10 Questions with Hana Moll

Soaring!

UW world-class pole vaulter Hana Moll — co-starring with her twin Amanda — flies higher and higher on her own and as part of the most amazing sister act in American athletics today

BY MARK MOSCHETTI • FOR GO HUSKIES MAGAZINE

For most college freshmen (in any sport), qualifying for an NCAA championship in their first year of collegiate competition means being happy just to be there, getting a feel for it, and learning how to deal with pressure of performing on the national stage.

Typically, it doesn’t mean expecting to win it all.

But Hana Moll isn’t most college freshmen. Sure, the first-year University of Washington pole vaulter was happy to be in Boston at the NCAA nationals on the second weekend of March. She got to experience first-hand how the feel and the pressure of an NCAA meet is different from the many other big stages on which she already had performed.

Yes, Moll did expect to have a legitimate chance of winning it all — and she did so with room to spare.

There seemingly isn’t any height — or any achievement — which seems out of reach for Moll. She is both the American U-20 and high school record holder in the outdoor pole vault, won the world U-20 title in 2022, and was on Team USA for last year’s World Outdoor Championships. And, she's the Pac12 Champion having won the conference meet with sister Amanda taking runner-up honors.

She could have taken her talents anywhere, but chose Washington, just 60 or so miles north of her home in Olympia. Her twin sister Amanda, who owns her own impressive resume of pole vaulting credentials, is joining her on Montlake. Their father, Eric Moll, is a former Husky rower.

In this issue’s 10 Questions, Moll talks about winning the NCAA indoor crown, how she got into pole vaulting, and how she drives herself to new heights.

You’ve enjoyed a lot of success on very big pole vaulting stages. How does winning the NCAA title compare to all of those?

“Compared to my previous successes, winning the NCAA title felt less of an individual success and more of a team success. Experiencing my first win as a part of a college team filled me with pride and accomplishment for more than myself. I am proud to represent the University of Washington, so getting a title for the school was very exciting.”

You came into the NCAAs believing that you absolutely could win it. Every athlete has their own way of dealing with that kind of pressure, whether from within or from outside. How do you deal with it?

“I deal with pressure for competitions by acknowledging the fears of failure and pushing past it. I focus on the enjoyment of the sport and technical cues that will help me succeed. For NCAAs, I knew I really wanted to win, so my competitive edge helped me overcome the pressure.”

After you won, you said that your jumps “are a lot different than last year, but for the better.” What is different and better about the way you’re jumping now?

“The main difference between last year and now is that I am much stronger. College training is much more intense than high school training so I am able to move faster down the runway and plant bigger poles that will ultimately help me jump higher. Additionally, I have been making technical improvements in the latter part of my jump, focusing on turning earlier so I can get more energy coming off the pole.”

A track runner will often say that there’s a certain part of the race that’s a key part for them. For a vaulter, is there a certain part of the competition that’s key for you? In other words, is there any point — maybe clearing a certain height — when you can say to yourself, “OK, this is going to be a good day.”

“I think that once I clear the opening height, I can relax my mind and start focusing on jumping high that day. For most pole vaulters, the opening height can be one of the most stressful parts of the competition because if you don’t clear it, then it is considered a no-height.”

As you have gone higher and higher, is there a milestone bar that you still look back on with fond memories? Maybe your first 12, 14 or 15-footer?

“The biggest milestone bar for me was 14 feet. In high school, clearing 14 feet is a big accomplishment and mental barrier. The first time I cleared 14 feet was at a competition in California where my sister, my teammate, and I cleared that height, so I have very fond memories looking back at that height. Technically, 14 feet is a big barrier for a female pole vaulter because it requires you to have better technique and bigger poles to clear it. So, after clearing that height, it made me realize the potential I had to jump even higher.”

Everyone knows about you as a pole vaulter, but what a lot of people don’t know is that in high school, you were also a state champion hurdler and a relay runner. What was it about those events that you liked, and did you ever consider focusing on anything other than pole vaulting?

“Before I even started pole vault, I was training to be a heptathlete. So going into my freshman year of high school, I was still deciding what events I wanted to focus on because I knew I couldn’t succeed in both heptathlon and pole vault. I ultimately chose pole vault, but I decided to compete in both the hurdles and the relays partly for my high school team, but also because it was good speed cross-training for pole vault. I liked the true adrenaline rush I got right before I competed in those races, and also liked the team aspect of the relay. I never really considered focusing on those events instead of pole vault, though, because I really love the sport and its community.”

How old were you when you first tried vaulting, and what got you to give it a try?

“I first tried pole vault at the end of seventh grade. At the time, I had stopped pursuing gymnastics after seven years and wanted to start exploring other sports. During the period I was competing in gymnastics, I had also started doing track on the side. Once I stopped competing, my mom (who wanted to pole vault in high school but was told girls couldn’t pole vault) introduced my sister and I to it through a camp taught by Tim Reilly, one of my coaches here at Washington, and I fell in love with it. I have always enjoyed very adrenaline-rich sports (gymnastics, rock climbing, mountain biking) so pole vault was perfect for me.”

What ultimately factored into your decision to attend and compete for Washington?

“The quality of both academics and athletics was the biggest factor in my decision to attend the University of Washington. I am from the state of Washington, so being close to home was a big plus. Another big factor is that the vault squad at UW is the best in the country. The combination of my coaches, Toby Stevenson and Tim Reilly, and my teammates are what make this place such a great environment for success.”

What has it been like having Amanda alongside you through this journey, and how do the two of you push and encourage each other to get better every day?

“Having my sister alongside me throughout this journey has been crucial in my success in this sport. Having a great training partner that will push you every step of the way has kept me on an unparalleled path of improvement. She has pushed me both mentally and physically and I cannot ask for a better training partner or sister.”

What is your ultimate goal height, and what will it take to get there?

“My ultimate goal is to break the world record (currently 16 feet, 7¼ inches / 5.06 meters). It will take lots of physical and technical improvement before I get there, but I think it is possible.”

SISTER ACT: Meet Amanda Moll

Sometimes, talent comes in twosomes, and sometimes it even comes in twin twosomes.

Meet Amanda Moll, Hana’s twin sister and UW teammate. The 2022 U.S. U-20 Juniors National Champion, Amanda also has competed in the 2022 World U-20 Championships and the 2023 Milrose Games. She is the American U-20 indoor and the U.S. high school indoor record holder.

Her college debut was indoors at the Spokane Invitational last Dec. 9, where she cleared 12 feet, 3 ½ inches. By February, when she was part of the Husky squad that traveled to Lincoln, Neb., for the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational — one of the top indoor meets in the country annually — she recorded her first collegiate 14-footer, going 14-0.

Just one week later, back inside Dempsey Indoor, Amanda went 14-4 to win the Husky Classic, the highlight of her winter season. She made her outdoor debut on the final weekend of March at the Texas Relays in Austin, going 13-7¼.

In early May, Amanda was No. 7 among Pac-12 vaulters on the strength of that mark in Texas. At the Conference Championship in Boulder, Colo., she was the runner-up behind Hana, catapulting her even higher.