When you're jumping, it's just an aggressiveness, but I think the exhilaration and the fun comes after you make the bar and you're falling. That's the best part - a few seconds to celebrate and relax.

It was a lot to get used to, especially in warm-ups with the wind all over the place. As the meet went on it steadied out, so I was able to get some good looks to go back and train from.

It's hard to pass up a pole vault opportunity here in Des Moines. The crowd was so great when I was at the mall and I was pumped up and I thought technically I was on and I figured where else to open up my outdoor season than here.

I've made some mistakes before.

It's not like I've been vaulting my whole life. I haven't. So my body hasn't taken that physical beating. I'm still on the upscale.

There's so much more important parts other than pole vaulting.

When you're jumping, it's just an aggressiveness, but I think the exhilaration and the fun comes after you make the bar and you're falling. That's the best part - a few seconds to celebrate and relax.