Moll Twins Alone As High School 15-Footers

THIS YEAR BEGAN with Amanda Moll (Capital, Olympia, Washington) becoming the first high school girl ever to clear 15-feet when she flew over a bar set at 15-1½ (4.61) at Reno’s Pole Vault Summit on January 13. It didn’t take overly long — just 85 days to be exact — for twin sister Hana to become the second (and the first outdoors) over with her 15-0 (4.57) win at Arcadia.

It’s fair for fans to wonder, after seeing the HSR in the event fall with regularity in recent years, with 5 athletes breaking the absolute mark 10 times in the last decade, are the Molls taking the mark to a place where it will be safe for years to come?

Perhaps. Says Amanda (“Mandy” to her friends): “We have a lot to go. I’m not putting any limits on myself.”

Hana is of a similar mind: “I still feel like I have a lot I can improve on. I think it would be a silly thing to say that I’ve maxed out, peaked my technique. There are a lot of things I can improve on in my plant and especially in the upper half of my vault. And just strength and speed — I definitely think I can get faster and stronger.”

Intriguing possibility indeed, and perhaps especially so for Washington fans, as the two Husky signees have gone higher this year than anyone in the NCAA.

So just how did the twins become two of the most promising American teens the event has ever seen? By all accounts it appears to have been a perfect collision of talent, opportunity and coaching.

They weren’t always vaulters. The two spent much of their childhood doing gymnastics. Says Amanda, “Once we stopped gymnastics — I stopped in 7th grade, Hana in 6th grade — we were looking for a sport to do to fill the gap because gymnastics took up a lot of our time and we really still enjoyed sports. We tried out rock climbing and mountain biking, but once we got old enough for pole vault, my mom signed us up and we decided to give it a try. It worked so well with gymnastics in our background.”

The progression came steadily, and it was always promising. In 8th grade, Amanda cleared 11-11¾ (3.65), Hana 11-7¾ (3.55). In 9th grade, it was Amanda at 14-3½ (4.36) with Hana at 13-1½ (4.00). The next year, Amanda cleared 14-7¼ (4.45) and Hana 14-4 (4.37). Last year, Amanda hit 14-9½ (4.51) while Hana cleared 14-8 (4.47).

They found a supportive team at Olympia,…