Photo - APSU Athletics
Austin Peay State University freshman pole vaulter Morgan Bradley has been named Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year for the 2018 outdoor campaign. Bradley’s astounding achievement makes her the fourth Governor in program history to bring home the league’s top honor for a freshman, joining Anna-Claire Raines (2006, outdoor), Leigha Tolliver (2010, indoor) and teammate Maya Perry-Grimes (2017, indoor).
Bradley, who earned points for the Govs at the 2018 OVC Indoor Championships, made a considerable leap during outdoor season, beginning with a third-place finish in her first meet at the Coastal Carolina Invitational. But it was her performance a month later that catapulted her near the top of the OVC pole vault rankings.
The Hilltopper Relays represented Bradley’s big break out, when both she and junior Dascha Hix hit 3.87m (12-8.25) in the pole vault, taking unassailable control of second place in the OVC behind only teammate Savannah Amato. That mark, which remains her career best, represents the fourth-best height reached by a freshman in Austin Peay history, behind only three of Amato’s late-season attempts her freshman year. Not even Austin Peay Hall of Famer Carrie Burggraf or her teammate Molly Bartkiewciz—both of whom represented Austin Peay on the national stage during their careers—were able to break twelve-and-a-half feet as freshmen.
Bradley was not done after Western Kentucky, either. She followed that up with a runner-up finish at the APSU Invitational, her first career home meet, with a 3.86m (12-8.00) mark and was top-five two weeks ago at the Memphis Tiger Invitational with a 3.67m (12-0.50) height.
Not only is Bradley easily the top freshman in the league in terms of the pole vault, more than two feet clear of her closest competition, she’s tied for 19th among freshmen in the NCAA East region (63rd overall) and tied for 30th nationally among freshmen.
All-time, Bradley is now the 12th Austin Peay track and field athlete to take home one of the league’s top postseason prizes, representing the 14th overall honor (Joanne Arnold and Sheena Gooding were both two-time honorees). She is the first to earn an honor for her work during outdoor season since Jen Pend, who took home Field Athlete of the Year honors in 2007.
(Courtesy Colby Wilson – APSU Associate Director of Athletics Communications)
