Twice last season, Hutchinson Community College women’s pole vaulter Paige Stuhlsatz climbed the podium stand at the NJCAA National Championships.
She climbed both the indoor and outdoor medal podiums knowing she was the top American vaulter in the nation, yet she wasn’t atop the podium stand.
“This year, there isn’t a Russian vaulter in front of her,” Lady Dragon track coach Pat Becher said about Vincennes Univeristy’s Natalya Barnovskaya, who dominated the NJCAA women’s pole vault in 2011 and 2012 and now vaults at the University of Kansas. “Now we will see what happens this season.”
All eyes will be on Stuhlsatz (Garden Plain) to see if she can climb that last step on the podium this season.
Stuhlsatz and the Lady Dragon track and field team open the 2013 indoor season on Friday in Overland Park at the Johnson County Invitational. The indoor season will last just more than one month. The Region VI Indoor Championships will be Feb. 15 in Lawrence and the NJCAA Indoor nationals will be March 8-9 at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.
Last season, Stuhlsatz burst onto the Region VI scene by breaking the Hutchinson indoor pole vault record, clearing 11 feet, 11 3/4 inches. She went into finish as the NJCAA indoor national runner-up. Then in the 2012 outdoor season, Stuhlsatz took care of the HCC outdoor record of 12-1 1/2.
With Barnovskaya out of the way, Becher said Stuhlsatz isn’t running short on motivation for her sophomore season.
“She is always motivated,” Becher said of his two-time All-American. “When the lights come on she is ready to go. She is a fierce competitor and she is as tough a competitor as any guy I know.”
As 2013 begins, Becher expects a lot of points from the pole vault and throwing events.
Sophomore Autumn Iverson (Hutchinson) is another two-time All-American returning for the Lady Dragons. Sophomore Ashley Lorence (Rock Creek) qualified for the outdoor nationals in the discus last season.
Iverson owns the sixth-longest indoor women’s shot put in program history when she uncorked a throw of 41-11 1/2 at the indoor national championships to finished eighth. Iverson also placed seventh at the outdoor national shot put.
With Iverson, Lorence and Nickerson freshman Cassie Caswell bolstering a talented group of throwers, Becher sees a lot of success from the Lady Dragon throwers in 2013.
“We can find field event people in Kansas where we can’t always get elite sprinters and jumpers here because they stay south where it is warm,” Becher said. “We are able to get some area throwers, train and teach them the proper technique and get them stronger so than can compete and have success. This group of throwers is no exception.”
The 2012 Lady Dragons finished ninth in the NJCAA Indoor National Championships, but a good chuck of the 32 points scored last season are gone. Still Becher said the 2013 Lady Dragons to be improved in several areas over 2012.
Hutchinson High product Lauren Jacobs and Kristian Lee (Kansas City Piper) will carry the load in the sprints this season. At the middle distances, national cross country qualifiers Ashlynn Lambert (Concordia) and Cecilia Lane (Andale) dramatically improve HCC in those races.
“It is hard to create depth in women’s track at our level,” Becher said. “After the other sports and the D-Is and D-IIs get their athletes, it’s hard to create depth. I have 27 girls this season and I am very happy about that.
“We have some talented freshmen this season, so I think we will be a better women’s team than we were last year.”
(HCC Sports Information)