Hauf makes history with third consecutive PSAC Championship
5/5/2024 5:13:00 PM | Women's Outdoor Track and Field
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. — Having added another PSAC Championship to her resume, pole vaulter Darian Hauf was already on track to finish as one of the greatest field athletes in program history. But by completing the threepeat on Saturday evening, Hauf stands in a class of her own, as she became the first Marauder ever to win three PSAC Championships in the same event before her senior season.
Hauf cleared 12-8 3/4 on her first attempt to clinch her third consecutive PSAC Outdoor championship, an honor only six other Marauders in program history can boast. Jo Rupp, Christina Carpenter Minder, Priscilla Jennings Landis, Kiara Allen, Sunflower Greene, and Hannah Woelfling welcomed Hauf into Millersville outdoor track & field history. However, Hauf accomplished this feat with still another year left in her career, and much higher heights still in mind. Prior to yesterday, Hauf was also the only Marauder to earn All-PSAC honors in the pole vault when she did so for the first time in 2021. She's continued to rewrite the record book and break her own records year after year.
The junior is not only creating a reputation for herself within program history, but also across the conference. As the top seed, Hauf knows she's the one everyone else is gunning to beat. Through her first three seasons though, no one has been able to knock her off the top spot of the podium. She doesn't block out the noise though. Instead, she uses it to motivate her.
"Every time I come to these meets, I feel like there's a little bit more pressure to keep winning," Hauf said. "For me, if I've won it once, I want to win it every time. So there's a little more pressure there, but at the same time, it makes it a little bit more fun. It keeps me determined and focused moving on."
After winning the event in her first indoor season, Hauf has finished as the runner-up the last two years. She's limited on how she can train before the weather improves in the winter, but her focus has been on peaking at the right time in the outdoor season. Still, second place doesn't sit well with the three-time outdoor champion, and she's kept it in mind to help her stay at the top of the conference.
"It definitely fuels me more for the outdoor [season] every time I come in second," Hauf admitted. "When I'm seeded first and I don't win, it pushes me more for the outdoor to show up."
Self-described as a goal-oriented and determined person, reaching these heights was never a given. Years of hard work has gotten Hauf to this point, and she's nowhere close to being done. Hauf said she hit a breakthrough when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. No longer able to practice with her high school coach, she pursued clubs that allowed her to practice more as well as refine her technique and use more poles.
Even head coach Andy Young said prior to that, Hauf's results in high school were modest. As she kept developing, she eventually added the Maryland state title to her trophy case before joining the Marauders. After starting her college career with two conference championships, the standout pole vaulter turned heads early. However, looking back, Young said it isn't a shock Hauf grabbed the conference's top spot early on.
"She came in, and she actually took it to a whole new level," Young said. "That was a really pleasant surprise. But once you get to know her, she's such a hard worker, she's such a good athlete, it's not a surprise."
Hauf entered the program at the same time as her teammate Megan Malecki. Young attributed part of Hauf's development to having Malecki by her side, and vice versa. The duo has formed a friendship off the field, as well, pushing themselves to reach greater heights while helping each other in the process. Echoing her coach, Malecki also credits Hauf for helping herself become a better pole vaulter.
"She definitely challenged me to be better," Malecki said. "It's a close-to-home thing because we are very good friends. But it's been nice to have somebody to compete with not only at meets but also at practice."
Malecki joined her teammate near the top of the podium with a third-place finish yesterday, earning All-PSAC status for the first time in her career and marking the first time Millersville had two pole vaulters earn All-PSAC at the same meet. Malecki broke her personal record by half a foot with a vault of 12-2 3/4 and secured the tiebreaker for third place by clearing 11-9 on her first attempt.
Malecki and Hauf both said having the other in their corner has helped them learn and improve over these last three years to make program history.
"I didn't have anyone in high school that pushed me like Megan does," Hauf said. "I think we both know the game, we're both great coaches for each other."
The returning upperclassmen in 2021 helped Hauf acclimate to pole vault at the collegiate level, especially her fellow jumpers Young said. But as she's continued to develop as a pole vaulter, she's become a respected leader on the team as well. Hauf called herself a quiet person, and there are other athletes on the team who have stepped into leadership roles more naturally, but her comfort with her teammates has pushed her to be more vocal and supportive.
Young noted she has grown into that spot more recently, surprising her coaches yet again.
"She hated talking to people for her first two and a half years here," Young joked. "I finally heard her speak in front of the whole team without being prompted at a team meeting last month. She was trying to calm people down and say, 'If you don't qualify for the conference meet, it is not the end of the world. Stop beating yourself up about it.' It was really cool of somebody of her caliber to tell the rest of the team to just 'do what you do.'"
Of the six Marauders before Hauf who own the title of three-time conference champion, four are already in the Millersville University Athletics Hall of Fame, while the most recent two are bound to be inducted once they become eligible. Hauf already has the accolades to make her argument, and that's before she begins her senior season. Her head coach sees her trajectory and thinks it's a matter of when, not if, she gets inducted when it's all said and done.
"She's going to be an all-time great athlete that we've ever had at the university," Young said. "It's pretty exciting to still be able to work with someone like that."
With no signs of slowing down, Young threw out the height of 14-0 as a new record he envisions Hauf clearing at some point next year. Knowing her teammate, Malecki said Hauf reaching that shouldn't surprise anyone.
"I think 14 feet is definitely possible, if not higher," Malecki agreed. "Maybe a little bit more practice and a few more poles, and she can definitely go higher than anybody in this conference ever has."
When she first heard the number her coach said, it caught Hauf off guard. Mostly because she said she likes to use smaller goals to keep pushing herself. First on the agenda is the conference record, nearly clearing 13-3 3/4 earlier in the season, with 13-6 after that. But Hauf didn't rule it out, knowing she still has more to accomplish during her time as a Marauder.
"Especially because I've won the last three years, I know I'm going to fight even harder for next year," Hauf said. "I want to hit the conference record, I want to do well at nationals, and that's going to mean jumping higher. I just have to keep going for my goals."
Hauf cleared 12-8 3/4 on her first attempt to clinch her third consecutive PSAC Outdoor championship, an honor only six other Marauders in program history can boast. Jo Rupp, Christina Carpenter Minder, Priscilla Jennings Landis, Kiara Allen, Sunflower Greene, and Hannah Woelfling welcomed Hauf into Millersville outdoor track & field history. However, Hauf accomplished this feat with still another year left in her career, and much higher heights still in mind. Prior to yesterday, Hauf was also the only Marauder to earn All-PSAC honors in the pole vault when she did so for the first time in 2021. She's continued to rewrite the record book and break her own records year after year.
The junior is not only creating a reputation for herself within program history, but also across the conference. As the top seed, Hauf knows she's the one everyone else is gunning to beat. Through her first three seasons though, no one has been able to knock her off the top spot of the podium. She doesn't block out the noise though. Instead, she uses it to motivate her.
"Every time I come to these meets, I feel like there's a little bit more pressure to keep winning," Hauf said. "For me, if I've won it once, I want to win it every time. So there's a little more pressure there, but at the same time, it makes it a little bit more fun. It keeps me determined and focused moving on."
After winning the event in her first indoor season, Hauf has finished as the runner-up the last two years. She's limited on how she can train before the weather improves in the winter, but her focus has been on peaking at the right time in the outdoor season. Still, second place doesn't sit well with the three-time outdoor champion, and she's kept it in mind to help her stay at the top of the conference.
"It definitely fuels me more for the outdoor [season] every time I come in second," Hauf admitted. "When I'm seeded first and I don't win, it pushes me more for the outdoor to show up."
Self-described as a goal-oriented and determined person, reaching these heights was never a given. Years of hard work has gotten Hauf to this point, and she's nowhere close to being done. Hauf said she hit a breakthrough when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. No longer able to practice with her high school coach, she pursued clubs that allowed her to practice more as well as refine her technique and use more poles.
Even head coach Andy Young said prior to that, Hauf's results in high school were modest. As she kept developing, she eventually added the Maryland state title to her trophy case before joining the Marauders. After starting her college career with two conference championships, the standout pole vaulter turned heads early. However, looking back, Young said it isn't a shock Hauf grabbed the conference's top spot early on.
"She came in, and she actually took it to a whole new level," Young said. "That was a really pleasant surprise. But once you get to know her, she's such a hard worker, she's such a good athlete, it's not a surprise."
Hauf entered the program at the same time as her teammate Megan Malecki. Young attributed part of Hauf's development to having Malecki by her side, and vice versa. The duo has formed a friendship off the field, as well, pushing themselves to reach greater heights while helping each other in the process. Echoing her coach, Malecki also credits Hauf for helping herself become a better pole vaulter.
"She definitely challenged me to be better," Malecki said. "It's a close-to-home thing because we are very good friends. But it's been nice to have somebody to compete with not only at meets but also at practice."
Malecki joined her teammate near the top of the podium with a third-place finish yesterday, earning All-PSAC status for the first time in her career and marking the first time Millersville had two pole vaulters earn All-PSAC at the same meet. Malecki broke her personal record by half a foot with a vault of 12-2 3/4 and secured the tiebreaker for third place by clearing 11-9 on her first attempt.
Malecki and Hauf both said having the other in their corner has helped them learn and improve over these last three years to make program history.
"I didn't have anyone in high school that pushed me like Megan does," Hauf said. "I think we both know the game, we're both great coaches for each other."
The returning upperclassmen in 2021 helped Hauf acclimate to pole vault at the collegiate level, especially her fellow jumpers Young said. But as she's continued to develop as a pole vaulter, she's become a respected leader on the team as well. Hauf called herself a quiet person, and there are other athletes on the team who have stepped into leadership roles more naturally, but her comfort with her teammates has pushed her to be more vocal and supportive.
Young noted she has grown into that spot more recently, surprising her coaches yet again.
"She hated talking to people for her first two and a half years here," Young joked. "I finally heard her speak in front of the whole team without being prompted at a team meeting last month. She was trying to calm people down and say, 'If you don't qualify for the conference meet, it is not the end of the world. Stop beating yourself up about it.' It was really cool of somebody of her caliber to tell the rest of the team to just 'do what you do.'"
Of the six Marauders before Hauf who own the title of three-time conference champion, four are already in the Millersville University Athletics Hall of Fame, while the most recent two are bound to be inducted once they become eligible. Hauf already has the accolades to make her argument, and that's before she begins her senior season. Her head coach sees her trajectory and thinks it's a matter of when, not if, she gets inducted when it's all said and done.
"She's going to be an all-time great athlete that we've ever had at the university," Young said. "It's pretty exciting to still be able to work with someone like that."
With no signs of slowing down, Young threw out the height of 14-0 as a new record he envisions Hauf clearing at some point next year. Knowing her teammate, Malecki said Hauf reaching that shouldn't surprise anyone.
"I think 14 feet is definitely possible, if not higher," Malecki agreed. "Maybe a little bit more practice and a few more poles, and she can definitely go higher than anybody in this conference ever has."
When she first heard the number her coach said, it caught Hauf off guard. Mostly because she said she likes to use smaller goals to keep pushing herself. First on the agenda is the conference record, nearly clearing 13-3 3/4 earlier in the season, with 13-6 after that. But Hauf didn't rule it out, knowing she still has more to accomplish during her time as a Marauder.
"Especially because I've won the last three years, I know I'm going to fight even harder for next year," Hauf said. "I want to hit the conference record, I want to do well at nationals, and that's going to mean jumping higher. I just have to keep going for my goals."
Players Mentioned
Sprints/PV
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Throws
/ Women's Outdoor Track and Fieldvs. Millersville Metrics
Saturday, April 06
3x PSAC Champ Hannah Woelfling and Coach B talk about the record-setting performance
Thursday, May 11
PSAC Track & Field Championships Preview with Coach Andy Young
Thursday, May 11
Highlights: 40th Millersville Metrics
Tuesday, April 04
