Living in Kansas might put a crimp in Taylor Starkey’s off-roading plans.

Starkey loves to hop in her jeep and explore some of Arizona’s tough terrain. But Kansas is known for its scenic flatlands.

At least there’s another way she can get a Jayhawk's-view of her surroundings at University of Kansas. She’s one of the best high school pole vaulters and transformed into one in her own backyard, literally.

The Casteel High senior planned to keep soaring this year until the Arizona high school spring season was cancelled. But Starkey is taking this coronavirus thing all in stride.

She’s of course disappointed that she isn’t competing and won't participate in important high school-ending traditions. But the pandemic hasn’t stolen her positive attitude, favorite outdoor activities and big dreams.

Making sure Starkey remains on track despite the cancellation of the rest of the school year is her well-known pole vaulting family.

“At the end of the day there is nothing I can do,” she said. “It (pandemic) is not something I can control. I’ll just keep training and look forward to college.”

To train with some of the best coaches at one of the state’s top pole vaulting facilities, all Starkey needs to do is go to her backyard.

The Arizona Pole Vaulting Academy is located on the two acre Queen Creek home of Dean and Jill Starkey, Starkey’s parents. Dean won a bronze medal in the 1997 World Championships in Athens, and Jill is a former world masters champion.

Starkey’s brother and also coach, Garrett, is a professional pole vaulter, Stanford alum and was the top-ranked pole vaulter in the state when he attended Basha. The next jumping Starkey, Tyra, is waiting in the wings. 

At first, Starkey passed on joining the family business, and dad was perfectly fine with it.

“I don’t want to burn them out in anything, especially since they can train in the backyard,” Dean said. “They (three children) don’t have to fill the shoes of older siblings or parents.”

Volleyball, horse barrel racing and equestrian events took up Starkey’s free time as a youngster.

The Starkey’s complex also houses horses. It wasn’t until her freshman year, after her 8th season of indoor volleyball, that pole vaulting piqued Starkey’s interest.

Dean remembers the week it happened.

“She walked out to the backyard three times in one week,” Dean said. “She never did that. Then she said, ‘Dad, I want to try it.’ I’m like, ‘What?'”

The first vaulting competition Starkey attended was the Coachella of pole vaulting events, the annual Reno Summit in Nevada.

It was at a Reno Summit that Dean and Jill met. Starkey immediately fell in love with pole vaulting after her first summit.

“I have to depend on myself,” she said, explaining why she caught the pole vaulting bug. "I like that part. I’m more of an independent person and love the people who do it. Everybody is so nice and have something in common. It’s fun being up in the air. It’s the adrenaline. It’s different than anything else.”

Jill became Starkey’s first coach, but it wasn’t the first time.

Under the watchful eye of Jill, a licensed jockey, Starkey become a successful barrel racer. Last year, during a weekend in the high school offseason for track and field, Starkey competed in a barrel racing and two pole vaulting events.

After winning her age group in the barrel race, she went home, switched into her track and field gear and set a personal record at a meet in Queen Creek. That same afternoon, her family drove to Long Beach to compete in another pole vaulting event the following day.

Starkey PR’d again. At an offseason meet in which she was the only high school participant in New Mexico, she placed higher than a majority of the collegiate entrants.

Starkey's competitiveness and daredevil-ness (She used to ride motorcycles.) are a couple of qualities that allowed her to transform quickly into one of the nation’s elite young pole vaulters.

“When it’s game time I don’t mess around,” Starkey said. "When I get on the runway I get serious, but when I get off I’m talking to everybody and having fun.”

Those traits helped her set the state pole vaulting record twice.

In her second high school meet this season before school was cancelled, Starkey established the new state mark (13-6) and was on her way to becoming Arizona’s first female 14-foot pole vaulter. Her 13-6 was ranked second in the nation before the season was called.

As a freshman and sophomore, when she was hampered by a couple of injuries, she still finished second at state to a pupil of her dad, Julianna Park of American Leadership Academy Queen Creek.

“I don’t discriminate,” Dean said. “My club kids are my own kids. I treat them all the same. May the better person win on that day.”

But Dean’s daughter took the top spot last year for the first time at the Division II state meet with an 11-06.

Her goal this year was to clear 14-4, the current national high school record for female pole vaulters. Starkey also was aiming to try and qualify for the Olympic trials this year but wasn’t too disappointed when they were postponed until 2021.

It’ll give her more time to train and try to achieve her dream of becoming an Olympian. Currently, Starkey wasn’t practicing on reaching a certain height.

She’s been working on her left hand placement during the down time and becoming a better practice pole vaulter. Dean said his daughter is a competition jumper but struggles during practice.

So was Dean, but like her dad Starkey seems to come through in the clutch with the help of her long strides.

“Third attempts will bring some pole vaulters to their knees,” Dean said. “They either rise or fall or can’t perform. But (Starkey) has made so many bars on her third attempts. Every bar should be her third attempt.”

Taylor Starkey/photo courtesy of Starkey familyThe competition to land Starkey by college coaches was close.

It came down to Washington and Kansas. Washington’s jump coach, Toby Stevenson, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist, trained Starkey’s brother, Garrett, at Stanford for a couple of months and knew the Starkeys well.

But location and financially, Kansas made more sense for the Starkeys.

“The (vertical jumps) coach (Tom Hays) there is awesome,” Starkey said.

Now if Kansas can add some hills somewhere for her jeep.

But she’s got another mode of transportation to attempt and reach her peak.