Kansas University officially announced Wednesday that the Street Pole Vault Exhibition will be held in conjunction with the Kansas Relays.
The exhibition is set for 5:30 p.m. on April 21 in the parking lot of the Salty Iguana restaurant near the corner of Sixth and Wakarusa streets in western Lawrence.
“This is another way we are trying to expose track and field to the community,” Milan Donley, director of the Kansas Relays, said. “With the success of the downtown shot put and long jump events in past years, we know this will be another fun and unique event that will interest fans from around Lawrence.”
The event will feature four males and four females, all professionals, in an exhibition-style pole vault competition. There will be predetermined heights, with each athlete earning a dollar amount per clearance. Just like a normal pole vault event, if an athlete fails to clear a bar after three attempts at one height, he or she will be out of the competition. The final vaulter remaining in each gender will be declared the winner.
The men’s field will include former Kansas track standout Jordan Scott, a seven-time Big 12 champion while vaulting for the Jayhawks who claimed the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championship in the event. Since his days in Lawrence, Scott has enjoyed a successful professional career, which has seen him claim a host of event victories including the 2013 USA Indoor Championship.
Jack Whitt, Mark Hollis and Carlo Paech round out the men’s field.
The women’s field is still being completed and will be announced later.
The Kansas Relays will run April 20-23 at Rock Chalk Park.
