Photo courtesy of Mike Scott | Atlantic 10 Indoor T&F Championships | Senior Karlee Fowler set record for pole vault cleaning 3.96 meters.
Senior Karlee Fowler had a career meet last weekend at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track and Field championship. Kowler, a pole vaulter, put her name in the history books as she set not only an A-10 championship record but also a University of Rhode Island record and a Mackal Field House record when she cleared 3.96 meters, or 12-feet, 11 ¾ inches.
Fowler took home first place as she outperformed the field by more than seven inches, earning URI ten team points. URI finished the meet in eighth place as Virginia Commonwealth University took home the championship.
“It just means so much that I finally accomplished my goals and what I’ve been trying to do the past four years,” Fowler said about the accomplishment. “I jumped 12 feet and I know I have so much in the tank and can’t wait to see how far I can go.”
Fowler is a native of St. Albans, Vermont, only starting pole vaulting her junior year of high school. “I started out as a hurdler and saw a bunch of people [pole vaulting] and wanted to try it,” Fowler said. “I ended being really good at it and just fell in love with it.”
Fowler ended up winning the 2014 Vermont Indoor Pole Vault State Championship for Bellows Free Academy, and also was the runner-up in the 100 meter hurdles and decathlon that same year.
“I was one of those kids who wanted to try everything and I was very lucky to have a coach who let me try so many different things after being good as a hurdler,” Fowler said.
Fowler comes from a diverse background of sports, being a former figure skating and hurdler and has never been afraid to try something new. “I just have very high levels of ‘screw it’ and just go with it,” she said.
Fowler chose to attend Rhode Island over Vermont and Xavier and loved it at first sight. “I had this gut feeling of this is where I’m supposed to be,” Fowler said. “They also have a very good program for my major.”
Fowler is a wildlife conservation biology major and has plans to move out to Arizona to continue training to pole vault where she has been for the past two offseasons.
“I have my entire life to help save the animals but only this small box of time to pole vault and seeing how far I can go,” Fowler said.