When Allie Riches’ high school coach asked her to start pole vaulting after her freshman year, she had no idea what she was getting into. She was unfamiliar with the sport and had never picked up a pole in her life.
Her mom quickly enrolled her in a local pole vaulting club in Philadelphia and Riches immediately fell in love with the sport.
“It was just kind of a thrill each time you jump, whether you can make it or not,” Riches said. “I just stuck with it because it was something I wasn’t good at that I really wanted to be good at.”
After spending her first three years of college at Rider, Riches transferred to Temple during the offseason for her senior year. Riches has already made history since joining the Owls, breaking Temple’s outdoor pole vaulting record of 4.00 meters.
Temple Track and Field hasn’t had a pole vaulter on its team since 2012 because they didn’t have a pole vaulting coach. Ten years later, Riches is one of the best pole vaulters in the conference and hopes to revive pole vaulting as a key part of the program.
“It feels really good,” Riches said. “At first I was a little nervous because a lot of programs don’t put money towards pole vaulting but I am Temple’s first pole vaulter so they are pulling out all the stops and are really trying to support the team which means a lot.”
At Rider, Riches won a gold medal in the Metro American Athletic Conference outdoor championships during her sophomore and junior seasons. Despite her success, the university opted not to continue funding pole vaulting as part of its track and field program, forcing Riches to transfer.
Growing up, Temple was always Riches’ dream school because of its academic programs, not its athletics. Choosing Temple was an easy yes when assistant track and field coach Kevin Kelly reached out to Riches in the transfer portal, despite the Owls not having an established pole vaulting program.
Kelly, who is in his second year as a coach at Temple, knew he wanted to bring pole vaulting back to Temple when he was hired because it is a mainstay at many Division I programs, but he just needed the right athlete.
“She has already had a ton of success,” Kelly said. “She was able to take a leap of faith and trust that we can make her better and I think her best days are definitely ahead.”
Adjusting to Temple and its urban environment has been a new experience for Riches after transferring from a small private school like Rider. Initially growing up in Kansas, Riches had never been around cities, so seeing Philadelphia’s diversity made her fall in love. Thanks to a positive attitude in the locker room, she has been able to become friends with her teammates, who have helped get her acclimated to the city.
“I have just been making sure to hang out with her and check in on her everyday outside of practice,” said graduate runner Isatu Shirek. “That genuine want to be friends has helped us both and has really helped Allie feel more comfortable.”
While adjusting to living in Philadelphia, Riches has also quickly adjusted to a higher level of competition. At the Knights Invitational on March 24, she broke Temple’s outdoor pole vaulting record, with a mark of 3.8 meters and finishing first in the event.
She followed that performance up with even better outings within the following two weeks, breaking her own record two more times by recording a 3.93 meter vault during the Big 5 and Friends meet on April 1, and a 4.00 meter vault during Princeton’s Larry Ellis Invitational just two weeks later on April 15.
The competition at Temple events are much more competitive than the ones Riches participated in at Rider.
At Rider events, Riches knew she was going to win before the events even started, she said.
Despite quickly finding success at Temple, Kelly believes Riches is only scratching the surface of her ability and thinks she has the potential to be even better, he said.
“The expectations are placed very high,” Kelly said. “I want her to be a conference champion and make it to the NCAA final round.”
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