Gruver is first female athlete to defend her title since 2009-10, Duckworth is fifth straight decathlete from SEC to secure crown

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

EUGENE – Olivia Gruver suffered heartbreak in March with a third-place finish at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships.

But the real pain came for the Kentucky junior when she suffered a fractured tibia bone 10 weeks ago, putting Gruver’s chances of defending her pole vault title in jeopardy.

But on a day when boyfriend Tim Duckworth captured his first NCAA decathlon for the Wildcats, Gruver again demonstrated her resolve and determination to clear 14-11 (4.55m) and capture back-to-back championships at Hayward Field.

“Honestly, after I got the news back, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get here to compete, but being able to just make through regionals, made me super happy and being here and winning again means everything to me,” said Gruver, who became the first female athlete to repeat as pole vault champion since Indiana State’s Kylie Hutson in 2009-10.

“I know how to peak at the right moment. My coach (Toby Stevenson) and I, we knew how to work through the season to make sure I’m peaking at the right time, so I think that’s a major part of it.”

Duckworth and Gruver had hoped to celebrate winning titles together during indoor season, when the British standout secured the heptathlon crown in College Station, Texas.

But Gruver, who boasted the top indoor clearance in the country at 15-3.75 (4.67m), placed third at 14-9.50 (4.51m).

Now, they both have a pair of national championships, as Duckworth overcame his own injuries to prevail in the decathlon with 8,336 points for the program’s first championship and the fifth in a row for a Southeastern Conference multi-event athlete.

“It was special because she and I have been talking about going one and one in the same meet, so I’m happy it happened this year because it was my last (collegiate) meet,” Duckworth said, “Not many people know the emotions she’s been through the last couple of weeks. She started getting her confidence back after SECs and during regionals, so I knew if she was confident, she could win it. We were talking that she should be no less than third on a mediocre day and she had a good day. I’m so happy about that right now.”

Despite not vaulting in competition for nearly two months, Gruver still managed to place fourth at the SEC Championships and then needed only one bar to advance from the East Regionals in Tampa, Fla.

“SECs was a little rough for me. SECs was my second meet back and it was very intense trying to score some points. It hurt during then, but we went back into the training room and took care of it,” Gruver said. “After that, practices were going really well, so after that it gave me the confidence to know that I could do this. Making one bar (at regionals) gave me every bit of confidence. It helped me realize I’m back and I know how to do this still.”

But even after managing to get back to Hayward Field, Gruver’s emotional run almost reached an unceremonious end when she needed to clear 13-7.25 (4.15m) on the third attempt to avoid not clearing her opening bar.

“Obviously the meet didn’t start off the way I wanted, so that took a lot of mental strength for me to be like, ‘Look, you didn’t come here to no height.’ I had to stay strong (mentally) the entire time,” Gruver said. “That shows me I have a lot of strength in my body and in my mind. I was on crutches and a boot for a long time, so just being here and being able to make it over that third bar meant everything to me.”

Gruver needed second-bar clearances at 14-5.25 (4.40m), 14-7.25 (4.45m) and 14-9 (4.50m) to keep pace with Lexi Jacobus of Arkansas, the reigning indoor champion and 2016 outdoor winner. But after Gruver cleared 14-11 on her first attempt, Jacobus couldn’t make 15-1 (4.60m), resulting in the title defense for the inspiring Kentucky standout.

“This means everything,” Gruver said. “The support at Kentucky is unreal. They know when to push you. They know when to back off a little bit. They just know how to coach the right way.

“They all pushed me. There were moments where I was tired and didn’t want to work, but they pushed me through it. They had all the confidence in me, which gave me confidence again.”

Gruver gave Kentucky a huge boost on the opening day of competition, giving the Wildcats a legitimate opportunity to contend for a team title Saturday with Georgia, Stanford and Oregon.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn led all qualifiers by running a wind-legal 12.54 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, with Sydney McLaughlin producing the fastest 400 hurdles semifinal time of 54.15 for Kentucky, which is also a challenger for both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay titles.