Olivia Gruver soared over the bar and cascaded down onto the mat, knowing that collegiate pole-vault history was about to be made — but only if the bar held steady.
She had nicked it on the way down, and so Gruver looked up, apprehensively, to see if the bar was going to stay in place. It wiggled but held, and only then did the Husky senior let the elation pour over her. Her Washington teammates, who gathered around the pit to watch, celebrated along with her.
Reminiscing a few days later, Gruver said, “It was crazy. It took me a little bit to look up and realize, ‘Oh, my God, it stayed in!