To Jonelle Scott, “raising the bar” isn’t merely a sports metaphor. As a pole vaulter for Long Beach State University’s women’s track and field squad, it’s literally what defines her success.

Given that she already ranks No. 1 among female pole vaulters in LBSU history less than a year after graduating from Soquel High, one can only imagine how much higher Scott will eventually raise her bar.

Only a freshman, Scott already owns or shares Long Beach State’s top indoor and outdoor marks in the women’s pole vault. In fact, Scott tied the school’s indoor record at her very first collegiate meet, clearing 13 feet, 3½ inches to place first at the Nevada Invitational in Reno back in January.

Scott has gone even higher outdoors: She propelled herself to a height of 13-9 on April 4 at LBSU’s Battle at the Beach. Scott’s vault shattered the 23-year-old mark of 13-4¼, set by Connie Jerz in 2002, by nearly five inches.

“It’s really shocking to me, to be honest,” Scott said. “But at the same time, I set it as a goal mentally to break the record, so it’s not super crazy.”

Making the outdoor mark more impressive is that unlike indoor track, outdoor track requires Scott to contend with something she can’t control — namely, weather conditions. Attempting to run and launch herself upward into a strong wind, for instance, can make it challenging to go higher and higher.

Battling the elements, however, is nothing compared to something else Scott had to fight through early in the outdoor season — namely, a mental block stemming from a lack of self-confidence. Though she was winning or at least placing high at meets — including the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation indoor championships, where she took third place — she consistently failed to clear 13 feet. Her struggles stemmed from the fact that she was tweaking her jumping mechanics.

But at the Battle at the Beach, Scott experienced a breakthrough: Everything seemed to go right on her final vault, which took her higher than any female vaulter in school history.

“I was running really consistently,” Scott said. “I was able to swing better — like, faster.”

Not only was her record-setting vault a full foot higher than her best mark at Soquel (12-9), it secured Scott’s third triumph in four outdoor meets. She won LBSU’s Beach Opener on March 8, edging Cal Poly Pomona senior Isabelle Carreon in a jump-off after the two tied in regulation with vaults of 12-4¾, and followed that up with another triumph at UC Irvine’s Challenge Cup meet on March 15.

Scott’s record vault also launched her into the top 25 among NCAA Division I athletes in the West Region in her event. As of this writing, Scott ranked 23rd.

Her personal-best vault is still well behind national leader Olivia Lueking of the University of Oklahoma, who has cleared 15 feet. Scott’s top height isn’t even the highest mark in the Big West Conference this season — that belongs to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo junior Lexi Evans, whose top height of 14-5¼ is the sixth-best in the NCAA’s West Region.

Even so, LBSU pole vault coach Levi Arzac said Scott’s success out of the gate is a promising indicator of just how much potential greatness she has.

“She’s faster and more explosive than most incoming female vaulters,” Arzac said. “She’s a fast learner — I can typically tell her to change something in her vault, and by the third time, she’s fixed it and we’re able to move on. She’s easy to coach.”

Unlike most female pole vaulters, Arzac said, Scott did not get her start in gymnastics. That sport typically proves a boon in the pole vault.

By contrast, Scott was a sprinter before becoming a pole vaulter. And at Soquel, she excelled as a sprinter, winning back-to-back 100-meter titles at the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League championships as a junior and senior.

It was in the pole vault, however, that Scott truly shined. She captured two straight Central Coast Section crowns and placed third at the California Interscholastic Federation meet in 2024.

The speed Scott developed as a sprinter is perhaps her biggest strength as a pole vaulter, according to Arzac. Her ability to accelerate quickly before planting her pole in the box at the end of the runway is part of what launches her skyward to heights many collegiate pole vaulters are still struggling to reach.

“For Jonelle, it was a natural transition,” Arzac said. “She runs fast without a pole and with a pole.”

Scott concurs: “For me, my speed has always gotten me on bigger poles, which makes me jump higher,” she said. “Learning to swing better helps a lot, too.”

Scott describes her typical vault thusly: When she sails upward following her takeoff, her left leg trails behind her. When her “trail leg” is behind her hands during her ascent, that’s when she knows it’s time to swing upward in preparation to go over the bar.

A health science major, Scott hopes to become a physician’s assistant someday. For now, though, her focus is on getting over the bar at 14 feet — and, hopefully, earning a spot in the NCAA West Regional in College Station, Texas.

And she doesn’t mind the pressure that her early success has brought upon her.

“It’s a great thing if it pushes me,” Scott said. “I want to go to regionals or even make the NCAAs. It does put a little pressure on me because I set myself in that spot, but it will motivate me more because I want to compete in those meets.”

Said Arzac: “Count on seeing her in College Station.”