RECRUITED: Anjali Mead - From SPIRE to High Point

By Austin Miller

From Richmond to High Point by way of Geneva, Ohiothis is the path of Anjali Mead.

Introduced to pole vault as a seventh grader by prominent Virginia coach Val Osipenko at Xtreme Heights Vault Club, Anjali took to the event like a fish to water. As a freshman she cleared 12’. After attending pole vault’s largest stand-alone event, the National Pole Vault Summit that same year, Anjali’s fascination evolved into full blown passion.

“I was looking for something more,” she remembers. “My parents and I felt that a lot of time was wasted traveling to and from school and club practices, and I wanted to incorporate weight lifting going into sophomore year.”

This quest to pursue her potential led Anjali to Florida’s international sports boarding school, IMG Academy. She attended an IMG summer camp that August and two weeks later, started her sophomore year at the fa- mous prep school. She recalls her brief but meaningful time there saying:

“It was the COVID year, so I was at IMG for roughly seven months, but it was such a great experience. I met so many different people from different countries.”

However, as any college athlete will tell you, adapting to life away from home can sometimes prove difficult. And navigating that situation at sixteen is no small task.

“As far as training, I didn’t progress like I wanted to so it was a bit frustrating. It was a transition year, from being at home and going to boarding school, so it was a little tough.”

This would prove to be a short-lived test of Anjali’s resolve, as she and her family learned the name Tim Mack from a vaulting friend later that spring. The 2004 Athens Olympic gold medalist in men’s pole vault had recently been hired as the Track and Field Development Director and Head Jumps Coach at Ohio’s international high school and postgraduate sports performance academy and boarding school, The SPIRE Institute and Academy. Curious about what could be, Anjali and her family contacted Tim and set up some practice time.

“Tim coached me through a couple practices over spring break and I loved his coaching style. It was very technical which is what I think I really needed. I already had a good amount of strength and speed. I did a few more camps with Tim to see if I really liked it and later decided to enroll at SPIRE for my junior year.”

It seems that change was the right adjustment when Anjali shares: “

“I jumped 10’10” my sophomore year… my junior year I jumped 13’. It was a big improvement for me,” she laughs. “It showed me all the work I was doing with Coach Mack was paying off.”

Anjali was drawn to SPIRE by Tim Mack’s expertise, but that was not the only selling point. The Academy boasts world-class facilities, ample competition opportunities, on-campus housing, school programs focused on mastery and project-based learning, and a highly structured daily environment. Anjali’s success becomes clear as she shares a day at the academy.

“We have a morning practice from 7:45 am to 8:30 am. We go to school from 9:30 to 2:30, then we have afternoon practice and a lift. I really liked that we get two-a-day practices. That was something that really sold me. Like, who wouldn’t want to train more?”

However, being surrounded by people who share a passion similar to yours in an environment built to give every opportunity for success does not come without its drawbacks. A strikingly small student base navigating ever-changing COVID requirements can make one feel slightly stuck. But even this brought Anjali a growing experience, teaching her an important lesson in balance between life and pole vault.

Now, as she makes her way through her last semester of high school, Anjali prepares for a new chapter set to take place at High Point University in North Carolina this coming fall. High Point’s track and field team has been steadily growing, notching more NCAA preliminary and championship qualifiers every year. A successful 2021 campaign by then freshman vaulter, Sydney Horn, culminated with two first team All American finishes, and drew the attention of Anjali’s father, a pole vaulter in his own right.

“He saw that Sydney was ranked really high at nationals and was like ‘Wow, I’ve never heard of that school, I wonder what they’re doing over there,’” she recalls.

After careful research and an insightful conversation with High Point vault coach and active professional vaulter, Scott Houston, Anjali took a campus tour and official visit and was sold. High Point’s small class sizes fit her learning style. The university’s natural sciences department will direct her towards her dream career in veterinary medicine. Most importantly the team felt like home.

“When I met the team, I just loved the vibe and the dynamic they have. The atmosphere was the main thing that made me go, ‘This is the school,’” she smiles.

The opportunities are endless for this next chapter in Anjali’s life. She looks forward to a university experience filled with meeting new friends from all walks of life and being part of a team family, something she admits is sometimes hard to come by in the small individualized environment of SPIRE.

As a competitor, she aims to qualify for the NCAA Division 1 National Championships and shared a desire to go even further at the professional level. Her unique path to collegiate vaulting has given her the opportunity to grow in ways that many don’t experience until they are older. Anjali Mead’s athletic story is just beginning, and her future as a vaulter, and a person, is undoubtedly bright.