Millville graduate Kaitlyn Dermen popped the best indoor pole vault ever by a New Jersey woman in her 2024-25 season opener.
Dermen, a two-time NCAA Division 3 All-America at Stockton, cleared 14-1 at the Fastrack Season Opener at Ocean Breeze, equalling her 2nd-best vault ever and setting an indoor PR.
Dermen’s previous indoor PR was 13-9 ¾ this past January at the Virginia Tech Invitational at Rector Fieldhouse in Blacksburg, Va. That stood as the New Jersey indoor alumni record until this past weekend.
Outdoors, Dermen has a PR of 14-4 from the Vault Factory Independence Day Pole Vault Meet in Basking Ridge on July 6. That’s the overall New Jersey alumni best.
The only other 14-footers New Jersey has produced are Stephanie Maugham of Shawnee, who cleared 14-0 ¾ in Fresno in 2002 (and is still competing at the Masters level), and Notre Dame’s Hayley Horvath,who cleared 14-0 in Harrisonburg, Va., in May 2021.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 