Lobos pole vaulter clearing new heights after year off after graduating from St. Michael's

ALBUQUERQUE Thank God for dads.

If it wasn't for Don Gorman being at the right place at the right time, Jacquelyn Gorman might still be solely immersed in the academic grind of a pre-med degree.

Jacquelyn Gorman, a 2023 St.

Michael's graduate, had shelved her hopes of continuing her track and field career as a pole vaulter in lieu of pursuing her academic dreams of becoming a doctor.

When the University of New Mexico accepted her into its pre-med program in the spring 2023, Gorman saw opportunity even if it didn't satiate her athletic thirst.

"I had been looking for different colleges to be able to go and pole vault somewhere, but it didn't end up working out," Gorman said.

"I got into the BA/MD program, and that was pretty much a no-brainer to go to.

Giving that up would not have been the smart decision." What was a smart decision was her dad, who is an assistant track coach at St.

Michaels, attending a pole vault clinic last year in Albuquerque.

When Don Gorman talked at the event with UNM assistant coach Gabriel Brown, opportunity struck again.

A program looking to increase its vaulters opened a door for Jacquelyn Gorman to reignite her athletic career.

Jacquelyn Gorman is making the most of a second chance.

The freshman added more than 2 feet on her pole vault height in a little more than a year with the Lobos.

Friday saw her continue that progress, clearing a personal-best 3.82 meters 12 feet, 614 inches at the Don Kirby Twilight Invitational at Great Friends of UNM Track Complex.

It was good for fourth place, but she was the third-best Lobo.

All it took was a chance encounter and a text message in April 2024 from Brown telling her she was on the team.

"He was like, 'I was able to figure some things out and you're on the team now,' Gorman said.

"I was like, 'What? No way!' That's insane." "A random text on a Thursday.

But ever since then, I've been on the team." Brown said he saw potential in Gorman after her father showed him videos of her vaulting at St.

Michael's.

Don Gorman became involved in the sport because of his daughter.

Much was learned watching online videos, going to coaches clinics and sending Jacqulyn Gorman to camps in New Mexico and Oklahoma.

Brown said he was looking for vaulters due to head coach Darren Gauson.

"At that point, we just needed to see if we had room on the roster and what we needed to do," Brown said.

"So, I got approved from the top brass, so to speak." One quality Brown said a good pole vaulter needs is fearlessness, and Gorman definitely qualified.

He called her loca for the energy and happy-go-lucky nature she brings to the program.

"I think a lot of people would think [like] that for a pole vaulter, but for her especially," Brown said.

"She excited to be here, and I get that.

I walked on in a similar circumstance [at UNM].

I had been at college for some time before starting my college career." Don Gorman credited 10 years of competing with Zia Gymnastics for instilling that fearlessness into his daughter.

He said that instilled mental toughness, too.

"It helped her avoid developing mental blocks," Don Gorman said.

"We saw some girls would get a mental block and it would tear them down.

...

Jacquelyn would have hard falls and just get back up." Jacquelyn Gorman's dream while she was at St.

Michael's, though, was to find a college where she could learn and compete in track.

She was a multisport athlete as a Lady Horsemen, competing in soccer, basketball and track.

Gorman was a state champion in the 100-meter hurdles and a two-time champion in the triple jump and pole vault, setting the Class 3A pole vault record as a senior.

She also developed into an All-State goalkeeper in soccer.

Gorman said she felt her vaulting skills were inhibited by a lack of equipment as well the need for more in-depth training and coaching.

She could clear 11-6 in practices, but that didn't always translate at meets.

Her personal best in competition was a 10-6 at her final prep meet in the state tournament in May 2023.

'"We [she and her father] tried our best together, but it was super hard when both of us were still learning," Gorman said.

"I sometimes had an opportunity to go jump at Santa Fe High, and their coach [Steve Rivera] also helped me.

There were a couple summer camps, but other than that, it was pretty much just me and my dad.

"I think we did a pretty amazing job, given our circumstances." Don Gorman said his daughter considered going to Texas Tech and West Texas A&M, but when Jacquelyn Gorman learned she was accepted into the UNM prrogram, that made her choice easy.

In fact, they were coming back from Missouri when that happened, and Don Gorman asked her a question: Are we going to Texas? Jacquelyn Gorman decided her education trumped vaulting.

"She was like, 'I want to be a medical doctor,' Don Gorman said.

'This is a gift.

God has given me an opportunity.

I'm going to get an education.' So that was a level of maturity that was impressive, but not surprising." The pre-med program is designed to address New Mexico's shortage of physicians by bringing in students committed to serving communities across the state.

A key element to the program, Jacquelyn Gorman said, is it automatically qualifies her for the university's School of Medicine once she earns her Arts & Sciences baccalaureate degree.

Jacquelyn Gorman said more than 200 students applied for the program, and she was one of 28 students accepted.

She also receives extra tutoring and other resources to help her through her undergraduate tract.

This summer, Jacquelyn Gorman said she will spend a month in Silver City as a shadow volunteer as she learns about rural medicine.

All the while, she will work a full-time summer schedule at UNM.

Another goal for Gorman is to take the Medical College Admissions Test by the winter 2026.

Jacquelyn Gorman added, the academic resources at her disposal made her decision to return to competing easier.

Still, it's a tough road, as she bounces from the classroom to the track or the weight room, followed by about three to four hours of studying in the evening.

"Sometimes I come home and I'm so exhausted, but I still have like two assignments to submit and I have to do it anyways," Gorman said.

But the chance to compete again is worth it.

Her first meet as a Lobo was last year's Kirby meet where she cleared 10-4.

An offseason of training showed once the indoor season began in January.

Gorman cleared 3.71 meters (12-2) in the New Mexico Team Open on Jan.

31, then came her best effort at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic on Feb.

7-8 3.87 meters (12-814).

Brown said Gorman had elements for a good vaulter.

"She does really well with the swing kind of the middle part of the jump she already had that innate ability," Brown said.

"Whoever taught her from high school, whether it was one of the coaches where she went to camp or her dad, someone instilled an amazing swing." Brown added Gorman is working on improving her strength and is willing to do whatever it takes to get better.

Pole vaulting can be a dangerous discipline because competitors reach high heights, but Brown said Gorman isn't afraid of that.

"She doesn't get scared very often," Brown said.

"And when she does, she is very vocal about it, but it doesn't stop her from making an attempt at something.

So, she'll build confidence by pushing her boundaries." Even when it comes to simple things like enjoy a road trip, Gorman seems to push boundaries.

At the Long Beach, Calif., Invitational last weekend, Gorman took in beach life on the team's final day in Southern California and raced into the Pacific Ocean with teammate Kiara Quezada-Arzate clothes and all.

"Oh, it was pretty cold," Gorman said.

"Not warm at all." But it was an experience she'll never forget.

And she has her dad to thank for that..

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