Kourtney Rathke, a Michigan-bound senior representing Above the Bar and Peak to Peak Charter School and a Colorado state champion in the pole vault and long jump, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss becoming the only female athlete in U.S. prep history to clear at least 13-9 in the pole vault, along with surpassing 19 feet in the long jump and 37 feet in the triple jump. She also joins Mary Saxer from Lancaster High in New York in 2005 as the only girls high school competitors to produce a 13-9 pole vault and a 19-foot long jump in their prep careers. Rathke boasts personal-best efforts of 13-9.25 (4.20m) in the pole vault, in addition to 19-2 (5.84m) in the long jump and 37-5 (11.40m) in the triple jump. She reflects on her consistency of achieving 13-foot clearances in the pole vault 26 times in the past two years, beginning with her first time eclipsing the barrier with a 13-3.50 (4.05m) performance at the 2022 New Balance Nationals Indoor. Rathke examines working on her short approach from only four lefts during the indoor season, in order to work on specific aspects of her vault in pursuit of a 14-foot clearance for the first time in her career from a full approach. She explains how meaningful it has been to compete in the same era of high school girls pole vaulting as Amanda Moll and Hana Moll, Jathiyah Muhammad, Hannah Grace, Molly Haywood, Kenna Stimmel, Ella McRitchie and Veronica Vacca, and how their performances have helped inspire and motivate her in her own career. Rathke expresses gratitude for the support and guidance she has received from John Carmony and Pat Manson since joining Above the Bar in 2016-17, and how instrumental they have been in her development and improvement as an athlete, along with helping her become an impactful leader. She also shares her thanks for coach Evan Gerish working with Rathke on her hurdling, in addition to the support and insight in the horizontal jumps from her mother Anne, who competed collegiately for Stanford. Rathke shares her excitement for attending Michigan and being teammates with former Above the Bar standout Mia Manson, in addition to being able to learn from Wolverines pole vault coach Jenni Ashcroft. She also speaks about what the Big Ten Conference is going to look like next year with the addition of Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC, as well as being able to attend football games and supporting the reigning NCAA champions, along with being part of such a strong athletic program.