Kristen vaults for Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan., which competes in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Maggie Vaults Over the Moon is a source of inspiration for Kristen Harris, a small-town Kansan who soared to record heights this past season as a pole-vaulter at Tabor College.
Kristen’s accomplishments mirror her favorite fictional pole-vaulter Maggie Steele, a gutsy farm girl from fictional Grain Valley, Kan., who soars to new heights as a pole-vaulter.
“Reading Maggie before the track season gave me the inspiration and drive to compete for God’s glory,” Kristen said. “The book really captures the emotion and thrill of pole-vaulting and I was blessed to feel the way Maggie felt in real life.”
Kristen’s “Maggie Moment” happened at the recent KCAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. With the crowd cheering, she stood on the runway, preparing to attempt a new school and KCAC record of 11 feet.
“Counting my steps on the runway and clearing the height, I felt like I’d soared over the moon!” – Kristen Harris.
The Sunflower State’s top pole-vaulter, Nick Meyer, Bishop Carroll senior and future KU Jayhawk, won the Wichita City League Championship.
Congrats to Maggie’s pole-vaulting friends Caitlin Hawk (10-8) and Nick Meyer (16-2) of Bishop Carroll HS for soaring to gold medals at the Wichita City League Meet!
The high-flying Golden Eagles, coached by Denis Fraizer, are big fans of the teen novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon, which captures the excitement of the world’s greatest sport.
Maggie says, “Way to go Caitlin and Nick! And best wishes to all Kansas HS pole-vaulters in the next few weeks. Knowing the Highest and Best for you at Regionals and State!” Continue Reading →
Writing is often thought of as a lonely vigil, but Grant Overstake, author of Maggie Vaults over the Moon, found this not to be true. In this Keyhole Conversations interview, he acknowledges those people who helped him along the way.The interview was conducted at The Inn at Glenstrae, a beautiful bed and breakfast located in the Sleepy Hollow section of Wichita. Click here to watch Bonnie Myrick’s interview at Keyhole Conversations.
Keyhole Conversations’ interview of author Grant Overstake was recorded at the Inn at Glenstrae in Wichita.
Just in time for Christmas, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon is featured in the December issue of the nation’s top magazine for pole-vaulters, VAULTER Magazine!
The beautiful six-page spread is titled, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon is a Must Read for Any Athlete,and was expertly written by Michelle Walthall, who did a great job capturing the buzz and excitement that the novel has created in the pole-vaulting community and beyond.
Some of the many images included with the article are the book’s cover, a photo of Olympian Earl Bell and Author Grant Overstake presenting a copy of the book to vaulter Caitlin Hawk, and a huge photo of the entire Tailwind Pole Vaulting Club, located in Jamestown, Kan., which is where the inspiration for the story came from.
Of course, it wouldn’t be proper to reprint the entire article here on this post. Instead, we encourage all of you Maggie fans to help promote the best magazine about the sport of pole-vaulting by going Online and ordering the December issue of VAULTER Magazine. (You can download the December issue onto your computer or mobile device for only $3.00).
We’ve been given permission by Editor Doug Bouma to share what he wrote about Maggie in the intro to this month’s issue:
Our final issue of 2012brings an exciting developmentin the pole vaulting circle. Grant Overstake, Former MiamiHerald Sports Writer and a lifelong participant in the sportof track and field, has createdhis first work of sports fiction, anovel titled Maggie VaultsOver the Moon. This novel is anendearing and inspiringstory, and one worthtaking a look at for anyathlete. Once you readthe information and somereviews we collected, youwill want to pick up a copy.Maggie is a character youcan’t help but fall in lovewith.
Congratulations to the enthusiastic young pole-vaulters who scored copies of the new teen novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon, during the Doctoberfest street vault held at the Tailwind Pole Vault Club. The winner’s names were drawn from the large number of vaulters and fans who attended the annual event on Oct. 6 in Jamestown, Kan.
Pole-vaulter Tristan Burnham, of Courtland, Kan., with Author Grant Overstake, left, and Tailwind Coach Mark Breault.
Pole-Vaulter Caitlin Hawk, of Wichita,Kan., with three-time Olympian and former world-record holder Earl Bell, left, and Author Grant Overstake. Bell, who coached three vaulters onto the US London Olympic Team, is the “coaching voice” in “Maggie Vaults Over the Moon.”
Dozens of pole-vaulters and scores of fans gathered Oct. 6 at the Sixth Annual Doctoberfest Celebration held at the Tailwind Pole Vault Club in Jamestown, Kan. One of the most enthusiastic supporters was Gertrude Breault, who said she was delighted that the inspiration for the new teen novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon, came to the author during a previous Doctoberfest celebration. Gertrude is the proud mother of Tailwind Pole Vault Coach Mark (Doc) Breault. She watched him learn to pole-vault in the backyard and then cheered him all the way to a Kansas State Championship for Concordia High School. She has also been there to cheer for every vaulter her son has ever coached. Continue Reading →
An aspiring young pole-vaulter soars at Doctoberfest held Oct. 6 at the Tailwind Pole Vault Club in Jamestown, Kan.
There were many great performances in Jamestown, Kan., on Saturday, Oct. 6, but two young pole-vaulters soared waaay over their previous best marks at the Doctoberfest festival, held at the Tailwind Pole Vault Club.
To mark their great achievements, Mackenzie Van Pelt, of Beloit, Kan., and Thomas Mick, Carleton, Neb., received the club’s first-ever “Maggie Awards.”
The award is named for Maggie Steele, the heroine in Maggie Vaults Over the Moon, the young adult novel about pole-vaulting written by Grant Overstake, published by GO Team! Enterprises, and available at Amazon.com.
“These two came to Doctoberfest today eager to have a great time doing what they love to do, which is pole-vaulting,” Overstake said. “Because of their zeal for the sport and their courage to vault to new heights, they wound up far exceeding their PRs [personal records]. We wanted to create an award that recognizes this type of can-do attitude because it’s the same type of attitude that propels Maggie Steele to greatness.”
