Featured Vaulter: Team Pacer Member Mark Hollis

Name: Mark Wesley Hollis

Height:6'2"

Weight: 185lbs

Vault personal best: 575m (18'10")

Hometown/current place you live:Freeport, IL now residing in Elkhart, IN

Age:25

Website: http://pursuitof616.blogspot.com/

How does it feel to be officially invited to join Team Pacer this year?  

Im very honored to be invited to join Team Pacer this year.  The members of Team Pacer are vaulters that I have looked up to during my career and to be recognized in such an elite group as Team Pacer is just awesome.

Do you have any advice for other up and coming vaulters who want to make the transition like you are doing?

The one thing I would tell any vaulters is to never give up and never stop chasing that next bar.  Its not an easy road but the rewards are priceless,  the people you meet and experiences you have will stay with you the rest of your life.

Do you have any pre vault or pre meet rituals, if so what are they?

One thing I like to do before a meet is to write down on a piece of paper my thinking points for the meet.  I write down the positive things i want to focus on.  This helps me to get any negative thoughts out of my head because in this sport you cant afford to doubt yourself in any way.  One other thing i like to do is to watch NeoVault as i get ready, this always gets me pumped up before the meet. 

Did you play any other sports in high school or when you were younger, do you think these made an impact on your career now?  

I played soccer all through high school, I wasnt the best player when I started so I had to work really hard to be better.  I think this taught me that I could do whatever I put my mind to as long as I worked as hard as I could to get there.

Have you had an embarrassing or funny vault moment you could share with us?  

My freshman year of college i went to indoor nationals and i remember i had to pee really bad during the competition, I was also very nervous so needless to say i had a little accident and think i tried to cover it up by rubbing some chalk on my shorts.  Haha thats probably a little too much information but oh well. 

If you had to choose, Would you rather:

Always take a cold shower or sleep an hour less than what you need to be fully rested?

Hmm I guess i could always take a nap if i needed to and theres not much better than taking a hot shower especially in these cold midwest winters. 

Be born with an elephant trunk or a giraffe neck?  

I guess if i had a giraffe neck it would be a pain to have to duck under every door i went through and if i had a elephant trunk i could spray people that annoyed me.

Have the power to be invisible or read minds.?  

I guess if i were invisible i could hear what people were saying when they didnt think i was there and i could probably get to some pretty cool places.

Have one wish granted today or three wishes in ten years?  

Probably to have three wishes in ten years, i feel like i would end up wasting one right now, so at least i would have a long time to decide what i would wish for.

Rather own a ski lodge or a surf camp?  

This is a tough one because the mountains are probably one of my favorite things in the world, but i also love the beach and warm weather.  I would probably have to pick the ski lodge because i love to snowboard and ive never been surfing. 

If you want to be a featured athlete of the week, answer the questions above, attach a picture or video, and send it all to us in an email to awhittaker@gillathletics.com. Unfortunately due to NFHS and NCAA rules, current high school and collegiate vaulters cannot be featured. Post-collegiate vaulters, and any vaulter not currently governed by NCAA or NFHS rules are welcome and encouraged to apply. Gill Athletics accepts no responsibility for rules violations.