Jane Farrell Article (Brandeis)

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http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/a ... ports+News

Brandeis vaulter sets mark


By Marvin Pave  |  March 27, 2005



Junior Jane Farrell of Sudbury had a memorable indoor track season at Brandeis University, earning her first career All-America honor with a fifth-place finish in the pole vault at the NCAA Division 3 Track and Field Championships at Illinois Wesleyan University. Farrell, the only female Brandeis competitor at the meet, broke her own school record for the third time this season with a vault of 11 feet, 7¾ inches and became the first pole vault All-American, male or female, in school history.


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Farrell, a graduate of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High, also won the University Athletic Association pole vault championship for the third consecutive year and was honored as the UAA ''Field Athlete of the Meet." Farrell, whose older brother, Greg Farrell, was a cross-country and track letterman at Brandeis, also won the 400 meters at the UAA meet held at New York University.


''Jane had a very successful season," said Brandeis coach Mark Reytblat. ''She's a great athlete and a great student. She raced in the nationals for Lincoln-Sudbury's distance medley relay team and we recruited her originally as a quarter-miler. Jane also had a background in gymnastics. She twisted her ankle freshman season and didn't start pole vaulting full time until her sophomore year. She progressed so fast, and she still hasn't reached her potential in the vault, so becoming an All-American was a fantastic accomplishment. You know that when she goes to the starting line you'll get her best because she's so mentally tough."


Farrell, who also competes in the 200 meters and relays, said she was intrigued by the pole vault while in high school. ''It was hard to run and do pole vault then," said Farrell, who was introduced to the event by Jeff Robbins of Air Time Athletics. Robbins taught pole vaulting at Brandeis in the winter season and currently works with Farrell.


''I loved it from the beginning, and having sprinting speed and a gymnastics background have helped," Farrell said. ''I'm still working at increasing my speed on the runway. I focus more on technique now. At some meets, I don't even think about the height I'm trying to clear."


At Lincoln-Sudbury, Farrell was on the cross-country team and was captain of gymnastics and outdoor track. At the high school nationals her senior year at North Carolina State University, the L-S distance medley relay team finished sixth to earn All-America status. The relay squad also included Sarah Romain, who is now on the track team at Brandeis, Jenna Shoemaker, who now attends Harvard University, and Lindsay Donaldson, who is on the track squad at Yale