FEATURE: Freshman Lily Beattie Finds Her Stride Ahead of Regionals

OXFORD, Miss. – With her name already climbing the Ole Miss record book and a podium finish at the SEC Championships to her credit, freshman Lily Beattie is quickly making a name for herself as collegiate vaulter – just in time for the NCAA East Regional.

Fresh off an SEC silver medal where she set the Ole Miss freshman record outdoors with a clearance of 4.26m/13-11.75, Beattie wasted no time proving that she can compete. But this was no surprise to those who know Lily and where she came from.

A two-time New York state champion in the pole vault (2024 indoor and outdoor), Beattie arrived in Oxford with an impressive resumé and a competitive pedigree. Her father, Rich Beattie, was a standout All-American collegiate track and field athlete himself for the University of Alabama, winning a national title in the men’s 4x100-meter relay in 1990 and competing as a decathlete – where he still ranks second in Alabama history.

Despite her father’s legacy on the track, Beattie decided to forge her own path.

“We have a pole-vaulting club that is about five minutes away from my house and the coach that coaches there actually coached my dad,” Beattie said. “We grew up near there, so I just gravitated towards that.”

When it was time for Beattie to choose a program of her own, it did not take her long to choose Ole Miss.

“[Ole Miss] was my first visit and I fell in love with it,” Beattie said. “It was an easy decision for me.”

Assistant coach Brian Porter remembers the first time he saw her potential.

“With Lily it was a no-brainer,” Porter said. “She actually reached out when she was in high school to me and sent her film. I watched and thought, ‘Okay, got a 5-11 pole vaulter that can move fairly well on the runway, yeah we're gonna keep this rolling.’”

That potential began to materialize during her freshman indoor season when Beattie cleared the 4.10m/13-05.25 meter mark – a point that Porter described as just the beginning for Beattie.

“I knew something big was gonna happen,” Porter said. “The way she was jumping in training, it was a matter of time before one of those bigger bars was gonna happen.”

Beattie’s momentum from indoors carried into the outdoor season, where she raised the bar even higher, clearing 4.11m/13-05.75 ahead of the SEC Championships. What came next was her biggest leap yet.

At the conference championships, Beattie had her breakthrough moment, clearing 4.26m/13-11.75 to secure the silver medal – making history in the process as the highest scoring Rebel woman in the event all-time, indoors or outdoors.

“I really had nothing going on through my mind at that moment,” Beattie said. “I don’t think it’s still hit me yet that I got silver. I was already in scoring position with that second bar, so being able to have that off my chest already was a relief. Then just to go into that next bar with such a small group of girls and to be able to make it on that first attempt – I was so, so happy.”

“I trusted my training,” Beattie continued. “I’ve seen the reps. I’ve seen how high I can go. I knew I was capable of it.”

That moment at SECs meant a lot to Porter.

“For her to finally put it together and on her first attempt at SECs as a freshman, it was huge,” Porter said. “That was really cool to watch the progression.”

Coach Porter credits Beattie’s maturity and mental toughness as the key ingredients that contribute to her success.

“She’s so level-headed, especially as a freshman,” Porter said. “That’s something I didn’t expect. You see a lot of freshmen out there in the country that get nervous. But she’s just very level headed – even when it was her and three upperclassmen competing for the next bar.”

“Pole vaulting, everyone says is 90% mental and 10% physical – and I agree,” Porter continued. “You have to have it between the ears to be successful. For her to stay calm like that shows a lot of maturity at a young age. There’s no telling what she is capable of.”

Beattie plans to carry that composure into the NCAA East Regionals, where she competes today at 2:30 p.m. CT. The focus remains the same: staying composed as she has done all season long.

“As a freshman, if I can keep her calm and collected between bars and if she can get in there and compete, she’ll be fine,” said Porter.

For Beattie, her recent success has proven she has what it takes.

“It showed me that I can do this,” Beattie said. “I can reach that goal.”

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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