May 4, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - There are 98 total student-athletes on the Penn State track and field team - 48 women, 50 men. Of all of those, there are a total of four women pole-vaulters: Lexi Masterson, Kasey Kemp, Hannah Mulhern, and Erin Knabe.
As if that wasn't exceptional enough in a sport that takes everything from upper body strength to gymnastics ability, all four women rank within the top ten pole-vaulters in Penn State history.
"That's something that I value. I earned that," said Masterson, who holds the school record at 13-3.5. "But to have three other teammates in the top ten is something that's more for Penn State than it is for me. To have us, kind of, rewrite pole vault for Penn State is so great."
"It feels really cool and it feels like we're making our mark. We're letting people know: you might not know Penn State pole vault but you're going to know [it], I promise you," said Knabe.
To add to the prowess, the women are fairly young. Masterson, Kemp, and Knabe have sophomore athletic experience and Mulhern is finishing up her freshman year. "We're so young and we have so much more to learn and grow and keep building," said Mulhern.
From a training standpoint, the women have all the support form the university and their coaches, which, for them, makes being part of such a small group better.
"We have to thank Coach Kelly. Practice, meets, he always has our back. Pole vault is so frustrating, he can be so patient with us," said Masterson. "It's nice to have our unique little thing. We have respect for the people that do endless 200 [meter sprints] on the track and think `Man, I couldn't do that' but then, we're like, `They probably can't pole vault'."
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