Maggie Krause had heard it enough. She was sick and tired of coaches conveying to her the potential she had. The potential to attend college and compete in a sport at a very high level.
For years, coaches from high school, colleges and clubs had told Krause she had all the tools to excel in the sport of pole vault. But for years, she cleared the same height, didn't hit the mark she aimed for and fought disappointment every step of the way.
"I just kept hearing, 'Potential, potential potential,' and nothing was actually coming of that," Krause said. "… It was nice to have different input and different ways of hearing things from coaches, but it was annoying to hear how much potential and how much I could do, and it wasn't showing up."
That has since changed at Ohio Northern. Krause has realized her potential. She has exceeded expectations, climbed the ladder, positioning herself as a two-time All-American with sights set on a National Championship.
Everyone went to ONU
Krause grew up in a household where, quite literally, everyone went to ONU. From her parents on down to her siblings, every single member of the Krause family was or is a Polar Bear.
That made Maggie Krause want something different. She wanted to break the mold, attend a university not named ONU and compete as a collegiate athlete.
But even amid the rebelliousness of wanting out, Krause took a visit to Ada. She toured the campus, met with the track and field team, and well, the rest if history.
"ONU had the kind of people I wanted to be around for four years," Krause said. "That's why I ended up choosing it despite my whole family going here."
On the official visit, Krause met with some of the current Polar Bear pole vaulters. She talked with them about how she could maximize that potential she had heard so much about.
Freshman year in high school
Krause didn't begin pole vaulting until the fall of her freshman year of high school. Krause grew up in Chagrin Falls, and the middle school where she attended didn't offer pole vault.
In order to remedy the urge to compete in pole vault, Krause attended college camps at both Kent State University and Akron University to gain a better grasp on the skills and technique necessary.
When the high school season rolled around, Krause was ready. She experienced success early on, while also competing on the track in events such as the 400-meter dash, 300-meter hurdles among others.
Krause also did soccer in the fall, putting a lot on her plate and presenting her with a conundrum when it came time to look at college landing spots. She had to make a choice, soccer or track.
"It was, be successful in track versus sit the bench in soccer," Krause said.
Krause chose the former and inked with ONU.
Krause came to Ada as a track athlete. She could have done anything from sprinting to hurdling to vaulting.
Krause chose to solely focus on pole vaulting. She wanted to gain more individualized coaching in an event she'd been most passionate about for years.
Krause battling to emerge from the rut she was in early in her career. She had that aforementioned potential, but still had yet to tap into it.
"In the beginning of college, I struggled a lot with my own self confidence," Krause said. "It didn't show outwardly at a meet, I just didn't necessarily feel like I belonged jumping."
Krause's belief in herself blossomed as the bar continued to rise. Her strength grew and her form began to sharpen, as she surpassed the 10-foot barrier, the 11-foot barrier and so on.
"I finally started seeing what people had been telling me all these years," Krause said.
The final affirmation occurred sophomore year during indoor season. Krause set a new career-high in three consecutive jumps and punched her ticket to her first-ever National Meet.
Krause just missed out on earning a podium slot, finishing 12th, but that set the stage for a big outdoor season, and she capitalized. While she didn't vault as well as she wanted to, Krause finished eighth, earning All-American status and gaining a spot on the podium alongside teammate Maddy Reed — who won the National Championship.
Krause parlayed her strong sophomore season into another spot on the podium as a junior. She finished seventh at the National Meet, earning her second All-American honor.
One more track season
Krause has one more season of track left in her athletic career. She has accomplished quite a bit, reached the potential she was told about for years, but is still pushing for more.
Krause wants to earn All-American status for a third straight year, and this time stand atop the podium. ONU head coach Jason Maus believes she has all the skill and the intangibles one needs to do just that.
"You have to have an 'It factor,'" Maus said. "Whatever 'It,' is, you have to have it to be successful. A lot of it is mentality and the competitiveness, but she has something a little different that not everybody else has. And whatever 'It,' is, she's got it."
In pole vault, that 'It factor,' takes on many shapes. To succeed at a high level, it takes precision, skill and an ability to quickly flush away bad attempts.
These are all things Krause has learned over the years.
"You definitely have to learn how to deal with failure and move on and put a bad jump, if you have one, behind you," Krause said. "If you can't do that, it's going to affect the rest of the meet. Pole vaulting, it's a really weird kind of atmosphere. You have to fail to win, and that's not like a lot of other sports. … You have to learn how to move on and get out of a negative head space. You have to turn your mind around and take each jump as it own."
Krause has learned the ins and outs of pole vaulting. She has learned how failure can fuel greatness. Krause understands — having now seen it herself — the potential all those people saw in her so many years ago.
