SHOWING HER LIGHT
5/28/2026 11:36:00 AM | Track & Field, My Baylor Story
More than pole-vaulting, Molly Haywood’s identity is in Christ
Seemingly, if there's a mountain that Molly Haywood hasn't climbed, it's just because she hasn't tried yet.
From competing on American Ninja Warrior Juniors at 13 years old, to winning the Class 6A state championship in the pole vault with a meet-record mark of 14 feet, 3 inches, to capturing four-consecutive Big 12 championships, earning All-America honors and rewriting the record books at Baylor, the junior from Tomball, Texas, has done it all.
In a glimpse into the future, Molly even beat some of the top professional athletes in winning the UCS Spirit National Pole Vault Summit earlier this year in Reno, Nev., with a vault of 14-9.
"Molly has become one of the country's most consistent vaulters at the NCAA level," Baylor pole-vaulting coach Brandon Richards said, "and has had an incredible impact on the Baylor pole vault program. She has rewritten the record books and lifted up everyone around her."
To that point, Molly's streak of four-consecutive conference championships ended at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship two weeks ago in Arizona, when she finished second behind senior teammate Tenly Kuhn. Baylor has now swept the Big 12 indoor and outdoor championships each of the last three years, with Alencia Lentz winning the indoor title in 2024.
"Obviously, I want to go out there and win. That's part of why we compete is to go out there and jump the best that we can," said Haywood, who is ranked seventh in the region going into the NCAA West Prelims that began Wednesday in Fayetteville, Ark., and continue Thursday with the women's events.
"I'm super proud of all the Big 12 titles that I've earned. So, I knew I had the ability to go out there and win this one. But part of pole vault is going out and having to be the best person on that specific day. Tenly had an amazing day and jumped super well. As much as I wanted to win, I'm happy for her and super grateful she got to experience that."
Including the Big 12 Indoor Championship, that was the sixth time this year that Molly and Tenly have gone 1-2 in a meet, with Tenly also winning the Baylor Invitational.
There's a bond in the pole-vaulting community that you rarely see in sports, where the competitors pull for each other and actually want to see each of them do well.
"Pole vault has the best community that I've ever seen in a sport," Molly said. "It's super cool how we can go to these meets – and obviously, all of us want to win – but you go out there, and you're excited for everybody. It's really cool that even though you are competing against these other people, they want you to do well and you want them to do well. Honestly, it's just such a fun and uplifting environment."
In a way, Molly was introduced to pole vaulting through competing in the American Ninja Warrior Juniors.
"I was always kind of doing crazy stuff, doing all these fun obstacles," she said. "And I found out that a lot of the really good ninjas were actually pole vaulters in college. I always looked up to them, and I wanted to get better at ninja. What did they do to get successful? For a lot of them, it was pole vault. So, I was like, 'Okay, I'm going to try pole vault.' And then, I ended up falling in love with it. I thought it was fun getting to fly through the air and be a little crazy. So, that's where it all started."
A consistent 14-foot vaulter at Tomball Memorial High School, Molly found her perfect fit at Baylor "in terms of school, community, pole vault, kind of everything."
"That's kind of when it started. I got in contact with Coach Richards and started talking to him, just learning more about Baylor in general, and then I ended up committing the fall of my senior year of high school."
She also found a second family in Richards, "who treats all his vaulters like we're his daughters," and the sisterhood of vaulters.
"Me and Alencia have lived with each other since we got to Baylor," Molly said. "That's been fun, just getting to come to Baylor and learn all the freshman things, get used to being in college and that transition that comes with going to college and competing in DI sports. And then Tenly, we spend so much time together, whether it's practice, meets, traveling. I think it's really cool having those special people that are going to be there for me for life."
Although she didn't want to put too much pressure on herself, Molly had a phenomenal freshman season, winning the Big 12 Outdoor title and earning All-America honors with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.
That summer, Molly won a gold medal at the U20 World Championships in Lima, Peru, setting a then career best of 14-8.
"Molly is one of the most driven, motivated, hardworking, 'compete your heart out' athletes I have ever worked with," Richards said. "It's great to see her end a great season with a world championship gold medal exclamation point."
Getting her first chance to represent Team USA, "and to do that as a 19-year-old was really cool," Molly said.
"And then, just getting to travel outside of the country for a meet and get to meet people from all these different countries, it was such a great experience," she said. "To be able to come away with the win was just awesome."
Although she dominates Baylor's all-time top-10 lists indoors and outdoors, Molly said her identity "shouldn't be in pole vaulting."
"I think I've had just the best time getting to work with so many people and learn so many things. It's just been an amazing experience," she said. "Pole vaulting is something that we do, and it's an amazing platform that all of us have been given to show that light to others. But we don't compete specifically for the marks to jump super high. That's the goal, and that's what we work for every single day. But most importantly, that we're bringing others to Christ."
After finishing fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Molly hopes to end this season with a top-three finish at next month's NCAA Outdoor Championship in Eugene, Ore. But she already has her sights set on potentially making Team USA for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
"To not only represent your country, but also compete in your home country for the Olympics, is something not very many people to get to experience," she said. "There are so many talented athletes just in the U.S. in general, so there's no telling what height it's going to take. I'm working on getting to those upper-15, close to 16-foot marks and being super intentional with practices.
"It sounds like it's super far away, but it will come up super-fast. I think it's just being ready for that experience and starting the prep now."
From competing on American Ninja Warrior Juniors at 13 years old, to winning the Class 6A state championship in the pole vault with a meet-record mark of 14 feet, 3 inches, to capturing four-consecutive Big 12 championships, earning All-America honors and rewriting the record books at Baylor, the junior from Tomball, Texas, has done it all.
In a glimpse into the future, Molly even beat some of the top professional athletes in winning the UCS Spirit National Pole Vault Summit earlier this year in Reno, Nev., with a vault of 14-9.
"Molly has become one of the country's most consistent vaulters at the NCAA level," Baylor pole-vaulting coach Brandon Richards said, "and has had an incredible impact on the Baylor pole vault program. She has rewritten the record books and lifted up everyone around her."
To that point, Molly's streak of four-consecutive conference championships ended at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship two weeks ago in Arizona, when she finished second behind senior teammate Tenly Kuhn. Baylor has now swept the Big 12 indoor and outdoor championships each of the last three years, with Alencia Lentz winning the indoor title in 2024.
"Obviously, I want to go out there and win. That's part of why we compete is to go out there and jump the best that we can," said Haywood, who is ranked seventh in the region going into the NCAA West Prelims that began Wednesday in Fayetteville, Ark., and continue Thursday with the women's events.
"I'm super proud of all the Big 12 titles that I've earned. So, I knew I had the ability to go out there and win this one. But part of pole vault is going out and having to be the best person on that specific day. Tenly had an amazing day and jumped super well. As much as I wanted to win, I'm happy for her and super grateful she got to experience that."
Including the Big 12 Indoor Championship, that was the sixth time this year that Molly and Tenly have gone 1-2 in a meet, with Tenly also winning the Baylor Invitational.
There's a bond in the pole-vaulting community that you rarely see in sports, where the competitors pull for each other and actually want to see each of them do well.
"Pole vault has the best community that I've ever seen in a sport," Molly said. "It's super cool how we can go to these meets – and obviously, all of us want to win – but you go out there, and you're excited for everybody. It's really cool that even though you are competing against these other people, they want you to do well and you want them to do well. Honestly, it's just such a fun and uplifting environment."
In a way, Molly was introduced to pole vaulting through competing in the American Ninja Warrior Juniors.
"I was always kind of doing crazy stuff, doing all these fun obstacles," she said. "And I found out that a lot of the really good ninjas were actually pole vaulters in college. I always looked up to them, and I wanted to get better at ninja. What did they do to get successful? For a lot of them, it was pole vault. So, I was like, 'Okay, I'm going to try pole vault.' And then, I ended up falling in love with it. I thought it was fun getting to fly through the air and be a little crazy. So, that's where it all started."
A consistent 14-foot vaulter at Tomball Memorial High School, Molly found her perfect fit at Baylor "in terms of school, community, pole vault, kind of everything."
"That's kind of when it started. I got in contact with Coach Richards and started talking to him, just learning more about Baylor in general, and then I ended up committing the fall of my senior year of high school."
She also found a second family in Richards, "who treats all his vaulters like we're his daughters," and the sisterhood of vaulters.
"Me and Alencia have lived with each other since we got to Baylor," Molly said. "That's been fun, just getting to come to Baylor and learn all the freshman things, get used to being in college and that transition that comes with going to college and competing in DI sports. And then Tenly, we spend so much time together, whether it's practice, meets, traveling. I think it's really cool having those special people that are going to be there for me for life."
Although she didn't want to put too much pressure on herself, Molly had a phenomenal freshman season, winning the Big 12 Outdoor title and earning All-America honors with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.
That summer, Molly won a gold medal at the U20 World Championships in Lima, Peru, setting a then career best of 14-8.
"Molly is one of the most driven, motivated, hardworking, 'compete your heart out' athletes I have ever worked with," Richards said. "It's great to see her end a great season with a world championship gold medal exclamation point."
Getting her first chance to represent Team USA, "and to do that as a 19-year-old was really cool," Molly said.
"And then, just getting to travel outside of the country for a meet and get to meet people from all these different countries, it was such a great experience," she said. "To be able to come away with the win was just awesome."
Although she dominates Baylor's all-time top-10 lists indoors and outdoors, Molly said her identity "shouldn't be in pole vaulting."
"I think I've had just the best time getting to work with so many people and learn so many things. It's just been an amazing experience," she said. "Pole vaulting is something that we do, and it's an amazing platform that all of us have been given to show that light to others. But we don't compete specifically for the marks to jump super high. That's the goal, and that's what we work for every single day. But most importantly, that we're bringing others to Christ."
After finishing fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Molly hopes to end this season with a top-three finish at next month's NCAA Outdoor Championship in Eugene, Ore. But she already has her sights set on potentially making Team USA for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
"To not only represent your country, but also compete in your home country for the Olympics, is something not very many people to get to experience," she said. "There are so many talented athletes just in the U.S. in general, so there's no telling what height it's going to take. I'm working on getting to those upper-15, close to 16-foot marks and being super intentional with practices.
"It sounds like it's super far away, but it will come up super-fast. I think it's just being ready for that experience and starting the prep now."
Players Mentioned
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & FieldThe Sic Em Podcast (Ep. 99): Molly Haywood, Tenley Kuhn, and Alencia Lentz
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Baylor Athletics: My Baylor Story - Molly Haywood
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Sunday, May 17
Pole Vault U! Baylor Takes 1st, 2nd, and 4th in Womens Pole Vault at Big 12 Championships!
Sunday, May 17
