Mile City turns into Vault City at the Dempsey as Hana Moll clears 16 feet...
SEATTLE--Saturday's competition at the Dempsey Indoor facility was billed as "Mile City", a celebration of all things associated with the mile run, considering that there was a total of 76 heats of the mile for kids, teens, adults, and elites over a nine hour period.
But for a little bit of the day, the Dempsey was also "Vault City" as the 25-year old facility originally designed as an indoor practice field for the Husky football team became the host to its first ever women's pole vault clearance of 16 feet AND its third 19-foot men's pole vault mark on the same day.
The fireworks show over the air of the Dempsey shortly after 11 am local time when the invitational women's pole vault got started featuring the season opening meet for Hana (Paul Merca photo) and Amanda Moll, whose 2025 season ended at the National Stadium in Tokyo with a sixth place finish at the world championships.
Twin sister Amanda, using a shorter approach, started conservatively, but needed a third attempt clearance at 13-8.5 (4.18m) to stay alive, as five competitors, including Husky teammates Veronica Vacca and Sara Borton made the bar.
Hana entered the competition two bars later, clearing 14-4.5 (4.38m) on her first attempt as the field was whittled to four--sister Amanda, Vacca, and Cal Poly's Lexi Evans.
Hana passed the next bar of 14-6.25 (4.43m) while the other three cleared.
Vacca and Amanda were eliminated at 14-8.25 (4.48m) while Evans needed a clutch third attempt make at that height, which was her second straight personal best, to move on.
Evans was eliminated with three misses at 14-10.25 (4.53m), as Hana passed.
With Evans out of the way, Hana easily made her next two bars 15-0.25 (4.58m) and 15-6.25 (4.73m) on her first attempt, before asking to raise the bar to 16-0 (4.88m). a height cleared only by four women in American history--Amanda, Katie Moon, Sandi Morris, and Jenn Suhr.
On her birthday, Hana cleared 16-0 on her second attempt, prompting her Husky teammates to rush the pit and join her in the mosh pit celebration.
After receiving congratulations from Washington program director Maurica Powell, Hana asked to take a shot at 16-4.75 (5.00m), a height only Suhr and Morris have cleared, and the opportunity to own the Moll family record of 16-1.25 (4.91m) set by Amanda at last year's Big Ten indoor championships.
Of her three misses, the second one was the best, hitting the bar on the way down.
After posing for birthday photos with sister Amanda, the elite sections of the mile run took to the Dempsey oval.
MILE CITY RECAP...
In what some folks considered a mild upset, Washington State's Rosemary Longisa (Paul Merca photo), the WCC and NCAA West Region cross country champion last fall, ran down Washington's Chloe Foerster, an All-American in both the mile indoors and the 1500 outdoors, to win the top section of the women's mile.
With Boise State alum Maleigha Menegatti asked to take the field through 800 in 2:13, Longisa tucked herself between fourth and fifth, with Washington alum Eleanor Fulton closest to Menegatti.
Behind Longisa was former Seattle Pacific All-American Kaylee Mitchell, who competed at the Tokyo World Championships in the steeplechase, and was a late add to the field.
Menegatti took the field through the half mile around 2:11 before moving to the outside and letting Fulton take over.
Just before the 3/4 mile mark, Forester shot to the front, with only Longisa willing to commit, as they passed the mark at 3:21.
With 250 to go, Longisa jumped past Foerster, and never relinquished the lead, winning in a school record 4:24.59, the third fastest in collegiate history.
Foerster set a Washington school record in second, running 4:25.79 in second.
Washington alum Fulton was fourth in 4:29.35, while the Huskies' Mia Cochran was sixth in 4:32.66, just ahead of Mitchell at 4:33.51.
Washington alum Ronan McMahon-Staggs, who was part of the UW squad that broke the world best in the distance medley relay, won the B section of the men's invitational mile in 3:55.84, as the top nine went under four minutes, including Yakima native Jonas Price of Portland (3:58.46), Mill Creek native and Oregon alum Grant Grosvenor (3:58.58), and UW alums Acer Iverson (3:59.01), Rhys Hammond (3:59.28), and Julius Diehr (3:59.33).
Veteran Seattle pro Sam Prakel took the win in the top section of the men's mile after two time NCAA 1500 meter champ Nathan Green took the field past 1320, winning in 3:51.86.
In that heat, all 13 runners broke four minutes, with the Huskies' Rueben Reina Jr (3:52.37), Brannon Kidder of the Brooks Beasts (3:54.40), and UW teammates Tyler Bilyard (3:54.43) and Thomas Diamond (3:55.50) at 3:55 or faster.
In the heat alone, seven Huskies all ducked under 4 minutes, including true freshmen Owen Powell (3:58.62) and Josiah Tostenson (3:59.41).
RHOADS GOES OVER 19 FEET FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT MEET...
Washington's Jimmy Rhoads made five bars on the day en route to winning the invitational men's pole vault with a clutch third attempt clearance of 19-0.25 (5.80m).
After opening with a first attempt make at 17-8.5 (5.40m), Washington alum and Rhoads' teammate at Penn, Scott Toney, pressed him over the next three bars, clearing a best of 18-4.5 (5.60m) before bowing out at 18-8.25 (5.70m).
After clearing 19-0.25 (5.80m), two centimeters below his facility record mark of 19-1 (5.82m), Rhoads, already the collegiate leader, took three solid shots at 19-4.25 (5.90m), which would have given him a 3-way tie for the 2026 US lead with KC Lightfoot and Zach Bradford.
NOTE: The sports information offices of the University of Washington and Washington State University contributed to this report.
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