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Redhawks Land First Two Pole Vault Recruits Under New Assistant Coach Jenn Suhr
The Roberts Wesleyan University track and field program is proud to announce the addition of two pole vaulters for the upcoming season.
Brynn King, a transfer from Duke University, and Orion Dowdal, a native of Santa Rosa, Calif., are the first athletes to join the Redhawks since Olympic gold medalist Jenn Suhr returned to her alma mater as assistant track and field coach and pole vault coordinator this spring.
"The first two are so important because of the quality of people they are," said Suhr, who joined the Roberts staff in April. "They are going to set the culture for the program by being respectful, working hard and being strong students."
Both athletes said having the opportunity to be coached by Suhr played a key role in their decision.
"I have the opportunity to be coached by an Olympic champion," King said. "Who wouldn't want that?"
"My visit and first meeting with her really sold me," Dowdall said. "She has so much knowledge and experience and has done everything in the sport. I can't wait to get back to Roberts and get started."
Both King and Dowdall have battled injuries during their careers and Suhr is eager to start working with all of the Roberts athletes when they return to campus this fall.
"I want to give people the chance to reach their potential and go for it," Suhr said.
Let's get to know King and Dowdall a bit better:
Brynn King was a thrill-seeker long before she first tried the pole vault during her junior year of high school, spending 11 years as a flier in competitive cheerleading before deciding to try something new.
"Every sport I have ever done has had that element of being in the air," King said. "It's an adrenaline rush."
It's a rush that King hopes to experience at an even higher level.
King first heard Jenn Suhr's name from her club coach in her very first practice. Wondering if it was too late to try a new sport, the coach told her that Suhr, a three-time Olympian and the 2012 gold medalist, didn't even try pole vault until she was 22.
King attended a clinic with Suhr and her husband, Rick, later that year and has kept her eyes on the Suhrs ever since.
"From that day on I liked them a bunch," she says.
King's career took off fast as she vaulted 13-feet, 1-inch to win the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools outdoor championship as a senior at Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, Texas in 2019. She was the first girl to clear 13 feet in state competition and headed off to Duke, where her father, Michael, played baseball and her mother, Cara, played soccer.
King red-shirted her freshman year and qualified for the NCAA East Regionals in outdoor the next two seasons. She cleared 13-5 at the ACC meet as a junior to earn second-team All-ACC.
Her career best is 13-11 ¼.
"I did my four years at a big Division I university and I loved it," said King, who earned a degree in Evolutionary Anthropology from Duke. "I went into the (transfer) portal to look at different options and to find the absolute best place to jump as high as I could."
Suhr saw King's name in the portal shortly after she was hired and re-connected with King. Many schools, including some Division I powers were interested, but King felt that Roberts was the best fit for her to continue to soar while pursuing a second Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science.
"They were both super supportive," King said of her parents. "They said 'We understand why you want to go. If I were you and had the opportunity to train with a gold medalist, I wouldn't pass that up."
King is eager to make the most of it.
"It's interesting," she said of her decision. "I am super excited about it and it's kind of like taking a leap of faith."
Orion Dowdall's didn't have a pole vault coach or a pole vault pit while in high school, but that did not prevent him from leaning on his natural ability to clear 13-feet, 9-inches as a senior despite a two-year layoff from the event.
Dowdall, who is 6-feet-3 and about 190 pounds, also made an impact during his first season at Santa Rosa Junior College, finishing third in the Northern California championship meet for the California Community College Athletic Association.
Injuries sidelined Dowdall for his sophomore season and when it came time to find a landing spot in college, he did what many young athletes are doing and took to social media.
"I saw the post where she was going to be the coach and I just started posting a lot on Instagram," Dowdall said.
It didn't take him long to catch the attention of Suhr.
"He has a lot of qualities that you can't teach," she said.
The two exchanged messages and Dowdall scheduled a visit to Roberts.
"It was great," he said. "I liked the size of the campus and I got along well with the coaches."
Dowdall discussed his injury issues with Suhr, who has endured her share over the years, and she assured him that he would receive the proper training and treatment with the Redhawks.
Dowdall, who plans to major in sports psychology, is a true student of pole vaulting. He spent hours studying the sport while he was injured and is looking to make a quick impact at Roberts.
"I read a lot of self-growth books and things that will help me stay disciplined," he said. "If I stay disciplined, that will help me a lot. A lot of people wait for motivation to hit them, but that doesn't work. You can't put things off until tomorrow or only do things when it is convenient. If you stay disciplined and healthy, you can do great things."