Ex-Razorback setting high goals

Pole vaulter Tina Sutej, a two-time national champion at Arkansas, will compete for her home country of Slovenia in Saturday’s qualifying round of the women’s pole vault in London. Forty women will compete in qualifying, with the top 12 making Monday’s final.

— Tina Sutej is back in the role of the underdog.

Sutej, a two-time national champion at Arkansas, spent the past two years being the woman to beat in any college pole vault competition she entered. Saturday, she’ll be just another long shot hopeful in the qualifying round of the London Olympics.

“College meets are just on a completely different level,” Sutej said from London, where she will compete for Slovenia. “Besides, in the past two years I’ve won almost every college meet and I kind of got used to going into the meet being a favorite, which obviously isn’t the case here in London.

“The Olympics are just something greater than any other competition.”

Her former Arkansas coaches have no doubt Sutej has a bright future in the sport. Forty women will compete in qualifying, with the top 12 making Monday’s final. Razorbacks vault coach Bryan Compton said Sutej, 23, has the talent to make the top 12.

“Right now, she’s healthy,” Compton said. “She told me she thinks she could [set a personal record], make the final. That’s our goal going down there.”

Sutej’s best outdoor mark is 15 feet, 1 1/2 inches, a height she cleared to win the 2011 SEC meet and set the collegiate record. That mark would have placed eighth in the 2008 Olympics, just ahead of former Arkansas standout April Steiner-Bennett, who finished eighth at 14-11.

“She’ll be considered a novice again,” Arkansas Coach Lance Harter said. “She has great credentials and a lot of positive momentum. But if you’re not on that day, you might not even get started.”

The favorites in London are Russian Yelena Isinbayeva, the world record holder at 1 16-7/4, Brazil’s Fabiana Murer, the 2011 world champion, and American Jenn Suhr.

Sutej wasn’t well-known when she enrolled at Arkansas in January 2009, but she had made her mark by the time she left. She won indoor national titles in 2011 and 2012 and finished runner-up outdoors in 2010 and 2011.

Her 2011 season was nearly a clean sweep as she won two SEC titles, the indoor national title and finished second on a tiebreaker outdoors. She also set the college record indoors and outdoors.

Sutej left the Razorbacks with two national titles, five SEC titles and five All-America honors.

“I had a lot of fun competing for the University of Arkansas, and I achieved everything I wanted except for that outdoor national title,” she said. “It wasn’t perfect, but it came very close to it.

“I don’t think it surpassed what I thought I could do. I knew if I stayed healthy I m would be able to jump high. When I started breaking my personal bests I realized that I should give myself some bigger goals, and I’m happy to say that I made almost all of them a reality.”

Sutej had a promising junior career in Slovenia that was highlighted by three national championships and a runner-up finish at the 2006 Junior World Championships. She missed the next year with injuries and was under the scouting radar when she contacted Arkansas in 2008.

Sutej knew a couple of Slovenian pole vaulters who had competed for Northern Iowa’s men’s team. Northern Iowa’s coaching staff had been hired at Arkansas, and assistant Doug Case gave Sutej’s phone number to Compton.

“She had a history of injury, and she was coming in somewhat on blind faith,” Harter said. “She has plenty of passion and dedication for the event. Obviously, those records were the summation of all that hard work.”

The Olympics are another reward for Sutej, who is confident she can compete for a spot in the final. Sutej battled minor injuries down the stretch on her college career but is healthy and practicing well in London, she said.

“I’m quite nervous because it’s such an important event and I obviously want to do well,” Sutej said. “I know it’ll be tough because there’s a lot of good vaulters.

“This is definitely one of my childhood dreams. I’ve been vaulting since I was 13, and I’ve always wanted to compete at the Olympics. It’s great to realize that something you’ve wanted so much for so many years is finally becoming a reality.”

At a glance NAME Tina Sutej AGE 23 (Born Nov. 7, 1988) HOMETOWN Ljubljana, Slovenia RESIDES IN Fayetteville OLYMPIC EVENT Pole vault ARKANSAS CONNECTION Competed for Arkansas in 2009-2012 CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Won the 2011 and 2012 NCAA indoor national championship. ... Two-time NCAA outdoor national runner-up (2011-2012). ... Set college records indoors (14 feet, 11 inches) and outdoors (15-1 1/2). ... Five-time All-America and five-time SEC champion. ... Won 23 of 26 events her last two seasons at Arkansas.

Razorbacks on track

A look at current and former University of Arkansas athletes competing in track and field events: TODAY

Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica), round 1, 100 meters

Kerri-Ann Mitchell (Canada), round 1 100 meters

Raymond Higgs (Bahamas), qualifications, long jump

Samuel Vazquez (Puerto Rico) round 1, 1,500 meters

Sports, Pages 23 on 08/03/2012