Avenues Mall Vault Memorable Experience For All Involved

Avenues Mall Vault
Todd Grasley

On Saturday, February 7th talented pole vaulters from all over the country gathered at the Avenues Mall in Jacksonville, Florida for the 1st Annual Mall Vault. Hundreds of people crowded around the center of the mall to watch the action unfold. With over 90 vaulters, and 4 different sections, it was a day full of action.

Girls Recap

The high school section included a loaded field of top athletes from Florida, and some from Georgia. In the girls section Georgia sophomores Becky Arbiv and Carson Dingler (pictured below) stole the show both vaulting 12'7 ½".

The overall winner for the girls was Kayla Caldwell. Caldwell was the NCAA DII runner up in 2013, has since turned pro, and holds a top height of 14'5 ¼". Caldwell cleared 13'7 ¼" on Saturday to best Catherine Street's vault of 13'1 ½". Meet Director Eli Sunquist of the Jacksonville Athletic Club says the level of competition was amazing, especially on the girl's side.

"We had 4 high school girls over 12', two of which are now leading the nation for high school sophomores."

Boys Recap

The top two high school vaulters in the state were in action on Saturday, and didn't disappoint. Drew McMichael and David Bell both jumped a very respectable height of 14'7 ¼". Sunquist said afterwards it was nice to see the duo go head to head.

Despite the high school stars being in action the show was stolen by the professionals who made the trip to Jacksonville for the event.

Jordan Scott, Sean Young, and Josh Dangel highlighted the primetime section of the event. Scott and Dangel both came into the Mall Vault already qualified for the US Indoor Championships, and looked to prove that it was no fluke. USF grad Sean Young joined them in the fun, and just missed getting the qualifying mark himself. When it was all said and done Jordan Scott had the jump of the night, clearing 17'10 ½", to best Sean Young's best of 17'6 ½".


Seeing the professional vaulters was the highlight for many and Sunquist says he was pleased with their performances.

"On the elite side it was great to have three men over 17'. Both Jordan Scott and Kayla Caldwell are top 10 US jumpers, so it was awesome to have them in Jacksonville jumping for prize money. We also had the NCAA D2 and NCAA D3 record holders on the women's side jumping against each other."

He describes the crowd and atmosphere as nothing short of amazing whether it be for a new personal best or a masters athlete going all out.

"The crowd was very into it, very loud, and extremely supportive. Whenever someone would PR, they would go nuts. When 71 year old Charlie Polhamus from Georgia jumped over 8' to become a Master's All-American for the 42nd year in a row, the crowd made him feel like an Olympic champion. It was surreal to have such a great crowd for our initial mall vault."

The inaugural Avenues Mall Vault was a huge success. Many shoppers were surprised and amazed at the event and tuned in periodically during the day. The athletes enjoyed the electric atmosphere and were inspired by enthusiastic crowd. This event has a bright future ahead of it and and Sunquist is sure people will be looking forward to it next year.

"I was extremely pleased with how our first mall vault turned out. We will have it next year for sure, with a few tweaks. We will possibly make it a two day event, to make sure that we accommodate all of our vaulters. We will try to have a bigger elite section, that will jump for more prize money, right in the middle of the day, when the mall is at its busiest. We also are throwing around the idea of having a "mascot vault" where local mascots vault."

If "mascot vault" doesn't seem to work, Sunquist has one more idea.

"Most likely a "Zoo Vault" where athletes will be able to jump inside of the Jacksonville Zoo. Why not right?

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