(Pictured above Kate Surwillo – Photo courtesy of Sydnee Horstman)

The St. Ambrose men’s and women’s track & field teams both took second place at the CCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship in Joliet, Ill during this past weekend. But some of them went home as Conference Champions. 

“I was stressing, the weather was getting bad, but we ended up getting delayed. The weather was great when we started warming up so I was able to get myself back in a positive mindset before we started competing,” said Kate Surwillo as she looked back at the Conference Championship day. 

Sophomore pole vaulter Kate Surwillo became a CCAC Pole Vaulting Conference Champion by vaulting over the bar at 3.30 meters. During the indoor season, she couldn’t manage to snag first place over her teammate Ryleigh Warden, but fortunately for her, she could surpass her during the outdoor season.

“It feels great, I’ve placed at Conference before, but never first. The goal is always to hit your peak and jump your best at the end of the season. I am so happy that I feel like I was able to do that at Conference this year,” said Surwillo as she looked back into the season.

(Pictured above Kate Surwillo during Indoor Season – Courtesy of Sydnee Horstman)

Back in April, Surwillo took first place during the Viking Olympics alongside Warden, where she recorded a 3.10-meter jump. Nevertheless, Surwillo recorded a personal best during the Meet of Champions, taking place in April as well with a 3.44 meter mark which got her 5th place overall in the competition out of 30 competitors. 

With her junior year ahead, Surwillo is excited for her next season, “It means a lot that I was able to achieve this as a sophomore, and it definitely pushes me to keep the momentum going and continue jumping higher as the years go on.”

As Surwillo’s height at conference was one bar below the outdoor school records and two below the national qualifying height, she is looking forward to the last meet of the season to try and achieve that mark alongside her teammate Ryleigh Warden. 

Despite having a few setbacks, Surwillo put the work in to get better, “I was so proud I was able to finish out my season as strong as I did. I spent a lot of the season discouraged and a lot of time on drills and formwork though, with that and trusting my coaches, I was able to work through it. It was very validating to get to see it all payoff.”

(Pictured above Kate Surwillo during Indoor Season – Photo courtesy of Sydnee Horstman)

Even though pole vaulting is considered an individual sport, there is a team behind every competitor, and SAU’s pole vaulting team is not an exception. Ryleigh Warden and Surwillo have been competing mostly against each other, pushing each other to be better throughout the season. In fact, they share the 3.44-meter mark record for the season. 

“Kate is super supportive and caring, and I was so proud that she won conference, she’s dealt with a lot in the past year and it’s so great to see her come out on top,” said Warden

Surwillo reflects on her teammates, “My teammates are amazing. We cheer each other on and support each other so much. Me and Ryleigh also jump pretty much the same heights, so we are always pushing each other to be better.”

“I want to thank my coaches and teammates again for all the support, my parents for always cheering me on, supporting me, and for letting me vault at RISE ( a vault club from her hometown), and my sister because she also vaults and pushes me to be better.”

With the end of the semester just a week away, and the last meet of the season taking place on Saturday, May 11 at St. Francis University in Joliet, Illinois, Surwillo and her teammate Warden will be preparing throughout the summer to become better and outperform their numbers from this season during next year’sIndoor Track and Field season.