Nilsen Wins NCAA Pole Vault Championship

AUSTIN, Texas — South Dakota junior Chris Nilsen came out on top in the toughest NCAA pole vault competition in history, going on to break his own NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship meet record – twice – in the process on Wednesday evening. Nilsen ultimately came away with his third national title with a personal best of 19 feet, 6 ¼ inches (5.95m). While Nilsen’s NCAA meet record height was the highlight of the evening, several other NCAA meet records in the process were broken as well. The seven men who cleared 18-8 ¼ was a record and having three men past 18-10 ¼ was also a meet record. For comparison’s sake, Nilsen was the only vaulter to clear 18-4 ½ en route to winning his NCAA title a year ago.