Hana and Amanda Moll: Thurston County's All-Time Greatest Field Event Athletes
Amanda and Hana Moll at the 2025 World Track and Field Championships in Tokyo, Japan
NCAA Records, World-Leading Vaults, and Top-10 Global Rankings
By Coach Larry Weber
CoachWeber.org
Great athletic legacies rarely announce themselves. They form quietly—on empty runways, in small gyms, under coaches who believe long before the rest of the world is watching.
That is how the story of Hana and Amanda Moll begins.
From Thurston County runways to NCAA championships and World Athletics Championships finals, the Moll twins have elevated pole vaulting to heights never before reached by athletes from this region. By any meaningful measure—records, championships, consistency, and global rankings—Hana and Amanda Moll stand today as the greatest field event athletes in Thurston County history.
Their accomplishments belong in the same historical conversation as a local legend: Patsy Walker Pointer, the greatest heptathlete the region has produced. A collegiate national champion and Olympic alternate, Walker Pointer competed at the very highest levels of the sport. During her career, she defeated Olympic and world champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee in head-to-head competition. This achievement places her among the elite all-around athletes of her era. Different events. Same standard of greatness.
What makes the Moll twins' rise remarkable is not only how high they have jumped, but where they started.
Amanda Moll: A World-Best Indoor Vault (2025)
During the 2025 indoor season, Amanda Moll announced herself to the world.
She cleared 4.91 meters (16 feet, 1¼ inches) indoors—a performance that stood as:
- The best indoor pole vault in the world in 2025
- The highest indoor clearance ever by a collegiate athlete
It was not a speculative mark or a promising glimpse of potential. It was a definitive performance—one that placed Amanda atop the World Athletics indoor performance lists and established her as a legitimate force in global pole vaulting.
At an age when many elite vaulters are still emerging, Amanda had already arrived.
Hana Moll: Records, Timing, and the Courage to Go Higher
Hana Moll's greatness has been defined by range and precision.
She is the NCAA Outdoor Pole Vault Record holder, clearing 4.79 meters (15 feet, 8½ inches) at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. That performance reshaped collegiate expectations and placed her among the most accomplished vaulters the NCAA has ever produced.
Then came January 31, 2026.
Competing at the University of Washington, Hana cleared 4.88 meters (16 feet) indoors for the first time, producing the world-leading indoor vault of the 2026 season. The moment mattered—not only for the height itself, but for what it represented: an NCAA athlete leading the world indoors while still early in her senior international career.
And it happened on her 21st birthday.
Few regions ever produce a single athlete capable of that. Thurston County produced two at the same time.
Measured Against the World
Elite performance demands context.
According to Track & Field News, the sport's most respected global ranking authority, the Moll twins finished the 2025 outdoor season in the top 10 worldwide.
These rankings are earned, not gifted. They reflect championship results, consistency across seasons, and performance against the deepest international fields—not a single meet or a favorable moment. World Athletics Championships Finalists
Both sisters earned selection to Team USA and advanced to the World Athletics Championships final in Tokyo, competing against Olympic medalists and reigning world champions. They tied for sixth place, both clearing 4.65 meters.
Reaching a senior World Championships final places an athlete among the very best in the world. For Thurston County, it represents one of the most significant international achievements ever by local athletes, made even more extraordinary by the fact that it happened twice within the same family.
The Power of Continuity
Greatness does not happen in isolation.
The Moll twins' success has been shaped by rare coaching continuity—an increasingly uncommon advantage in modern sport.
Tim Reilly, their club and collegiate coach at the University of Washington and legendary pole vault coach, guided both athletes through years of technical refinement, long-term planning, and elite preparation. His steady approach allowed talent to mature without disruption.
Mike Strong, their high school coach at Capital High School in Olympia, helped lay the technical foundation and build their competitive confidence, making their accomplishments possible.
From high school through college, the message never changed. The standards never slipped. The work never stopped—still just 21.
On January 31, 2026, the Moll twins opened their indoor season at the University of Washington. Both sisters turned 21 years old that same day.
Despite NCAA records, world-leading indoor vaults, World Championships finals, and top 10 global rankings, they remain early in their athletic journey.
That may be the most remarkable detail of all.
Why This Story Matters
The Moll twins' story carries a simple but powerful truth:
World-class track and field excellence does not require a global starting point. It can begin locally—with belief, patience, and people willing to invest before success is guaranteed.
Hana and Amanda Moll have already made history.
At 21 years old, they are still redefining what is possible—and still raising the bar.
Sources
- World Athletics — athlete profiles, seasonal bests, world rankings, and World Championships results.
- Track & Field News — annual world rankings
- NCAA Official Results — NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships; records database
- University of Washington Athletics (GoHuskies.com) — meet recaps, athlete bios, and records
- USTFCCCA — historical collegiate performance lists and honors
- Images courtesy of Mike Strong and University of Washington
Amanda and Hana are going 1-2 at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships.
The Moll sisters with their coaches Tim Reilly (left) and Mike Strong.
Amanda and Hana after going 1-2 at the NCAA Championships