Newman Soaring to New Heights for @MiamiTrack
By David Villavicencio
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Alysha Newman’s Hurricane debut was one she will never forget.
The sophomore donned Miami’s orange and green for the first time at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet in Lexington, Ky., this past weekend and she climbed to the top of the school’s record book.
Newman cleared her opening height in women’s pole vault with a jump of 3.88m, breaking the school record previously held by Lauren Koutrelakos (3.20m, 2003). With her opening jump, the transfer from Eastern Michigan already sat atop Miami’s record book, but she was far from done.
“I went in there with one goal and my goal was 4.15m,” Newman said. “Coach [Jerel] Langley’s was 4.25m and we kind of met in the middle, saying it would be nice to start this season off where we ended last season, which was 4.23m.”
The Delaware, Ontario native continued to soar to new heights, winning the women’s pole vault with a mark of 4.31m. The jump not only topped her Miami record mark from earlier in the day, but also set a new meet record and put her atop the NCAA pole vault rankings for the 2014 indoor season.
“When I cleared 4.23m, I was happy with that,” Newman said. “Then we said ‘might as well go for the meet record.’ We always joke when he’s coaching me and he said ‘oh, you want that meet record today.’ I started laughing and said ‘yeah, let’s go for 4.31.’ We did and I got it.”
Newman’s effort earned her ACC Performer of the Week honors. She was the second Hurricane to earn the award this season, joining sprinter Shakima Wimbley.
“I was very impressed with Alysha’s performance,” Miami director of track & field/cross country Amy Deem said. “She’s had minimal practice since arriving at Miami so opening up basically where she left off last summer was great. We’re very excited about her. She is just going to get better as the season progresses.”
A second-team Indoor All-American in 2013, Newman was the third-ranked junior in the world last year. She was the Pan-American Junior champion and set a meet record, clearing a personal-best 4.40m. She set Canadian Junior records in both indoor (4.23m) and outdoor (4.40m) pole vault and placed third at the Canadian Senior National Championships, clearing 4.00m.
While the accomplished athlete has established herself as one of the top junior talents in the world, the pole vault was not her first love. Originally, Newman was a star gymnast who loved floor exercise.
“I started when I was around six or seven and I went until I was 13,” Newman said. “Then I hurt myself and I got too tall and they said I had to stop and pick up something else.”
Newman was between swimming or track and was not sure which to choose. Her teacher suggested track because she was one of the faster girls in her grade. Sprints and hurdles were Newman’s main events until word spread that she was a gymnast.
“My coaches asked if I had ever tried pole vault,” Newman said. “I remember saying ‘no, I would never do that, that’s scary.’ But I tried it and within the first two years I was a natural. It just came easy to me.”
Newman attributes part of her success as a pole vaulter to her gymnastics background. She feels her previous sport helped physically prepare her for her current passion.
“In gymnastics your whole body is one machine,” Newman said. “From the bottom of your feet to top of your head, everything works together and in gymnastics you really focus on every single muscle because if one thing is off or one thing is not strong, then you’re falling off the beam or your just uneven. You really need to be balanced in gymnastics so it definitely helped me as I transitioned to pole vault.”
Beyond developing all-around strength, gymnastics helped Newman foster excellent work ethic.
“I was an elite gymnast by the time I was 13 and my coach really was always driving us. If we did something wrong, we would do it another three times. I feel like I’ve brought that with me and that’s who I am today. I’m driven all the time, whether it’s in school or athletics.”
Her drive to succeed combined with her athletic ability have taken Newman to new heights, including a new indoor personal-best. But Newman’s goals go well beyond what she did at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet.
‘All-around I have a better (personal record), but indoor that was a (personal record) so that was exciting,” Newman said. “When I went for the next height Coach Langley said, ‘I really hope she doesn’t get this.’ I know had I gotten it that there would be a lot of pressure to jump even higher than that, but that’s what I want. I want that pressure. My goals are to always jump higher. The sky’s the limit to me. I feel like records are set to be broken. That’s my number one goal to break as many records as I can.”
Miami jumps coach Jerel Langley, who coached the standout pole vaulter as a freshman at Eastern Michigan, believes anything is possible for Newman.
“With her work ethic, I don’t think there is anything out of reach,” Langley said. “I know she has Olympic aspirations and I definitely think she has the attitude and skill set to get there. We just need to work on being more consistent in the vault. Once she becomes a more consistent 14-footer, then the 15-foot barrier might be a reality and she could reach her goals.”
Newman believes the 2014 season could be a big year for her development as a vaulter.
“I feel very different than I did last year and I had a successful year last year,” Newman said. “This summer I blew up and I had this huge jump. Now coming here and being with familiar people such as Coach Langley and then my first meet opening up huge, I definitely feel like there’s going to be some big jumps.”
The highly ambitious Newman hopes her big jumps will lead her to achieve one of her major goals.
“I want to be on top,” Newman said. “I want that NCAA record. I want it in my name.”
