2025 Track & Field Roster
Nikolai van Huyssteen
- Position:
- Pole Vault
- Height:
- 6-1
- Weight:
- null
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Paarl, South Africa
- High School:
- Paarl Gimnasium
2025: Outdoor – Broke his own school record in the pole vault at the SEC Championships, clearing 5.50 meters/18-0.50 to finish fourth and score for the Bulldogs in Lexington…Went on to finish second at the NCAA East Regional with a clearance of 5.43m/17-9.75…Placed 21st at the NCAA Championships with a mark of 5.18m/17-0…Opened his season with a third-place result at the Black and Gold Invite (5.18m/17-0)…Placed second in the pole vault at the Florida Relays with a mark of 5.30m/17-4.50…Posted a mark of 5.20m/17-0.75 to finish seventh at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational…Victorious at the Tiger Track Classic with a clearance of 5.27m/17-3.50.
Indoor – Won the pole vault at the Ted Nelson Invite with a season-best clearance of 5.33m/17-5.75…Tied for 10th in the pole vault at the SEC Championships with a mark of 5.20m/17-0.75…Competed at the Razorback Invite and the Tiger Paw Invite but did not record a height.
2024: Outdoor – Placed fifth in the pole vault to open his season at the Battle on the Bayou, clearing a height of 5.15 meters/16 feet, 10.75 inches…Placed fourth in the pole vault invite at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational with a top vault of 5.40m/17-8.50…Victorious at the LSU Invitational, clearing 5.41m/17-9…Silver medalist at the SEC Championships with a mark of 5.40m/17-8.50…Broke the school pole vault record to place seventh at the NCAA East Prelims, clearing a height of 5.42m/17-9.25…Placed 19th at the NCAA Championships with a mark of 5.22m/17-1.50.
Indoor – Made his season debut at the Razorback Invitational, clearing a height of 5.10 meters/16 feet, 8.75 inches to finish eighth in the pole vault…Runner-up at the SEC Championships with a season-best mark of 5.35m/17-6.50, the No. 4 jump in school history.
2023: Outdoor – Victorious in the pole vault at the Spec Towns and Torrin Lawrence Invitational with a season-best mark of 5.30 meters/17 feet, 4 ½ inches (No. 7 in UGA history), adding another win at the LSU Invite (5.15m/16-10)…Placed 10th at the SEC Championships with a mark of 5.00m/16-4.75…Advanced to the NCAA East Prelims, where he placed 24th with a mark of 5.05m/16-6.75.
Indoor – Competed in the pole vault five times, earning top-five finishes at every meet…Cleared a season-best height of 5.30 meters/17 feet, 4.50 inches twice in the pole vault, finishing as runner-up at the MLK Invite and fifth at the SEC Championships…That mark is the fifth-best in Georgia history…Placed third at the Texas Tech Open with a mark of 5.24m/17-2.25.
2022: Outdoor - Redshirted for the Bulldogs.
Indoor – Surged to No. 6 on UGA’s all-time top-10 list after clearing 5.20 meters/17 feet ¾ inches to win the pole vault at the Tiger Paw Invite…Scored at the SEC Championships with an eighth-place finish (5.15m/16-10.75)…Won the Samford Invite in the pole vault with a 5.07m/16-7.50 clearance.
High School: Qualified for the 2021 World Junior Championships in Nairobi, Kenya…Ranked seventh by World Athletics as the top U-20 vaulter worldwide…Broke the South African pole vault record twice…Took silver at the South African National Championships in his third year…Vaulted the highest of any South African pole vaulter in 2019 with a mark of 5.32 meters (17 feet, 5 ½ inches)…Captured the South African U-18 title in his second year of high school…Won the South African U-15 pole vault championship and set record his first year…Personal-best mark of 5.41m (17-9)…Also played rugby growing up…Achieved the Merit List for Academics in 2019.
Personal: Born August 7, 2002…Son of Pierre van Huyssteen and Jana van Huyssteen…Intending to major in Civil Engineering.
