Temple University Athletics
Track & Field's Allie Riches is Taking The Program to New Heights–and Reaching New Heights of Her Own
10.6.23 | Women's Track and Field
22-year-old Allie Riches is looking to reach new levels of success in her final year in Temple's pole vaulting program.
The fifth-year transferred to Temple last year, becoming the university's first pole vaulter in over a decade. The pole vaulting program had been inactive without a pole vaulting coach before her arrival.
"I took a leap of faith," she said. "Even from high school, Temple was my dream school."
Without the opportunity to pole vault at Temple, Riches chose to attend Rider University in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. Riches had a successful career there, including a gold medal at the Metro American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships with a mark of 3.70 meters.
However, Rider stopped funding their pole vaulting program, so Riches was forced to enter the transfer portal. Temple coach Kevin Kelly then reached out to Allie seeking to recruit her to the school's revived pole vaulting program.
"I was searching for somebody to change the perception of what we could possibly do at Temple," Kelly said. He also commended her "extraordinary" faith in the university.
Riches jumped at the opportunity to join Temple's program despite its decade-plus-long dormant status. She held the university in high regard and was already familiar with Kelly from his career at Penn State University as an Assistant Track & Field Coach.
"I had trust in Coach Kelly to make me a great pole vaulter, I just had to trust Temple to have all the equipment I needed. And I believed that they were going to be able to do it," she said.
The transition was difficult at first, she confessed. Riches came to Temple only a week before the season began, leaving little time to prepare with her new coach.
"We didn't have time to build trust like you normally do in a two-month pre-season. We had to go headfirst trusting each other and learning from each other."
The fast start didn't have too large of an impact on Riches' season. After transferring in, Riches broke the program's indoor pole vault record in her first meet, recording a mark of 3.75 meters. Four months later, Allie broke Temple's record 3.8 meter mark in outdoor competition, and then went on to break her own record a couple more times, eventually reaching the 4.00 meter mark. She also became Temple's first ever pole vaulter to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary, an accomplishment that she says was her most important of the season. Riches had narrowly missed qualifying for the preliminary round the year before at Rider.
"Breaking all the records along the way was nice and I enjoyed it, but I was more striving for that first round," she remarked.
As she starts the new season, Riches is now setting her sights on a new goal: the NCAA East Second Round. She is focusing on, simply put, "jumping higher"–she's aiming for a mark of 4.20-4.22 meters. Coach Kelly believes she'll have a strong season because, unlike last year, they have the full preseason to prepare. The veteran jumps coach is striving to help her reach that goal by working on her running mechanics on the runway. "Her best jumps are ahead of her," he said.
Allie's also reaching new heights through her leadership. Kelly named her the captain of the field athletes despite only having one season under her belt. He remarked that that designation is a testament to her hard work, calling her the "lynchpin" to recruiting more pole vaulters.
This season, the program has expanded to four pole vaulters, and Riches is leading them. The new pole vaulting team includes two transfer students in Aliza White-Vega (Eastern University) and Cierra Crane (Delaware), and one freshman in Reece Sullivan.
Riches has faith that the new additions to the program will take off and help them get points at the American Athletic Conference Championships. She is also excited about having new teammates, especially since she had to practice and compete alone last season.
"It's harder to train and push yourself on your own. It's nice to have a team to help me keep that positivity and help me keep that drive," she said.
She credits her roommate and teammate White-Vega with pushing her to be faster, better, and stronger by improving her nutrition.
White-Vega says the relationship goes both ways. "She goes above and beyond to make sure I know what I'm doing," she stated. "She's been a wonderful friend to make, and as an athlete she challenges me to run faster and work harder."
Riches also attributes her success to her coaches, thanking Coach Kelly for improving her form and technique, and thanking Head Track & Field Coach Elvis Forde for helping with equipment and scheduling.
Allie will be graduating this year with a degree in Communication Studies and has big aspirations for her future. One option is to turn pro for pole vaulting, a prospect that she isn't planning on but has not ruled out.
Regardless of whether she'll be competing, Allie isn't leaving the sports world. Her current plan, if she elects to not enter the world of professional athletics, is to get her master's degree and become an athletic trainer.
"No matter what she decides, she'll be successful in life," stated Kelly. "She's a hard worker with an infectious personality and drive."
White-Vega echoed his sentiments, saying Riches proves that "you can work hard and do it while you're smiling."
Riches also has high hopes for the pole vaulting program's future after her graduation. She believes that Temple has all the tools it needs to develop a name for producing pole vaulters that go to NCAAs.
"We went from one to four pole vaulters in one semester," she remarked. "And Coach Kelly is such a good coach and has a passion for this sport. So, I just hope the program continues to grow."
The fifth-year transferred to Temple last year, becoming the university's first pole vaulter in over a decade. The pole vaulting program had been inactive without a pole vaulting coach before her arrival.
"I took a leap of faith," she said. "Even from high school, Temple was my dream school."
Without the opportunity to pole vault at Temple, Riches chose to attend Rider University in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. Riches had a successful career there, including a gold medal at the Metro American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships with a mark of 3.70 meters.
However, Rider stopped funding their pole vaulting program, so Riches was forced to enter the transfer portal. Temple coach Kevin Kelly then reached out to Allie seeking to recruit her to the school's revived pole vaulting program.
"I was searching for somebody to change the perception of what we could possibly do at Temple," Kelly said. He also commended her "extraordinary" faith in the university.
Riches jumped at the opportunity to join Temple's program despite its decade-plus-long dormant status. She held the university in high regard and was already familiar with Kelly from his career at Penn State University as an Assistant Track & Field Coach.
"I had trust in Coach Kelly to make me a great pole vaulter, I just had to trust Temple to have all the equipment I needed. And I believed that they were going to be able to do it," she said.
The transition was difficult at first, she confessed. Riches came to Temple only a week before the season began, leaving little time to prepare with her new coach.
"We didn't have time to build trust like you normally do in a two-month pre-season. We had to go headfirst trusting each other and learning from each other."
The fast start didn't have too large of an impact on Riches' season. After transferring in, Riches broke the program's indoor pole vault record in her first meet, recording a mark of 3.75 meters. Four months later, Allie broke Temple's record 3.8 meter mark in outdoor competition, and then went on to break her own record a couple more times, eventually reaching the 4.00 meter mark. She also became Temple's first ever pole vaulter to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary, an accomplishment that she says was her most important of the season. Riches had narrowly missed qualifying for the preliminary round the year before at Rider.
"Breaking all the records along the way was nice and I enjoyed it, but I was more striving for that first round," she remarked.
As she starts the new season, Riches is now setting her sights on a new goal: the NCAA East Second Round. She is focusing on, simply put, "jumping higher"–she's aiming for a mark of 4.20-4.22 meters. Coach Kelly believes she'll have a strong season because, unlike last year, they have the full preseason to prepare. The veteran jumps coach is striving to help her reach that goal by working on her running mechanics on the runway. "Her best jumps are ahead of her," he said.
Allie's also reaching new heights through her leadership. Kelly named her the captain of the field athletes despite only having one season under her belt. He remarked that that designation is a testament to her hard work, calling her the "lynchpin" to recruiting more pole vaulters.
This season, the program has expanded to four pole vaulters, and Riches is leading them. The new pole vaulting team includes two transfer students in Aliza White-Vega (Eastern University) and Cierra Crane (Delaware), and one freshman in Reece Sullivan.
Riches has faith that the new additions to the program will take off and help them get points at the American Athletic Conference Championships. She is also excited about having new teammates, especially since she had to practice and compete alone last season.
"It's harder to train and push yourself on your own. It's nice to have a team to help me keep that positivity and help me keep that drive," she said.
She credits her roommate and teammate White-Vega with pushing her to be faster, better, and stronger by improving her nutrition.
White-Vega says the relationship goes both ways. "She goes above and beyond to make sure I know what I'm doing," she stated. "She's been a wonderful friend to make, and as an athlete she challenges me to run faster and work harder."
Riches also attributes her success to her coaches, thanking Coach Kelly for improving her form and technique, and thanking Head Track & Field Coach Elvis Forde for helping with equipment and scheduling.
Allie will be graduating this year with a degree in Communication Studies and has big aspirations for her future. One option is to turn pro for pole vaulting, a prospect that she isn't planning on but has not ruled out.
Regardless of whether she'll be competing, Allie isn't leaving the sports world. Her current plan, if she elects to not enter the world of professional athletics, is to get her master's degree and become an athletic trainer.
"No matter what she decides, she'll be successful in life," stated Kelly. "She's a hard worker with an infectious personality and drive."
White-Vega echoed his sentiments, saying Riches proves that "you can work hard and do it while you're smiling."
Riches also has high hopes for the pole vaulting program's future after her graduation. She believes that Temple has all the tools it needs to develop a name for producing pole vaulters that go to NCAAs.
"We went from one to four pole vaulters in one semester," she remarked. "And Coach Kelly is such a good coach and has a passion for this sport. So, I just hope the program continues to grow."
Players Mentioned
Pole Vault
/ Women's Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Women's Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Women's Track and FieldEp. 53: The Season Finale with David Litvin & Amelia Wright
Tuesday, May 19
Temple Student-Athlete Graduation Celebration 2026
Tuesday, May 05
Ep. 52: Dr. Claudrena Harold, Temple Women's Basketball Alum
Friday, May 01
The Stellas: Temple Athletics' Celebration of Champions 2026
Wednesday, April 29
