Three-time National Champion pole vaulter to be inducted into NJCAA Hall of Fame

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Track and Field program will be celebrating not just one induction into the NJCAA Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame this weekend, but two with three-time NJCAA National Champion pole vaulter Matteo Capello (Turino, Italy) along with former VU Assistant Coach Tim Marsee.

“It is an honor and an incredible personal achievement to be included, alongside my coach, into the NJCAA Track and Field Hall of Fame,” Capello said. “To me, it represents the culmination of a fantastic experience which makes me very proud. I am also grateful to be able to leave a footprint that will last behind me. It marks the consolidation of an amazing chapter of my life.”

“Coach Marsee is a great man,” Capello added. “We connected right away and never had problems working together. He helped me achieve a long awaited personal best and made the years spent at Vincennes University special and unforgettable. He is for sure one of the people that helped me the most. The trust he put in me helped me to give it my all and even more. I consider him family.”

Capello joined the VU Track team before the 2020 Indoor season and quickly made a name for himself, setting a new facility record in his first collegiate competition at Indiana State after reaching a height of 5.21 meters, or 17 feet one inch.

Capello continued to dominate throughout his freshman indoor season, taking the top spot in every meet he competed in that season, including winning the Indoor Pole Vault National Championship and setting a new NJCAA National Meet record that season after clearing 5.30 meters or 17 feet-4.5 inches.

Capello’s freshman Outdoor season was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID pandemic.

When Capello returned to VU for the 2021 Indoor season, he immediately looked to make up for lost time, reaching 5.15 meters or higher in every competition that season.

Capello capped up his sophomore Indoor season by besting his own NJCAA National meet record and winning his second National Championship by clearing 5.40 meters or 17 feet, 8.5 inches.

Capello continued to improve as the 2021 Outdoor season began, setting a new personal best and an NJCAA Outdoor record that still stands after clearing 5.50 meters or 18 feet 0.5 inches at Indiana State.

Capello closed out his VU Track career by setting a new NJCAA Outdoor National meet record of 5.40 meters and claiming his third NJCAA Pole Vaulting National Championship.

Capello was named the National Athlete of the Year for the 2020 and 2021 Indoor seasons and the 2021 Outdoor season and was also an NJCAA Coaches Association Academic All-American.

Capello received USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week honors four times and was named USTFCCCA National Field Event Athlete of the Year three times.

“What I consider to be my greatest achievement is definitely winning National continuously in the two years I was at Vincennes,” Capello said. “I had some good heights from the beginning but it is easier said than done. You can mess it up, even when you have a good advantage on the other competitors, especially in a complex event such as the pole vault. But Coach Marsee was able to keep me on track. I appreciated winning the plates as Men’s Field Athlete of the Year because I remember seeing Coach Marsee visibly happy and proud of what we were doing.”

“The honest truth about why I chose Vincennes was they were the first school to offer me a good scholarship that would allow me to start my adventure,” Capello added. “I am glad that VU was the fastest school to offer me a spot, otherwise I wouldn’t be going into the Hall of Fame. As soon as I arrived, I found a great environment and had a bunch of friends after the first day. I knew that Coach Marsee had a long story of success in the pole vault and all the people I talked to about him while I was looking for some information had only good words and thoughts.”

“From day one, I remember seeing a big cardboard sign with the National titles the men’s basketball team has won through the years with the team picture next to them,” Capello said. “From that day, I promised myself that at the end of my stay at VU, I would have something like that for the pole vault. I may not have accomplished that mission, but being in the NJCAA Hall of Fame is definitely better. I can say now that we accomplished the mission one way or another.”

Capello would sign to continue his pole vaulting career at the University of Northern Iowa and competed for the Panthers during the 2022 Indoor season.

Capello is the third Vincennes University Track and Field athlete to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, following sprinter Jeff Phillips, who was inducted in 1991 and pole vaulter Natalia Bartnovskaya, who was inducted in 2019.

Capello is the fifth member of the Vincennes University Track and Field program to be inducted into the Track and Field Hall of Fame, along with Coach Marsee and Coach Bill Smith, who was inducted in 2021.

“I think back to the time spent at Vincennes with joy and melancholy,” Capello said. “I miss it dearly sometimes. I enjoyed the experience fully. Academically, I was surrounded by capable professors that enjoyed teaching and made sure we had everything we needed to succeed in the classes. I studied two years of interior design as my major, but I was also able to explore different subjects in this course of study.”

“By looking back, I can affirm that VU was a great environment,” Capello added. “I spent two years there and it gave me a lot of tranquility, created a good daily routine and put me in contact with great people that have helped me succeed in all fields. Important was the connection created with the team, coaches, professors and many other important figures. I couldn’t have asked for a better environment.”

Capello is set to be inducted alongside his former coach at VU Tim Marsee, as well as Coach Tony Dougherty of New Mexico Junior College and Coach Jane Vatchev of the College of DuPage in Illinois.