Ally Voss – May Female Student-Athlete of the Month – Junior, Track & Field
Gustavus junior pole vaulter Allyson Voss claimed the MIAC title in the pole vault and achieved All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. For her outstanding performances to finish the season, the Office of Sports Information has named Voss May Female Student-Athlete of the Month, presented by Thrivent Financial.
Voss, a Wausau, Wis. native, kicked off the month at Hamline University’s Meet of the UnSaintly with a first place finish in the pole vault. She tied three other competitors from both NCAA Division I and II schools, clearing a height of 11-11.75.
The following weekend in Moorhead, Minn., Voss matched her height from the Meet of the UnSaintly, claiming the pole vault title at the MIAC Championships. Her height of 11-11.75 was 1-7.5 higher than the second place vaulters. After taking third place in both her first and second year, Voss became the first Gustie to take the gold in the pole vault since Shanna Dawson did so in 2008.
As a precursor to the month of May, Voss concluded April with a record-setting performance. Voss cleared a height of 12-4.5 at the 12th Annual Drake Alternative held in St. Peter, Minn. Her mark broke the school record held by Dawson (12-2.5) since 2008. She tehn entered the NCAA Championships ranked 11th among Division III pole vaulters.
At the national meet last week, Voss earned All-American honors in the pole vault, finishing seventh in the competition after clearing 12-7.50. Voss is Gustavus’ first ever All-American in the outdoor pole vault and her mark at the NCAA Championships broke he own school record.
“Leading up the NCAA’s, Ally kept getting bumped down and she found herself at tenth going in,” Head Coach Dale Bahr said. “She had to make her personal record to stay in the competition and she did. She did that using a brand new pole that we got for her a couple weeks earlier, which she obviously had never used. If you PR at the national meet, what else can you ask for? She was then still sitting ninth and they moved the bar up to 12-7. She got on yet another new pole, cleared the bar on her third attempt and ended up seventh, which is All-American. It was great to see her rise to the occasion, stay composed, make some great attempts and PR twice.”