MARION, Ind. – With another national meet on the horizon, there isn't much left for Nevaeh Brown to accomplish as a college pole vaulter.
Since arriving at Midway in 2020, Brown has been rewriting record books seemingly on a weekly basis.
Aside from owning program pole vault records in both indoor (3.87 meters) and outdoor (3.84) track and field, the senior from Louisville has also won seven River States Conference Championships, establishing new RSC indoor (3.66 in 2024) and outdoor high marks (3.82 in 2023) in the process.
And as Brown prepares to compete at the 2024 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, her seventh appearance at a national meet, there's just one more bar to clear.
The highlight of Brown's career thus far came at the 2024 Indoor Championships in March. Already a three-time All-American – once in indoor, twice in outdoor – going in, Brown had her best performance of her career, topping out at 3.87 meters to tie Indiana Tech's Evelyn Dolce for the top mark.
But since Dolce was able to hit the height on one jump, Brown, who needed two, had to settle for the runner-up spot, leaving her hungry to finish the job.
"Since (a national championship) is the one thing I haven't accomplished, I think I would feel a lot of relief and feel like everything I've done in the past four years will have officially paid off," said Brown, who finished fourth at 3.65 meters at the 2022 Outdoor Championships and fifth at 3.70 in 2023. "That would be amazing."
Though she'll have her work cut out for her, Brown, whose season-best outdoor height of 3.75 meters is tied for the seventh-best mark in the 30-athlete field, has had previous success against the meet's top vaulters.
While British Columbia's Sonya Urbanowicz, the top seed and 2023 outdoor champion, didn't compete, everyone else currently ranked ahead of Brown finished below her at this season's Indoor Championships. Second-seed Kaylee Pribyl of Doane (Neb.) was third at 3.82 while seeds 3-6 all finished elsewhere in the top-10.
Admitting she wasn't anticipating such success at the Indoor Championships, Brown says tying for the top spot has her believing she can secure it outright against the outdoor field.
"I'm feeling a little bit more confident going into this one because I didn't expect that to happen at Indoors at all," she said. "I just wanted to jump and have fun and I just kept jumping bars."
Boosting her confidence even more has been a change in mindset. Brown says she's made a habit of "being care-free and just being my authentic self" at meets to help with anxiety issues she's dealt with for years.
That anxiousness hasn't gone away entirely, as she admits that nerves tend to keep her awake all night the evening before a meet. Luckily, she's been able to put that insomnia to good use, taking up meditation to walk herself through all aspects of a meet to determine the best approach needed to reach her competitive goals.
And though she's happy with how she's approaching the competition, Brown doesn't see much use in trying to predict how things will pan out, due to the unpredictability of the event.
"It's anybody's game," she said. "You never know what kind of day somebody is going to have. I think it's just having the right meet at the right time. I think everything aligned for me at Indoor Nationals so I'm just hoping I do the same."
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE
While she hasn't been able to secure a title yet, the best performances of Brown's storied career would have been national championship-worthy on multiple occasions.
In an event that has been part of the itinerary since 1997, Brown's top Outdoor National jump of 3.70 meters is better than five previous winning marks and would have also tied her for the top spot in 2013 and 2014.
Hitting her personal records would have brought on further success.
Her career-best outdoor height of 3.84 was better than the mark of nine past winners, while her 3.87 showing at the 2024 Indoor Championships was better than 12. The most recent year either would have earned her top honors was 2019, when Dana Nemitz of Westmont (Calif.) won with a height of 3.80.
FOLLOW ALONG
The 2024 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind. on May 22-24.
Both Brown and men's distance runner Jacob Kocis are scheduled to compete on May 22. Brown will compete at noon with Kocis taking part in the 10,000-meter run at 9:10 p.m.
A one-day stream can be purchased for $19.95 by clicking here. A three-day pass is also available for $39.95.
