SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Monroe native Jill Starkey, a former professional track and field athlete, broke the W40 American record in the pole vault with a mark of 11 feet, 3.75 inches in her World Masters Athletics competition debut recently.
Starkey, who finished fourth at the 1999 USA Outdoor Championships and made the finals in the 2000 Olympics Trials, had been out of competition until the tournament, which took place July 6-17.
"I last jumped professionally in 2001," said Starkey, who at one point, was ranked fourth in the country with a high mark of 14-feet, 1.25 inches. "I was involved with the vault girls, six gals training for the Olympics, but then I got pregnant and my dream was over."
Raised in Monticello, Starkey, then known as Jill Wittenwyler, transferred to Monroe her junior year.
"I knew that if I wanted to move on to do sports in college, I had to go to a bigger school," Starkey said.
An all-around athlete, Starkey played basketball in 1988 and 1989. The '89 team went undefeated and brought home the first of Monroe's three state championships under recently retired Kevin Keen.
She also was a star in track and field, and scored scholarship money to go to South Dakota State.
"I was planning to go to La Crosse, but South Dakota could offer more financial help," she said.
Throughout high school and college, Jill never attempted the pole vault. It wasn't until she was a post-graduate in college before she tried.
"I remember watching the boys under (coach Richard) Glendenning and thought it looked like fun. But I never asked to try it. As a girl, you just didn't do that," she said.
After working on pole vaulting, Jill soon found herself competing in world-class events, and nearly qualified for the 2000 Olympics.
But motherhood changed everything.
Starkey's now 9-year-old daughter, Taylor, put her career on what seemed to be permanent hold. Jill has been helping coach and mentor high school jumpers in Arizona since, along with her husband, Dean. In 1997, Dean took the bronze in the World Championships in the pole vault, but an Achilles injury in 1998 ended his competition career.
"It hasn't really gotten any better with time," Jill said, laughing, about her husband's want to continue competing. "He wants to jump, and feels really good sometimes."
Jill said Dean has trouble taking off when attempting to vault still, even though he can play basketball and tennis without noticing trouble.
With the Arizona Pole Vault Academy, the two have continued their competitive fire and world-class abilities by teaching young track and field athletes the ropes of the event. The pair of coaches host camps in the Phoenix area, and the athletes themselves often see future success.
"We get kids sent to us from several schools, and pretty much every one who comes either qualifies for state or sets a school record," Jill said.
Jill's step-son Garrett just broke the state's high school pole vault record by a junior en route to the state title.
"My 9-year-old is starting to play around with it (vaulting), and she's into gymnastics, too," Jill said.
But what drove a 40-year-old mother to re-enter competition? According to Jill, some acquaintances told her the Masters competition was going to be held in Sacramento, the same location as the 2000 Olympic trials.
"We have a pole vault pit in our backyard, so I started doing drills. The nice thing is I was able to jump myself right into shape. It wasn't very hard. I also saw what other women were scoring at," Jill said, referencing seeing where she may end up in a competition.
"I knew what the American record was, but I had my sights set on the world record. But the week before, a girl in Austria broke the world mark at 13-4."
Competition was a beast of it's own. Jill said she didn't jump as high as she would have liked.
"I was running too fast and using too small of poles. I had just been out so long, I didn't know what pole I should use," she said.
But now that she's back in shape again, Jill said she likely will work out to keep competing.
"I'm going to get ready for the 2015 Masters, because they are in France. We'll make a vacation out of it," she said.
Starkey, who finished fourth at the 1999 USA Outdoor Championships and made the finals in the 2000 Olympics Trials, had been out of competition until the tournament, which took place July 6-17.
"I last jumped professionally in 2001," said Starkey, who at one point, was ranked fourth in the country with a high mark of 14-feet, 1.25 inches. "I was involved with the vault girls, six gals training for the Olympics, but then I got pregnant and my dream was over."
Raised in Monticello, Starkey, then known as Jill Wittenwyler, transferred to Monroe her junior year.
"I knew that if I wanted to move on to do sports in college, I had to go to a bigger school," Starkey said.
An all-around athlete, Starkey played basketball in 1988 and 1989. The '89 team went undefeated and brought home the first of Monroe's three state championships under recently retired Kevin Keen.
She also was a star in track and field, and scored scholarship money to go to South Dakota State.
"I was planning to go to La Crosse, but South Dakota could offer more financial help," she said.
Throughout high school and college, Jill never attempted the pole vault. It wasn't until she was a post-graduate in college before she tried.
"I remember watching the boys under (coach Richard) Glendenning and thought it looked like fun. But I never asked to try it. As a girl, you just didn't do that," she said.
After working on pole vaulting, Jill soon found herself competing in world-class events, and nearly qualified for the 2000 Olympics.
But motherhood changed everything.
Starkey's now 9-year-old daughter, Taylor, put her career on what seemed to be permanent hold. Jill has been helping coach and mentor high school jumpers in Arizona since, along with her husband, Dean. In 1997, Dean took the bronze in the World Championships in the pole vault, but an Achilles injury in 1998 ended his competition career.
"It hasn't really gotten any better with time," Jill said, laughing, about her husband's want to continue competing. "He wants to jump, and feels really good sometimes."
Jill said Dean has trouble taking off when attempting to vault still, even though he can play basketball and tennis without noticing trouble.
With the Arizona Pole Vault Academy, the two have continued their competitive fire and world-class abilities by teaching young track and field athletes the ropes of the event. The pair of coaches host camps in the Phoenix area, and the athletes themselves often see future success.
"We get kids sent to us from several schools, and pretty much every one who comes either qualifies for state or sets a school record," Jill said.
Jill's step-son Garrett just broke the state's high school pole vault record by a junior en route to the state title.
"My 9-year-old is starting to play around with it (vaulting), and she's into gymnastics, too," Jill said.
But what drove a 40-year-old mother to re-enter competition? According to Jill, some acquaintances told her the Masters competition was going to be held in Sacramento, the same location as the 2000 Olympic trials.
"We have a pole vault pit in our backyard, so I started doing drills. The nice thing is I was able to jump myself right into shape. It wasn't very hard. I also saw what other women were scoring at," Jill said, referencing seeing where she may end up in a competition.
"I knew what the American record was, but I had my sights set on the world record. But the week before, a girl in Austria broke the world mark at 13-4."
Competition was a beast of it's own. Jill said she didn't jump as high as she would have liked.
"I was running too fast and using too small of poles. I had just been out so long, I didn't know what pole I should use," she said.
But now that she's back in shape again, Jill said she likely will work out to keep competing.
"I'm going to get ready for the 2015 Masters, because they are in France. We'll make a vacation out of it," she said.
