College-level track and field teams are huge — often comprised of more than 100 athletes — so it’s not really a big deal to qualify three of them for a regional meet.

Unless they all happen to be competing in the same event.

“It’s the best [team] we’ve ever had,” UW vaults and jumps coach Pat Licari said of the three regional-qualifying men’s pole vaulters. “I’m not sure if we’ve ever had three guys over 17 feet in the same year.”

This season, sophomore Scott Roth, junior Ryan Vu and senior Jared O’Connor have all topped at least 17 feet, 6.5 inches to qualify for the NCAA West Regionals in top-10 spots.

The best of the three has been Roth, who vaulted 18 feet.

“Based on previous performance, Scott right now is the front-runner,” Licari said. “But the other two guys are also capable of jumping much higher.”

Roth, an All-American who won the Pac-10 title in the pole vault two weeks ago, is confident in his ability to succeed in regionals, and, if he qualifies, the national meet.

“Toward the end of the season here, I’ve been jumping a lot more consistently, a lot higher,” Roth said. “If I get out there and I do what I did at Pac-10’s … just focus on myself and my jump, I think I can pull it together and place in the top three, at least.”

Of course, the Huskies have another All-American pole vaulter in O’Connor, who won the West Regionals last season and placed second at nationals.

“Last year, it was an advantageous situation for me because of the windy conditions,” O’Connor said. “I just went into the day just knowing that it was anybody’s game out there, anybody can win. If I kept it together mentally, the national title was up for grabs.”

Being a senior, this season is O’Connor’s last chance at a national championship.

“Getting the national championship would be the best way to end my career at UW,” O’Connor said.

But perhaps the best performance among the three pole vaulters this season belongs to Vu.

Prior to this season, Vu’s personal best was a height of 16 feet, 6.5 inches. He topped that by 1 foot this year.

“I spent literally two years jumping at the same height,” Vu said. “I was just worried about heights, worried about making good jumps, making good bars. To be honest, those were probably the worst things to focus on. I really needed to work on fixing key mistakes.”

So Vu spent the offseason working with Licari, trying to restart as a vaulter, which allowed him to focus on the essentials necessary to help him succeed.

What works to the Huskies’ advantage is that the achievements of one pole vaulter push the others to follow the example.

“Having those guys on the team, it just pushes you,” Vu said. “You feel like you need to be there. You know that it’s possible because you’re jumping with them every day. You know what it takes to be as good as they are.”

Vu’s teammates agree.

“We’re always pushing each other because we’re all pretty close in speed and strength,” Roth said. “I know I wouldn’t be vaulting as high as I am without them on the team. I’m sure the same goes for them, too.”

Reach reporter Honsen Lin at sports@dailyuw.com.