With 14-9.50 (4.51m) Clearance, Amanda Moll Adds Outdoor Record To Her Shared Indoor Record

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Bob Daemmrich

For the past three months, the metric height of 4.51 meters has been a pesky barrier for the twin sisters Amanda Moll and Hana Moll in the pole vault. 

They both came up against it during a successful indoor campaign where one or the other of them has won nearly every competition they've been to. 

On Friday at the 94th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Amanda Moll finally got over 4.51m (14-9.50) on her third try and became the highest jumper in prep history. She surpassed, by a centimeter, Paige Sommers' 2021 outdoor record of 14-9 (4.50m). 

And she surpassed her own indoor record-tying 14-9,achieved last month at the USATF Indoor Championships in Spokane, Wash., where she finished in a tie for fourth place. 

As in Spokane, Amanda took three attempts at 15-1 (4.60m), a mark that is internationally competitive and would truly set her apart at the high school level. 

Hana's day was less fortunate. She came into the competition at 13-7.25 (4.15m) and missed all three of her attempts. 

As high school competition returned to the Texas Relays for the first time since 2019, sensational results snapped back into place, just the way they always did before the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Christopher Riley of McCalllum High in Austin broke the meet record in the boys 1,600 meters by running 4:05.78 -- a personal best by more than four seconds and good for US#3. 

Twins from Flower Mound, Samantha Humphries and Nicole Humphries, members of the national indoor record 4xMile team, went 1-3 in the girls 1,600. Samantha Humphries ran US#2 4:44.90 for the win. Anastacia Gonzalez of Boerne Champion was next in 4:47.66 and Nicole Humphries was third in 4:49.73.

Riley returned to the track later to split 4:08 for McCallum's distance medley relay team, but he was unable to reel in Walker St. John from Grapevine. St. John split 4:13 to help Grapevine win in 10:15.48 to McCallum's 10:16.71.

In the girls DMR, Prosper edged Jenks OK in a close race, with anchor Aubrey O'Connell overtaking Deborah Mazzei to win in 11:53.51 to 11:54.10. 

Kendrick Smallwood of Mesquite Poteet TX sped away to victory in the boys 300-meter hurdles in a US#1 time of 36.32 seconds. 

Simone Ballard from Katy Mayde Creek TC won an incredibly fast girls 300-meter hurdles final in 40.68 for an all-time Texas best. Makeriah Harris of Scotlandville LA smashed Alia Armstrong's Louisiana state all-time best with 40.76.

Cedar Park TX won the girls sprint medley relay in a US#1 time of 3:58.38, edging ahead of Smithson Valley (3:59.91). 

Emma Sralla from Lewisville Marcus launched a US#1 mark in the girls discus with 170-7. 

There was some exceptional college sprinting on display in the first round of competition in the 100-meter dashes. 

USC's Celera Barnes ran a wind-legal 11.07 to post the fast time in the first round of the women's event. Jada Baylark of Arkansas was second in 11.16.

Benajmin Azamati of West Texas A&M ran an eye-popping time of 9.90 with the maximum allowable wind reading (+2.0 meters per second), good for the No. 4 performer in collegiate history and a NCAA D2 record. 

Natricia Hooper of Florida won the women's triple jump by four centimeters over Texas' Ackelia Smith, 45-7.75 (13.91m) to 45-6.25 (13.87m). 

Chris Welch from Texas Tech won the men's triple jump with 53-3.25 (16.25m).

In one of the closest races of the day, Texas A&M's women edged Texas in the sprint medley relay by .02 seconds, 3:38.93 to 3:38.95, as Avi'Tal Wilson-Perteete beat Brooke Jaworski to the finish tape. 

Shamier Little of adidas won the invitational women's 400-meter hurdles in 56.77 seconds. 

Britton Wilson from Arkansas won the college section of the 400 hurdles in 54.37, a meet and school record time that moved her to 10th on the all-time collegiate list. 

U.S. javelin champion Curtis Thompson overcame early leader Zach Holland from Umpqua Community College (Ore.) to win the men's javelin competition with 263-11 (80.44m). Holland had a third round throw of 258-6 (78.80m). Both men locked down USATF outdoor qualifying standards.