Olivia Gruver of Washington was named the National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year for the 2020 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
This marks the first time that a pole vaulter has earned the honor in award history. It is also the first time that an athlete from the MPSF brought it home since 2012 (Brianne Theisen, Oregon).
Gruver, a senior from Reisterstown, Maryland, topped 15 feet three times this past season, but none more eventful than the 4.70m (15-5) clearance she had to place third at the USATF Indoor Championships. That bar also made her the second best performer with the second best performance in collegiate history, sitting only behind the collegiate record of 4.75m (15-7) set by Demi Payne in 2015.
Earlier in the season, Gruver went up and over 4.66m (15-3½) at the Washington Indoor Preview. And when you combine her effort later that season, Gruver became only the second woman in collegiate history to clear 4.66m (15-3½) multiple times in a season.