| Indoor |
Mark |
Date |
| Pole Vault |
5.36m (17-7) |
5/14/16 |
| Outdoor |
Mark |
Date |
| Pole Vault |
5.42m (17-9.25) |
2/28/16 |
2016-17
Indoor: Opened the year with a win at the CNU Holiday Open, jumping 5.05m (16-6.75).
2015-16
Indoor: Named first-team All-American ... Finished seventh in the pole vault at the NCAA Championships ... First vaulter in school history to earn All-America honors ... Also won the IC4A Championship, the first for W&M since 1977 ... Opened the year breaking his own school record with a 5.13m (16-10) clearance at CNU in December ... Broke that record three more times during a three-week period ... Cleared 5.36m (17-7) at Liberty ... The next week, went 5.37m (17-7.25) at Virginia Tech ... Then jumped 5.42m (17-9.25) at George Mason to qualify for the NCAA Championships ... Won six vaults through the year.
Outdoor: Won the IC4A Championship to unite the Eastern titles ... Broke his own school record with a vault of 5.36m (17-7) ... Qualified for the NCAA Semifinal for the third-straight year ... Won his third-straight CAA Championship, the first man in conference history to accomplish that feat ... Was one of five wins on the season ... First W&M vaulter to win the Colonial Relays title in 45 years ... Named CAA Field Athlete of the Week on both March 22nd (after winning the Tribe Invitational) and April 5th following his Colonial Relays win ... CAA Commissioner's Award for having a GPA over 3.2 ... CAA All-Academic team.
2014-15
Indoor: Broke the school record indoors with his vault of 5.10m (16-8.75) at CNU in January ... Improved that to 5.11m (16-9.25) at Penn State in early February ... Matched his record at Virginia Tech in late February.
Outdoor: Qualified for the NCAA Semifinals for the second time, finishing 32nd ... Won the CAA Championship with a school- and conference-record vault of 5.30m (17-4.5) ... First man in school history to surpass 17 feet in the pole vault ... Went on to place eighth at the IC4A Championships for All-East honors ... Every single vault other than the CAA Championships came at 4.85m (15-11) ... Runner-up at the Colonial Relays ... CAA Commissioner's Award for having a GPA over 3.2.
2013-14
Indoor: Named All-East after placing fifth at the IC4A Championships ... Improved to second in school history with his clearance at 5.07m (16-7.5) at CNU in January ... First to jump so high since 1977 ... Won that day and two weeks later at CNU again ... That 5.07m performance was his first collegiate mark over 16-feet ... Would clear that mark three more times indoors ... Topped 5.05m (16-6.75) at the IC4A Championships.
Outdoor: NCAA qualifier in the pole vault ... Placed 19th in the Eastern Semifinals with a school-record vault of 5.17m (16-11.5) ... Won the CAA Championship at 4.80m (15-9) ... In fact, won four of his first five competitions outdoors ... Broke W&M's school record with a 5.10m (16-8.75) vault at Richmond in late March ... The previous record of 16-6 had stood since 1972 ... Won he Penn Relays in late April at 4.95m (16-2.75) ... Named the CAA Athlete of the Week after both Richmond and Penn ... Made a total of eight jumps over 16-feet across both seasons, second-most in a single year in school history ... After clearing 16-feet for the first time in January, only had two meets where he didn't clear that bar (as well as three no-heights) ... Attempted the high jump at the CAA Championships as well, with less than ideal results.
2012-13
Indoor: Redshirted.
Outdoor: Runner-up at the CAA Championships for his first all-conference award ... Cleared 15 feet at each of the last five meets ... Season-best of 4.70m (!5-5) came at the Mason Spring Invitational.
Prep
Won the Virginia AAA pole vault state title outdoors as a senior ... Also earned all-state honors as a junior, placing second indoors ... President of the National Honor Society chapter at Ocean Lakes.
Personal
Son of Ralph and Susan O’Connell ... Enjoys skateboarding, surfing, and playing disc golf.
