Clearing the bar

Matt Heistand Arizona Daily Wildcat UA junior pole vaulters Jeff Dutoit and Andrea Neary are currently two of the nation's top pole vaulters. Dutoit will be competing in the NCAA Indoor Championships in Indianapolis on March 5-6. Neary is currently ranked No. 16 on the NCAA list of 15 qualifiers and is hoping the NCAA will expand the field to include her.

Their paths have been quite different, but the end result of Dutoit and Neary's journeys have been one in the same.

Neary began her track career in high school, competing in the long jump, high jump and hurdles. She came to the UA with no intention of competing in track, much less in the recently NCAA recognized sport of women's pole vaulting.

Neary made the decision to walk-on last year after not competing during her freshman year. The rate of improvement Neary has experienced during her accession to one of the nation's elite is remarkable considering her lack of previous pole-vaulting experience, head coach Dave Murray said.

"Her improvement from last year to this year is unbelievable," he said.

The season began for Neary with a win at the Air Force Classic, beating the nearest competitor's vault by almost a foot and asserting herself as a contender for an NCAA berth.

Neary's best vault of the season, and best chance for an NCAA qualifying mark, came in front of family and friends at a tri-meet in Flagstaff against host Northern Arizona and Arizona State. Neary cleared 12-feet-4, setting both a personal best and a new UA indoor school record.

Assistant coach Tom Hays commented on Neary's rapid improvement and remarked that her potential is not even fully reached yet.

"She hasn't even realized how good she can really be," he said.

Presently, Neary sits 16th on the list of NCAA qualifiers, with the top 15 women pole vaulters accepted to the NCAA Indoor Championships in Indianapolis. Neary and her coaches are keeping their fingers crossed that the NCAA committee expands the field and offers an at-large bid to Neary.

"You could have a minimum of 15 athletes and you could have up to 20 if that particular event is going strong," Murray said. "And the women's pole vaulting field is very strong."

Neary's dedication to success is not limited to her track and field experience. She carries a 4.0 grade point average with a double major in physiology and molecular and cellular biology and looks to attend medical school after graduation.

"She is an unbelievable young lady and her discipline in her academics carries over to her vaulting," Murray said.

Jeff Dutoit's journey to the pinnacle of his sport has been, unlike Neary's, a long time in coming.

Dutoit began jumping in junior high and continued competing in high school, where he was the state champion in pole vaulting in 1995 and 1996. Dutoit was recruited out of high school to vault for Wichita State and there he met Hays.

Hays transferred to the UA staff at the beginning of last year, and at the urging of Hays, Dutoit followed suit a semester later.

In his first year of pole vault competition for the UA, Dutoit narrowly missed the NCAA Indoor Championships, his best vault placing him 16th in the nation with the top 15 going to nationals, a situation identical to Neary's.

"I know how she (Neary) feels," Dutoit said. "I was in the same situation last year and I just used it as a motivation driver."

Dutoit improved his vaulting for the outdoor season and qualified for last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships, but failed to place. Refusing to be discouraged, Dutoit used his experience at NCAA's as a learning experience.

"You could get mad and quit," Dutoit said. "You (have) got to just keep going."

Dutoit began this season with a win at the Silver State games and didn't look back. Consecutive wins at the Air Force Classic, the Husker Invitational and a record-setting performance at the tri-meet in Flagstaff followed. Dutoit set a personal best, a new indoor UA record and automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships with a vault of 18-0 1/2.

Asked about Dutoit's chances at the NCAA's, Hays said Dutoit has the talent to place well at nationals and possibly vault 19 feet.

"He has developed into a legitimate 19 foot vaulter," Murray said in agreement with Hays. "And he has the ability to jump much higher."

Dutoit didn't dismiss the possibility of vaulting 19 feet and cited his everyday improvement in practice as the reason for his success.

"I'm still feel like I'm learning every day and getting better," he said.

Murray said Dutoit's vaulting skills are only part of the reason why he is invaluable to the team.

"Not only is he a great vaulter and a good role model for our younger vaulters, he is our team captain as a junior," Murray said.

Both Neary and Dutoit hold the other in high regard. Dutoit said he was impressed with Neary's ability to compete on a national level after only vaulting for a year and half and Neary said in turn that Dutoit has the talent to possibly vault 19 feet.

"She's already competing and beating a lot of vaulters who have been competing for years longer than she has," he said.

Neary returned the compliment.

"Jeff's going to jump 19," she said. "He has the talent to do it."

Murray said with the outdoor season yet to come and at least another year of eligibility for both Neary and Dutoit, he was grateful to have people of their caliber and leadership on the team.

"Both athletes bring so much to our team," Murray said.

Dutoit's automatic NCAA qualifying mark will send him to the NCAA Indoor Championships March 5-6 in Indianapolis. Neary will learn of her NCAA fate by Monday.