Russ Braudrick is entering his ninth year as the pole vault coach for the Lindenwood track and field program, and his 14th season coaching at the collegiate level.
Last season, Xavier Boland was the program’s top pole vaulter for the second straight year. He tied for sixth at the MIAA indoor championships, and earned all-MIAA honors in the outdoor season. Braudrick also helped Boland qualify for the outdoor national championships.
In 2016, Boland qualified for nationals at both the indoor and outdoor championships. He just missed All-American honors with a ninth-place finish in the indoor meet. Boland also had a pair of top-five finishes at the conference meet, including earning all-conference honors when he came in second at the outdoor championships.
In 2015, Lindenwood's pole vaulters were led by Claire Buckman who just missed all-conference honors when she finished fourth at the MIAA Outdoor Championships. Boland also scored at a conference meet, coming in seventh during the MIAA Indoor Championships.
In 2014, the highlight of the season for the pole vaulters was Claire Buckman qualifying for the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships. She cleared a height of 11-7.75 at nationals and finished 13th overall. Buckman was also named an all-region performer during the indoor campaign.
Buckman also scored for Lindenwood at the indoor and outdoor MIAA meets. She and teammate Kimberly Klenke both finished tied for seventh at indoors, while Buckman earned all-conference with a third-place showing at the outdoor meet.
During Lindenwood’s first season in the MIAA in 2013, he had two pole vaulters score points at MIAA Championships. Buckman tied for sixth and Edgar Garza came in seventh at the MIAA Outdoor Championships.
Since Braudrick arrived at Lindenwood, the team’s pole vaulters have set two school records (women’s indoor and outdoor) and have seven top-10 performances.
Prior to his time at Lindenwood, Braudrick spent five years in the St. Louis area as the pole vault coach for the Parkway School District.
Braudrick is no stranger to pole vaulting at the collegiate level. Before his time back at the high school level, he had a two-year pole vault coaching stint with NCAA Division I Florida International University and a three-year period before that at NCAA Division III Washington University.
While at Washington University, Braudrick coached the university’s first All-American pole vaulter. He also coached the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th top pole vaulters ever at Washington University.
During his time at Florida International, he was the coach of the school record holder in the pole vault along with the top four pole vaulters in school history.
Braudrick started his track and field career as the head coach of Fox High School in Arnold, Mo. where he was the head coach for 26 seasons. His program produced eight state champions and 35 All-State athletes.
