Senate Concurrent Resolution 564

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND CONGRATULATING OLYMPIAN AND FORMER OLE MISS TRACK AND FIELD STAR SAM KENDRICKS FOR WINNING HIS FIFTH-STRAIGHT USA OUTDOOR POLE VAULT TITLE.

WHEREAS, Olympian and former University of Mississippi Track and Field Star Sam Kendricks continued to etch his legacy into the fabric of Track and Field in the United States after winning his fifth-straight USA Outdoor Title on June 23, 2018; and

WHEREAS, Kendricks, the 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist in the Pole Vault, cruised to victory, clearing his first seven bars without a miss. Kendricks and 2018 NCAA Champion Chris Nilsen of South Dakota were the final two in competition, with Kendricks prevailing on a Drake Stadium record clearance of 5.85m (19-02.25). Nilsen opted to pass to the next height at 5.90m (19-04.25), but he missed his two attempts to secure the Gold Medal for Kendricks; and

WHEREAS, this marks the eighth total U.S. Title Kendricks has claimed, including the last five outdoors and eight of the last nine overall across both the indoor and outdoor seasons (Kendricks lost his first career U.S. Competition indoors this season); and

WHEREAS, Kendricks is now the first American man to win five straight Pole Vault Titles outdoors since Cornelius Warmerdam did from 1940-1944. This win also marks the 17th U.S. outdoor title won by a former Ole Miss athlete and the 26th overall when combining the indoor and outdoor seasons. Of those 26, a total of 19 belong to Kendricks and Olympic Long Jumper Brittney Reese, who has won 11 (seven outdoors, four indoors) throughout her esteemed career; and

WHEREAS, in December 2018, Sam Kendricks advanced to the top of the Men's Pole Vault World Rankings. Sam repeated at the top of the heap, the first American to do so since Bob Seagren in 1969. He dominated the DL Circuit with five wins, Renaud Lavillenie winning two and Timur Morgunov just one. Overall, Kendricks scored a 7-4 margin over Lavillenie and 7-1 against Mondo Duplantis; and

WHEREAS, "The sacrifices that you make set precedent for the rest of your life in sports. They become who you are. Ten years down the road I will see my sacrifices. We are athletes, and we live this life to try to represent ourselves professionally," said Kendricks; and

WHEREAS, two years ago, Sam Kendricks brought an Olympic Medal back to Oxford. The Mississippian earned the Bronze Medal in the Men's Pole Vaulting Competition at the August 15, 2016, Olympics in Rio de Janeiro; and

WHEREAS, Sam's pole vault for 5.85 meters (19 feet, 2-1/4 inches) put him on the medal stand in his first Olympics and for the first United States Pole Vault Medal since 2004. Kendricks cleared 5.85 meters (more than 19 feet) to put himself in the final group, but missed all three attempts at 5.93 meters. Brazil's Thiago Braz da Silva set an Olympic record with a 6.03 clear, and France's Renaud Lavillenie took the Silver Medal by topping out at 5.98; and

WHEREAS, despite not being able to take home Gold, it was no doubt a successful first Olympics for Kendricks, who grew up in Oxford and attended Ole Miss. He was a two-time NCAA Champion who at age 23 has quite literally jumped into the world of pole vaulting's elite over the last few years; and

WHEREAS, a graduate of Oxford High School, he attended The University of Mississippi from 2012 to 2014, where in 2013 he won the first Pole Vault National Title in school history at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. He broke both Ole Miss Rebels' Pole Vault records as a freshman. Kendricks announced that he would be turning pro in 2019. In May 2015, he earned a Bachelor's Degree in General Studies and a Commission as an Officer in the United States Army from Ole Miss; and

WHEREAS, in 2014, Sam won the Pole Vault Competition at the USA Championships in Sacramento, California, becoming the first person in school history to win a USA Pole Vault Title, and he captured his second-straight NCAA Outdoor Pole Vault Title in Eugene, Oregon. In his college career, he claimed many other Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Awards, including All-American and All-SEC Honors. Mississippians are proud of the accomplishments of Sam Kendricks and wish him continued success; and

WHEREAS, Kendrick's story was referenced by the NBC Commenting Team: Not only is he coached by his father, Scott, (who had the words "Oxford, Mississippi" written on his forearms), the Town of Oxford has rallied around Kendricks. All around town were signs with the saying, "Jump Sam Jump"; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we join the Oxford and University of Mississippi community in recognizing a Mississippi Athlete and Military Officer who has brought honor to his family, his community, his university and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and congratulate Olympian and former Ole Miss Track and Field Star Sam Kendricks for winning his fifth-straight USA Outdoor Pole Vault Title, and extend the best wishes of the Legislature for continued success on this auspicious occasion.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Sam Kendricks and his family, forwarded to the Chancellor of The University of Mississippi and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.