The best pole vaulters have incredible precision and consistency once they step onto the field. It was that same precision and consistency that Victoria Harwood demonstrated for the women’s track & field team from 2009-13. Harwood not only dominated the pole vault for the Lions, setting both the indoor and outdoor pole vault records, but she also set the record in the outdoor heptathlon, the indoor and outdoor 400m, the 4x100m relay and the 4x800m relay.
She was enriched with talent and a pioneer in women’s combined events. Harwood’s track record speaks for itself.
She was the indoor and outdoor Rookie of the Year, while also earning Team MVP multiple times and capping her career with the coveted Behrend Female Athlete of the Year award. Harwood was also the Mason Dixon Conference Champion twice in the pole vault and twice in the 400m. She collected 12 All-Conference honors and qualified for the ECAC Championships 13 times.
Harwood showcased her desire and skill to excel in many events, but specifically the pole vault. In her freshman year, she cleared 10’ in the pole vault, tying the school record and becoming the second female athlete at Behrend to reach the height. The following season, Harwood made history by being the first to clear 11’.
She was always doing better than her best.
A new mark, 11’6, was set in her junior year. Harwood also broke three school records and was named All-Conference for placing second in the pole vault and fourth in the 4x400m relay at the Mason Dixon Championship Meet.
In the fall of 2012, Harwood competed in cross country for the first time in her four years, earning First Team All-AMCC honors and contributing to the women’s fourth overall AMCC Championship. Come track season, she once again set out to accomplish a feat no other female Behrend athlete had ever done. Harwood cleared 11’9 in the pole vault, a record she held for six years after graduation.