Bridget Williams shatters form charts to capture pole vault title at U.S. Olympic Trials

For nearly a decade, Sandi Morris and Katie Moon have been mainstays atop the American pole vaulting scene while establishing themselves as two of the best ever in the event.

Sunday's U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field may have served as a changing of the guard of sorts, though, as a pair of relative newcomers busted the form charts.

Bridget Williams, competing unattached, shocked the crowd of 12,243 ticketed spectators and captured her first national title with a winning mark of 15 feet, 6 1/4 inches. It served as the first time since 2019 that somebody other than Morris or Moon won a U.S. women's title.

"So many emotions, stress and nerves going into it," Williams said. "But I feel like as soon as I stepped out onto the track, the nerves kind of subsided into a rhythm. I got into a groove and just focused on the things that I could control. I think that helped me tremendously, just being able to simplify it. That granted me the height that I needed."

Prior to Sunday, Williams, 28, had never finished better than fourth at a U.S. outdoor championship. But she went a perfect 5-for-5 on her first five attempts of the day.

Moon took second and also cleared 15-6 1/4. But she missed her first attempt at 15-2 1/4, which put Williams in the driver's seat and ultimately allowed her to win. Williams missed all three of her attempts at 15-8 1/4. After clearing 15-6 1/4, Moon elected to jump straight to 15-10 and missed all three of her attempts there.

Moon, who owns the fifth-best mark in history at 16-3, captured the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and is the three-time defending world champion. But she has been dealing with an Achilles injury that she admitted bothered her in Eugene this week. She said she will be OK to compete in Paris.

“This meet is so stressful and you just have to get through it," Moon said. "It’s not the mentality you want to have, it’s just the reality of it. So I’m so relieved, I’m so elated.”

Brynn King, a standout at Roberts Wesleyan University, notched a personal best of 15-6 1/4 — and achieved the Olympic standard in the process — to earn her first Olympic berth.

King won the NCAA Division II outdoor national championship earlier this season but shattered her previous best of 15-3 Sunday thanks to a strategic approach. After clearing 15-4 1/4, she skipped a height and moved straight to 15-6 1/4, which eventually landed her on the podium.

"That was all my coaches, he was sitting there watching — basically seeing who was making bars, and if me making a bar (would or wouldn't have) put me ahead," King said. "So, I was lucky to be later in the order. ... It was allowing me to save my legs for a big jump that I needed."

King's success came at the expense of Morris. An eight-time national champion (four indoors, four outdoors) who captured the silver medal at the 2016 Olympics, Morris was forced to settle for fourth place after she failed on all three of her attempts at 15-6 1/4.

"I felt amazing out there, honestly," Morris said. "Recently, during prelims and now, I've felt better than I have in a couple of seasons, really. So, I'm kind of in shock. But it all just happens so fast sometimes when you're out there. I was clean through (4.68 meters) and then my attempt at 4.73, things were so good that my poles — it's called a blow-through when your stick is just a little too soft — I went up to a stiffer pole all three jumps, and all three jumps it was just a little soft. It's really weird to be standing here, like, I couldn't get over 4.73 when I know it was really just an issue with what pole was in my hand.

"I'm getting left off the Olympic team for that. It really sucks. But I'm still motivated and now the pressure is off. I wouldn't be surprised if I go jump something really high at the end of the season because now I'm just having fun."

Jarrid Denney covers high school sports and Oregon State for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at JDenney@salem.gannett.com or on X @jarrid_denney

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Bridget Williams captures pole vault title at U.S. Olympic Trials