Despite the possibility of ruined plans, running makeup and waterlogged guests, wedding day rain is a lucky omen.

Maybe the same holds true for track meets. That is certainly the case for Sarah Landau.

After a pair of close brushes with All-American honors earlier in her collegiate pole vaulting career, Landau overcame bad weather and now-or-never pressure to take home her first All-American honor.

The recent University of Arkansas graduate garnered her All-American status with an eighth-place height of 13 feet, 9-1/4 inches at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in front of the home crowd in Fayetteville, Ark.

“Wednesday (on the first day of the meet) there were thunderstorms and we had to stay in the basketball arena for a while,” Landau said. “Every single home meet we got rained on so we got used to putting up with it.

“Really, this whole season Arkansas didn’t have the greatest weather, and I think it got us mentally tougher.”

During the preliminaries Landau cleared a height of four meters, roughly 13 feet, 1-1/2 inches — a mark that had her tied with five other competitors for 11th place. She moved up in a big way in the finals, upping her mark to 4.2 meters, a new personal record.

As a freshman at the University of Miami in Ohio, Landau finished one place away from All-American status. The following season she was two spots away.

Landau, who still holds the Illinois girls pole vault record at 13-3 with a mark she set at her final high school meet in the 2004 IHSA state finals, was thrilled to add the title of All-American to her list of accolades.

“It’s different from holding a meet record or a state record,” Landau said. “People can go higher than you and break your record, but All-American status is something no one can take away from you. You have it with you forever.”

What made this year’s NCAA outdoor meet even more special was the atmosphere surrounding it.

The competition took place at Arkansas’ own McDonnell Field. A huge crowd, including some VIPs, packed the place.

“Friday there were almost 6,000 people in attendance,” Landau said. “My whole family drove down to come and watch.”

Landau said it was the largest crowd in front of which she had ever competed, but a couple of factors helped her avoid the jitters that might have come along with it.

The first was being familiar with the surroundings.

“It definitely helped being at home and using the same pit you practice on,” Landau said. “I think it was a big part of it.”

The second was the presence of teammate Katie Stripling, a junior who won her prelim heat and finished fifth in the finals with a mark of 4.30 meters (14-1).

“She’s not only my teammate, but she’s just as competitive as me,” Landau said. “Once I cleared the bar I’d go back and talk to her.

“Six girls got over 4.2 meters. That’s unheard of. This was the toughest national meet I’ve seen. If I was by myself I might start doubting myself, but with her there I was like, ‘I can do this.’”

Prior to the meet Landau endured some difficulties as the end of school and her graduation altered a routine with which she was very comfortable. Instead of working in practices around classes and studying, she had all day to practice and train. It may sound like a small problem but athletes are creatures of habit and the small change had larger ramifications. She struggled for a while after graduation, but once she got used to the her routine she was back to her old self.

“It was a transition for me after graduation and I was a little worried because I had some bad practices, but things started to come around when I started training for the SEC meet,” Landau said. “My practices right after graduation I didn’t even go upside down, but after I got into a rhythm I got in sync.”

Landau said she hopes to continue vaulting at national meets, perhaps even in a tryout for team USA, and who can blame her? She’s on a roll.

“I feel I really started to put things together at the end,” Landau said. “I still think I can do more. I’m still learning about pole vaulting and I’ve been doing it for nine years.”

Landau milestones
MEET                       PLACE    HEIGHT
IHSA state, 2003         1st         11-6

IHSA state, 2004         1st         13-3

MAC outdoor, 2006       1st        13-3

NCAA outdoor, 2009     8th       13-9-1/4