BOONE, N.C. - App State freshman
Lilly Nichols is set to compete in the women's pole vault at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. on Thursday.
Action at the NCAA Championships will start on Wednesday and run through Saturday. The women's pole vault competition is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. PT (7:35 p.m. ET) on Thursday, June 12. Individual field events and the multis will be available to stream on ESPN+ throughout the day. The meet will also be available to watch on ESPN and ESPN2.
Nichols punched her ticket to the finals with a personal best and school record clearance of 4.24m (13' 11") in the women's pole vault at the NCAA East First Round in Jacksonville, Fla. on May 30. Nichols is the program's first women's pole vault competitor to represent the Black and Gold at the championship meet.
The Broomfield, Colo. native has had an impressive freshman season in the High Country, highlighted by multiple records and accolades. In her debut in the Black and Gold, Nichols shattered the program, conference, and Polish U20 indoor women's pole vault record with a clearance of 4.26m (13' 11.75") at the Virginia Tech Invitational (Jan. 17-18). She was named the Sun Belt Women's Indoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year and collected Second Team All-SBC honors for her efforts at the indoor conference championships, where she cleared a bar of 4.18m (13' 8.5"). In her first outdoor appearance, Nichols recorded a clearance of 3.92m (12' 10.25") to place first at the App State Open (April 18-19). She collected another Second-Team All-SBC accolade at the SBC Outdoor Championships with a then- school record clearance of 4.11m (13' 5.75"). Nichols went on to break the program record on two more occasions - at the Sunday Night Qualifier (May 18) and the NCAA East First Round (May 28-31).
The last Mountaineer to represent App State at the NCAA Championships was Jada Branch in 2023. Branch competed in the women's triple jump, where she recorded a leap of 12.97m (43' 6.75") to place 20th overall.
