BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After a record-setting pole vault performance in Birmingham, Ole Miss junior Sam Kendricks has received Southeastern Conference Men’s Field Athlete of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday.
Kendricks, a preseason watch lister for The Bowerman and the reigning NCAA outdoor pole vault champion, cleared 18-4.75 to defeat a strong field of competitors and break his own meet, facility and indoor school records at the UAB Blazer Invitational.
The Oxford, Miss., native cleared the bar on his first attempt at all nine heights leading up to his record-breaking final clearance. He now ranks No. 1 in the NCAA and is currently tied for the top pole vault by an American this year. He is tied for eighth in the 2014 world indoor rankings.
This is the fifth SEC weekly award of Kendricks’ career. In his first two seasons as an Ole Miss Rebel, he earned three All-America selections, two All-SEC distinctions and a World University Games gold medal to go with his NCAA pole vault title.
Kendricks will lead the 16th-ranked Ole Miss men into this weekend’s Auburn Invitational at the same Birmingham CrossPlex facility that hosted the UAB Blazer Invitational last weekend.
— Joey Jones, Ole Miss Sports Information
