Former Eastern Washington University All-America pole vaulter
Keisa Monterola was recently inducted in the Venezuela Hall of Fame of Athletics for her award-winning collegiate and international career in track and field.
The four-time Big Sky champion still holds EWU's indoor (14-4) and outdoor (14-0) pole vault records, with the indoor mark also an all-time Big Sky Conference mark. She received her degree in 2014 in interdisciplinary studies in the school of social studies at EWU.
"We're very excited for Keisa to receive this tremendous honor," said long-time EWU pole vault coach
Eric Allison. "It is very much deserved. We were happy to be a small part of what she accomplished in the pole vault, and enjoyed coaching her and watching her compete at such a high level. We are very excited to have her as an alumna of EWU Track and Field."
She is a member of the 11th induction class, which included four other athletes, a coach, an administrator and a journalist. Her parents, Ysrael Monterola and Leyda Suarez, were present to receive the recognition. As an ironic twist, the ceremony was originally going to take place at the Venezuelan Olympic Committee Auditorium in Caracas, but because of a power issue, it had to be moved to the nearby Venezuelan Track & Field Stadium Brígido Iriarte where Monterola once competed.
Monterola earned first team NCAA Division I All-America honors after placing fifth in the pole vault on March 10, 2012, at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Indoor Championships in Nampa, Idaho. She jumped 14-1 1/4, slightly lower than her personal best of 14-4, which broke the Big Sky Conference all-time record. She is one of just three female DI All-Americans in EWU's track and field in school history – the only female indoors.
Prior to the NCAA meet, she won the Big Sky Conference title with an effort of 14-2 to earn Most Outstanding Athlete honors. She then had a school-record 14-0 vault in her first competition of the outdoor season, coming just 2 1/2 inches from yet another Big Sky record. She went on to win the Big Sky outdoor title with a mark of 13-7 1/4.
In all, she concluded her career with four league titles in five appearance when she triumphed at the 2014 Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships.
Monterola was the first Venezuelan to win a world athletics medal, winning silver at the World Junior Championships in Marrakech in 2005. She came to hold national, South American, Central American and Caribbean and Pan American records in almost every category of the pole vault. Her 14-4 effort for EWU in Seattle in January of 2012 established a new Venezuela indoor record.
"What pride I have and an honor this is," she said. "Congratulations to the other colleagues who were also recognized."
