PREP ZONE: Landau caps career as an All-American

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If Sarah Landau is looking for an icebreaker to place in her new office, she has a heck of an option at her fingertips.

A 2004 Geneva graduate, Landau wrapped up her college career at the University of Arkansas last week by earning All-America honors as a pole vaulter.

That plaque would look pretty sweet hanging in Landau’s office when she starts her new job as an account executive for an Arkansas TV station later this month.

“It’s either going to go there or the top of my fireplace,” Landau said. “I’m not sure which one yet.”

Impressive as it was to quickly land a job – with her own office, no less – in this economy, Landau’s eighth-place showing at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 12 is the triumph Landau has long been after.

The chance to develop into an All-America pole vaulter was the sole reason Landau chose to transfer from Miami (Ohio) to Arkansas two years ago.

The Outdoor Championships took place on the Razorbacks’ campus.

“It was my last chance, and to be at home, I think I had 15 members of my family drive down from everywhere, it made it a really special moment,” Landau said. “It was a good ending to my career.”

Landau’s vault of 13-9 1⁄4 was her best vault since her days at Miami, and left her increasingly melancholy to be at the end of her career. She is not ruling out continuing to train and compete if she can find the time.

Putting track out of mind won’t be easy. She plans to room with two vaulters who still have eligiblity next year in Fayetteville, Ark., about 25 minutes from Rogers, where she will work.
It took Landau a while to regain her footing after the transfer.

“When I first came here in my first semester I learned more than I ever had pole vaulting,” Landau said. “It’s just the little things at first when I came here. I was really overwhelmed – ‘I need to fix this and this and this,’ all these little things I could do, whereas if I came in freshman year, I probably would have formed those habits.”

Landau has had close brushes with becoming an All-American in past seasons. This time, she prevailed by virtue of fewer misses than others who hit the same mark, allowing her to claim the eighth and final All-American slot.

“I really couldn’t believe it, just the All-American status is something I’ve wanted for so long,” Landau said. “I couldn’t even believe it until I actually got on the award stand and held it in my hands.”

Landau plans a trip to Florida in the two weeks before starting her job, the first vacation she has had time to take in several years.

There’s a good chance she’ll still be beaming when she returns to Arkansas.

“I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect ending,” Landau said. “It was just unbelievable. I still think back ‘Did it really happen? Am I really an All-American?’ It’s just crazy.”

• Jay Schwab is sports editor of The Chronicle. He can be reached at 630-845-5382 or jschwab@kcchronicle.com.