When she began the pole vault in 2019 as a junior at Mingus, Joelle Santiago was completely new to the sport. Her competitive cheer coach, Shelly Altman, had talked her into joining. By the time the abbreviated 2020 track and field season came to an end, Santiago was one of the best high school pole vaulters in the state.
Santiago attributed her success in the sport to her experience in gymnastics — which she’d done since she was 4 years old — as well as competitive cheerleading.
“Definitely my cheerleading and gymnastics background helped,” Santiago said. “It’s very common for Olympic pole vaulters to have that experience. That gave me a bit of a leg up, I feel.”
During the brief 2020 season, Santiago had a high distance of 10 feet, 6 inches, a distance that was No. 1 in the state for Division 3 girls.
As a junior, Santiago finished sixth in the state meet. Santiago’s overall experience there was among her top memories.
“Going to state for pole vault my junior year was an amazing experience,” she added. “The track coaches really made me feel at home on the track team. The girls I stayed with were super amazing. I loved getting to stay in a hotel with all my friends.”
In addition to the track team, Santiago was also the captain of the cheer team as a senior, her one and only year cheering for the Marauders. She said cheering on the track during football games was a “great, fun experience”
Santiago credited Altman for encouraging her to join the track team, as well as her years of coaching and mentorship in cheerleading.
Beyond her athletic achievements, Santiago was also the Salutatorian for the Mingus Class of 2020. She will attend Northern Arizona University next year and plans on majoring in Biomedical Science. Santiago hopes to eventually become a physician’s assistant and plans on attending school for that after completing NAU.
When Santiago does start at NAU, she’ll have a good head start in the medical field. She attributes a lot of that to the college courses that she was able to take while still in high school.
“I finished my medical assistant program at Yavapai [College],” she said. “Getting to jump into the medical field as a junior and senior was amazing. Taking AP classes expanded my knowledge so much.”
While Santiago’s graduation marked the end of her time as a high school athlete, she’s not done being a student athlete. She is planning on being a part of NAU’s Division I track and field team next year as a pole vaulter.
Presently, Santiago expects to be the Lumberjacks’ only pole vaulter — man or woman. Being the only pole vaulter on the team will create something of a unique experience for Santiago, albeit one not entirely uncommon to her.
“It will be a very different experience but I’m kind of used to practicing on my own,” she said. “I had to cut around my cheer and work schedule. I do like the team aspect of track. The NAU coach and I have talked about still being a part of the team. I’ll still have the team aspect but it will be individual.”
And even though Santiago’s time with the Marauders track and field team are now complete, the two years that she spent left a strong impression on her.
“That was amazing,” she said. “The coaches and teammates were very welcoming — some of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life.”
