperforming during this spring season, coming into last week’s Big Sky Conference Outdoor Meet in Bozeman, Montana with the second best vault in the conference. But all spring long, she felt like she wasn’t her best self.
“The outdoor season has been kind of rough,” said the sophomore from West Jordan, Utah. “I’ve been having some really bad mental blocks, not being able to jump off the ground. So I was just hoping for any bar at that point. A bar is a win, that’s it.”
Heading into her final vault last Saturday, Davis was sitting in third place and not putting any pressure on herself at that point.
“I was just like, ‘Ok, if I don’t make this bar, I get third place and I’m okay with that,’” she said. “I listened to what my coach said, I was confident and it ended up working out.”
Yeah, you could say it “worked out.” Davis cleared 4.24 meters (that’s 13- feet-11 inches for those of you non-metric types) — an Idaho State school record, and the best vault in Big Sky Conference Championship Meet history. It was the third best vault in Big Sky history overall, and placed in the top-40 nationally.
So what was that advice from Joe Silvers, the ISU assistant coach in charge of pole vaulters and high jumpers?
“He just told me to do what I have been doing, because my jumps were pretty smooth and they looked pretty good,” Davis said. “So he just told me to do what I’ve been doing and to trust myself, and it worked out.”
Shortly after winning the gold medal, Davis called her mom in Utah to give her the good news.
“My mom was like, ‘I knew I should have come,’ ” Davis said. “They (her parents) are usually there — this was like the one meet they missed. She was really sad they weren’t there.”
The good news is that, health and good fortune permitting, the Davis family has another two years to cheer on Brielle during her college career. Hillary Merkley, the director of track and field and cross country for ISU, is not surprised that Davis is setting records — but she is surprised at how quickly in her career they are coming.
“As a sophomore, she is breaking records in a program that has had a number of standout vaulters,” said Merkley. “To be attempting a conference record this early in her career (last) weekend is a testament to her capabilities and the work she has done to be a high-level competitor. I think she is just getting started.”
Davis, who competed in gymnastics for nine years before entering Copper Hills High School, got interested in vaulting when she figured it was time to give up the gymnastics career. A friend of hers introduced her to vaulting.
“I knew I was going to quit (gymnastics) going into high school because I wasn’t improving anymore,” Davis said. “I had a teammate who started pole vaulting after she quit. She really, really loved it and recommended it. So I thought I’d give it a shot.”
While training at the Utah Pole Vault Academy, Davis progressed fairly rapidly in the sport, setting the Utah state record with a vault of 12-feet-9-inches as a junior, and then upping that mark with a vault of 13-feet-4-inches as a senior.
In her high school years, she competed in the Simplot Games at ISU’s Holt Arena (now ICCU Dome), and attended ISU track and field camps during the summer. As a freshman in high school, she ran into Idaho State legend Stacy Dragila, multiple world-record holder who won the first women’s Olympic pole vault gold medal after graduating from ISU. The two struck up a brief conversation.
“I didn’t know who she was and after she talked to me, my coach came up to me and said, ‘Do you even know who that is?’ ” Davis recalled. “When he told me, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ and I freaked out.”
The experience and ISU both made an impression on Davis. Merkley and Silvers were also impressed with her, too. So it all resulted in Davis deciding to bring her newfound vaulting skills north to Pocatello, where she is also studying to be a nurse.
Her freshman season was kind of rocky, and then came the “mental blocks” of this spring — along with the challenges of unruly spring weather following her and her teammates wherever they’ve tried to compete.
Early in the three-day Big Sky meet, a snow storm swept through the Montana State campus and track officials and athletes worked together to clear the facilities so the championship meet could continue.
“This whole season has been filled with a lot of rain,” Davis said. “I’ve been to California a couple of times and it rained both times we were there. There has been snow on the ground at some of the meets, which has been hard. I’ve definitely struggled with the weather. But Bozeman ended up being really nice on Saturday, so we avoided the snow, which was really nice.”
With a Big Sky championship and a ISU school record behind her, there doesn’t seem to be any real limits on Davis’ collegiate career from this point. While she’s preparing for next week’s NCAA Regionals in Arkansas, Davis hasn’t really had the time to start setting new targets.
“I guess 14 feet is the next big goal,” she said. “I’m right on the edge of it at 13-11, so hopefully 14 feet will be coming soon. I’m hoping to make it to nationals before I graduate.”
In the meantime, she’s busy working with Silvers to continue to get better, day by day.
“Joe is a great coach,” Davis said. “I would not be where I am without him.”
BIG SKY MEET SUMMARY
The ISU men finished fifth overall with 69 points, as the Montana State men won the team championship by one point, 186-185, over perennial power Northern Arizona.
On the women’s side, ISU finished sixth with 67 points, while NAU ran away with the title with 240.50 points.
In addition to Davis, ISU’s Axel Tirado-Sanchez won a Big Sky championship, repeating in the men’s discus with a throw of 55.85 meters (183 feet, 3 inches), despite battling an illness. Bengal teammate Jay Wadley finished second in the same event, at 53.10 meters (174 feet, 2 inches).
“Our men did an awesome job,” Merkley said. “They came in ranked seventh and managed to pull off fifth, despite some sickness and being a little banged up.
“The ladies came up a little behind where we expected. But the points were close for those last few spots. Every point matters and I think the ladies held things together as best they could under the circumstances.”
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