GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Days after earning an unprecedented achievement, the Midway women's pole vault team was more motivated than ever to prove itself worthy of national reverence. 

Dominance at River States Conference meets is nothing new for Eagle vaulters. Entering the season, Midway had won nine of the previous 10 conference pole vault titles, and there was reason to believe that trend would continue at the 2026 RSC Indoor Championships on Feb. 21.

Emerson VanScoy had already easily eclipsed the national qualifying 'A' standard of 3.65 meters, vaulting 3.85 at the Centre Indoor Invitational. Meanwhile, teammates Maddi Reed (3.60) and Makayla Brooks (3.55) had both hit the national 'B' standard.

But four days before the conference meet, some added pressure was put on the Eagles.

The national qualifiers, as well as teammate Cate Coppola who reached 3.50 meters during the season, lifted Midway all the way to the No. 1 spot in a ranking by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. This was the first No. 1 ranking in team history.

The accomplishment isn't one the Eagles took lightly, as vaulters walked into the conference championships dead set on validating their standing as the nation's top group.

"It kind of feels like we're at a higher standard where we have to come in together and show (why) we're ranked high," Brooks said. "We have to have a different air about us, a different vibe when we walk in."

Of the ranking, Reed added: "It makes you want to raise the standard higher so no one can catch us."

While it remains to be seen if they'll be caught, the Eagles certainly established a new standard.

VanScoy not only clinched Midway's sixth-consecutive indoor pole vault championship, she cleared 3.75 meters, breaking the previous meet record of 3.70 set by former teammate Nevaeh Brown.

Right behind in second and third were Brooks and Reed, who also hit 'A' standards to give Midway three competitors ranked inside the top-15 at the 2026 Indoor National Championships, which will be held this week.

Making things more interesting is that all three have taken different routes to reaching nationals.

There's the steady hand in Reed, a sophomore and national qualifier in both indoor and outdoor last season. Reed, who cleared 3.65 meters at this year's indoor meet, was the RSC outdoor champion last spring.

There's the emerging star in VanScoy. While finding national success elsewhere, even narrowly missing an All-American high jump finish at the 2025 Outdoor Championships, VanScoy went from not hitting a pole vault standard in her first two college seasons to being tied for fourth in the individual national rankings.

Midway even has a great comeback story in Brooks, whose career was nearly ended by injuries.

After competing at the 2023 Indoor National Championships, Brooks hit the outdoor 'B' standard that spring as well. But by year's end, a series of ankle injuries dating back to childhood had taken their toll, with Brooks saying her ligaments were "stretched to oblivion."

After missing outdoor nationals, she had offseason surgery that knocked her out for all of 2024. And though she returned with two years of eligibility left, expectations weren't always high.

"After my surgery, I spoke with my doctor and he was like 'You're never going to compete at the level you competed at before,'" she said. "Obviously I never thought that I would if my doctor was telling me I wouldn't."

But after spending the 2025 season adjusting everything from how she ran to how she held the pole, Brooks exceeded all prior accomplishments this indoor season.

Having previously never cleared an 'A' standard, she tied VanScoy for the meet record of 3.75 meters at the RSC Indoor Championships. VanScoy ultimately won the title, clearing on her second try, with Brooks needing a third.

A confident group now looks to continue the program's recent success at the National Championships. From 2022-25, Nevaeh Brown was a six-time All-American and a national runner-up in both indoor and outdoor in 2024.

VanScoy, Brooks (tied for 10th nationally) and Reed (tied for 15th) are all within striking distance of earning All-American honors themselves, and are very confident they can land among the meet's top-eight finishers. 

"We're going to kill it," said Reed. "I've been to a lot of (big meets) but this one I feel like is the one. I know we're all going to do very well."

The national meet also provides the ultimate opportunity to punctuate their standing as the best team in the nation.

"We all have the ability to be top-eight and that's what we're going for," VanScoy said. "We've carried this momentum of getting better each meet and it's the exact same thing with nationals. The goal is to get better and to show up and prove to yourself, your coaches and teammates what you can do."

The 2026 Indoor National Championships will be held at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center in Gainesville, Fla. Thursday to Saturday. Pole Vault competition begins at noon Thursday.

VANSCOY ALSO COMPETING IN HIGH JUMP

Pole vault isn't the only event where VanScoy has high aspirations. She also reached the 1.69-meter 'A' standard in high jump, where she enters in a four-way tie for the No. 8 national ranking.

A tie for eighth is exactly where she found herself at the 2025 Outdoor National Championships. But due to a tie-breaker, she ultimately finished in 10th place at 1.66, just missing the All-American podium.

"I don't want that to happen again," VanScoy said. "If I'm that close, I think it will push me. (Missing All-American) is definitely a big motivator."

High jump will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.