How Washington’s record-breaking pole-vault twins make each other great

No woman in the world has pole vaulted higher this year — indoors or outdoors — than Washington Husky sophomore Amanda Moll from Olympia.

But depending on the day, she might not be the best vaulter in her house. Amanda Moll is the No. 1 women’s college pole vaulter in the country today, but tomorrow it could be her identical twin sister, Hana.

For years, the sisters have been each other’s biggest competitor and supporter. Each has won an NCAA indoor national title (Hana in 2024, Amanda in 2025), and they're the favorites in the NCAA outdoor championship, which will be held Thursday at Hayward Field in Eugene.

“I would say we wouldn't be as successful as we are now if we didn't have each other to push each other, and get each other to reach these heights,” said Hana Moll, third in the NCAA outdoor championships last year while Amanda tied for fifth.

It has been a fast and steady ascent to stardom since the sisters took up pole vaulting in the seventh grade at the pole vault center in Seattle that was run by Tim Reilly, now an assistant coach at Washington.

The two had everything a pole vault coach could want: great athletic ability, a gymnastics background that many great pole vaulters share and a fearlessness that can’t be taught.

“They had this really great background of mountain bike racing and rock climbing — a lot of rough and tumble,” Reilly said. “They really enjoy that stuff, and that's an X factor. Great athletes sometimes come to this event and they're like, ‘No. There’s a scary feature of this that I can't quite get my parking brake off.'”

Among the athletes working out at Reilly’s Northwest Pole Vault club when the Molls started was Chloe Cunliffe, who became the high school record holder when she cleared 14 feet, 9 inches in 2019 for West Seattle.

“When we went to our first camp with Tim, we were barely getting off the ground," Amanda Moll said. "But seeing Chloe jumping super high, it was like, ‘I want to do that,’”

Soon, both sisters were.

By the eighth grade, both had cleared 12 feet. When Amanda cleared 14-3½ as a freshman in high school, Reilly made a call to a good friend of his.

“I said, ‘I think I'm coaching a world champion,’” Reilly said.

Actually, maybe two world champions.

As a senior at Capital High School in 2023, Amanda Moll became the first high school girl to surpass 15 feet, clearing 15-1 1/2 in an indoor meet in Reno. Three months later, Hana cleared 15 feet to set the outdoor high school record.

Both records still stand.

As a junior at Capital, Amanda won the Class 3A state pole vault (14-6), long jump (17-8) and was part of the winning 4x100 relay that included Hana, who won the 100-meter hurdles (14.66) that year.

As a senior, Hana won the state title in the pole vault and both sisters were on Capital’s state-winning 4x100 and 4x200 relays.

The sisters were prized recruits and committed early to Washington, where their father, Eric, once rowed. Hana said she believes the sisters are fourth-generation Huskies.

“Our parents were happy, but they kept all their opinions to themselves when we were making our decision, because they wanted it to be ours,” Hana said. “(UW) had everything that we wanted, and obviously we're close to home, so that’s a plus for our parents, right?”

Coming to UW allowed the sisters to continue to be coached by Reilly, and by Husky assistant Toby Stevenson, who won the silver medal in the men’s pole vault in the 2004 Olympics.

While coaching at Stanford, his alma mater, Stevenson worked with Katerina Stefanidi, who won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics.

“They are consummate professionals, consummate competitors, but they are quintessential twins,” Stevenson said. “The love between them, I’m almost jealous of it because of how great they are to each other.”

Said Amanda: "We have our disagreements, but I think what's unique about our relationship is we're able to overcome that really quickly. We've been mad at each other, then a minute later, we're playing together."

Hana said competing in the same sport can be difficult, "comparing each other for our performances and our successes."

"But over the years, we've become very intentional about how we've handled that with each other, and we've put a lot of work into making sure that that doesn't affect our relationship," Hana said.

What should people know about the sisters?

"Hana is a great baker and one of the funniest people you'll meet," Amanda said.

"Amanda is a hardworking person who cares about everyone she knows," Hana said.

Excelling at UW

As close as the twins are, Stevenson said the Huskies recruited them “as two individual people, and we try to treat them as individuals.”

Reilly said Amanda is a bit ahead of Hana on a technical level, but during competitions, he said, "Amanda can get in her head a little bit and overthink, and watch out for Hana, because she's just going to be in ‘go, go, go mode.'”

“We're still working on some (technical) things with Hana, and with Amanda, we're just working on confidence,” Reilly said.

Both have made rapid progress in their two seasons at Washington, where they said the pressure of being so highly touted out of high school is eased by being together.

"I think it definitely makes it easier, because we get to share the pressure," Amanda Noll said. "I can always talk to her about anything that's going through my mind. It doesn't feel like pressure because I get to share it with her. It's dispersed."

Said Hana: "There's a famous saying that it's lonely at the top, but I feel that doesn't apply to us, because we have each other. I feel like it's a very unique position that we are in."

Amanda has the No. 1 vault in NCAA history, clearing 16-1 1/4 in the Big Ten indoor championships in February, while Hana finished right behind her in 15-9, with Amanda's mark being the best in the world this year.

Amanda also has the No. 1 outdoor vault in NCAA history, clearing 15-8 1/4 at last month's Big Ten outdoor championships (Hana was second), also the best mark in the world this year.

Already among the world’s best, they hope to compete in the Olympics and vault higher than any woman ever has (the world record is 16-7), but they are making sure to not look so far ahead that they don't enjoy the present.

Both take academics seriously, too. They were 4.0 students in high school and made the 2024 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's All-Academic Team.

"I think we both put a lot of work into trying to stay centered in what we're doing right now and enjoying the college experience," Amanda said. "It's really special to be part of this team. I love my teammates, and that makes it pretty easy stay present, and not look too far ahead."

Said Hana: "I think our parents (Eric and Paula) have done a really great job, throughout high school and now, in keeping us in that kind of mindset, because it's easy to slip to the future or even the past. They've done a great job guiding us toward a healthy mindset."

The two came close to making the U.S. Olympic team in 2024, with Amanda finishing fifth in the U.S. Olympic Trials and Hana finishing sixth.

Reilly said he knew the twins had the talent to become great, but what he didn't know was "how comprehensive the support was behind them," including their parents, who drove them twice weekly from Olympia to Seattle to work out with him.

"Even when the kids got (drivers') licenses, they were like, 'Nope, they're never going to have them drive in that long traffic,'" Reilly said. "'It was, 'They had enough stress in their day and they're just going to chill in the seats and maybe do a little homework, or whatever they need to do.'"

Perhaps more important, they have each other.

"Both will say it's difficult for them to jump when the other is not going to a meet, because they often have no other competition," Reilly said. "And yet it's not feisty or negative. … They've both said at different times, there's only one person I can lose to and still feel really good about it, and that's my sister.

"There's a cool picture of the two of them on the podium at indoor nationals (this year). Amanda's on the top, smiling at the camera, and Hana (who was second) stood next to her, looking at her with such joy, like, 'I'm so happy for you that you've got this, that I had it last year.'"

Limitless potential

It's easy to envision them sharing the podium at the Olympics in 2028, and while they said that is a goal, so is jumping higher than anyone ever has and pushing boundaries.

"As they keep getting more prominent and more dominant, they're just going to be madly loved by people who get to know them," Reilly said.

Anything is possible for the twins, Stevenson said.

"They have the potential, for sure, to be Olympic medalists," he said. "The potential in these two girls is limitless as long as we do right by them. I think they're going to be able to go as far as they want to go."

For now, the focus is on the NCAA championships.

"We want to continue the one-two streak at the NCAAs," Hana Moll said. "It doesn't matter which one is (number) one as long as we're one and two."

The Moll twins

Age: 20 (sophomores at UW)

Height: 5-foot-10

High school: Capital (Olympia)

Major accomplishments: Amanda — Won the NCAA indoor  pole vault championship this year and won the Big Ten indoor and outdoor titles this year. ... NCAA record-holder both indoors (16-1 1/4) and outdoors (15-8 1/4). ... Fifth in the U.S. Olympic trials in 2024. ... First high school girls pole vaulter to clear 15 feet. ... Fourth at the 2022 USA Indoor Championships, trailing only three elite pros. ... Won five Class 3A state track titles (pole vault, long jump and in three relay races) at Capital. Hana — Won the 2024 NCAA indoor championship. .... Second this year (behind Amanda) in the NCAA indoor championships and the Big Ten indoor and outdoor championships. ... Third in the NCAA outdoor championships last year and sixth-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials. ... The 2023 Track & Field News Girls High School Athlete of the Year … Made Team USA for 2023 World Championships by placing third at the USA Outdoor Championships. ... Won five Class 3A state titles (pole vault, hurdles and in three relay races) at Capital.