It happened right after that first liftoff in 1995, to be accurate. During the ensuing years, through the euphoria of near perfection and the aggravation of chasing perfection, through the literal takeoffs and landings and the figurative ups and downs, it truly set in.

Mel Mueller became a pole-vault fanatic.

"I'm a pole-vault geek, all my friends are," said the Simi Valley, Calif., woman with a laugh. "We get together and we talk about it for hours. We watch all the tapes of our meets. My husband tries to hang in there, but sometimes it's like, 'Huh?' "

Of course, Mueller -- born Melissa, shortened to Mel -- is more than just smitten with what might be track and field's most challenging event. She happens to be one of the top women's pole vaulters in the United States and, thus, the world.

With a personal best of 15 feet, 1¾ inches set last year, a vault of 15-1 indoors in February, and a spot on the U.S. Olympic team at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Mueller looms at, or near, the apex of her event.

Only like golf and gourmet cooking, it may be a discipline one never truly masters.

	“	You run, you jump, you use an implement. There is so much to master in the pole vault. That may be why it's so appealing. The first time I tried it, it was like, 'Wow.' It's such a rush to go over. ”
		— Mel Mueller

At age 29, with seven years' experience in the event, Mueller (pronounced "Miller") now is just approaching her peak. Like the surfer in search of the perfect wave, the Wisconsin native rides the crest in pursuit of the ideal vault.

"I feel like I have so much more potential," she said.

With a competitive schedule that includes Sunday's elite portion of the Mount San Antonio College Invitational, and an eye on the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Mueller trains hard and dreams big. That's one key reason why she and husband Michael Clark (also her physical therapist) moved from Arizona to Simi Valley about a year ago, to land in Southern California and be close to her training base at UCLA.

Her zeal for the vault is inspired, at least in part, by a degree of difficulty that makes it tantalizingly seductive and maddeningly perplexing at the same time.

"I consider it the most technically demanding of all the events," said Mueller, a multi-event performer as a collegian at Wisconsin-Oshkosh. "You run, you jump, you use an implement. There is so much to master in the pole vault. That may be why it's so appealing. The first time I tried it, it was like, 'Wow.' It's such a rush to go over."

In between a packed calendar that this year includes six weeks of competition in Europe, Mueller makes the trek twice a week to UCLA's Drake Stadium for hands-on training from her coach, Anthony Curran. Under the watchful eye of Curran, training alongside other top vaulters such as Mary Sauer, the ebullient Mueller frets and sweats, pushes herself to the max and drives herself to distraction, and, as always, reaches for the sky.

All in all, just a typical training session for Mueller.

"There are some days when you just wonder why you're doing this at all," she said. "There are so many technical steps to remember. Sometimes you focus on one thing, do it pretty well -- and forget everything else. You want to yell at yourself."

Of course, there are special days when she reaps the payoff. Like finishing third at the U.S. Track and Field trials in 2000 and earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. Or soaring a personal-best 15-1¾ at the Clovis Street Vault last year. Or reaching 15-1 indoors in Flagstaff, Ariz., in February, and barely missing her shot at the world record.

	“	When I don't think about it, and just seem to do everything by instinct, that's when I've jumped my best ”
		— Mel Mueller

"It's a feeling that's indescribable," she said of uncorking a sharp vault. "It seems like it takes forever to come down. There's no feeling like that."

Funny thing is, there's little for Mueller to describe when she hits a top vault. In fact, she seems to jump best when she's not thinking at all.

"When I don't think about it, and just seem to do everything by instinct, that's when I've jumped my best," she said. "It's not easy to do, because there is so much to think about on every vault. I just have to train myself to relax, and so much of that comes with experience."

For Mueller, it was love at first vault when she picked up the pole in 1995. That happened after her college coach returned from the USA Championships in Sacramento.

The NCAA Division III high jump champion in 1993 with a leap of 5-9¾, Mueller toyed with becoming a heptathlete. Instead, the pole vault became an obsession and a career.

She's been heading to the top ever since.

First there were jumps of 13 feet and 14 feet. In 1999, she set five personal bests. In 2000, a vault of 14-2½ at the U.S. Track and Field trials earned her third place and a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. The competition in Sydney was historic in itself as the first time women's pole vaulting was contested in the Summer Games.

Though she failed to make the finals in Sydney, vaulting 13-11¼, she has memories to last a lifetime. Or at least until the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.

"I was shocked not to make the finals," she said. "But I got to go to the Olympics. It's all an incredible experience."

And inspiration, too, for the chance to reach the next Olympics and medal in Greece.

Despite all that experience, the 5-foot-10, 150-pounder knows there is a next generation of women's vaulters rising to pose a challenge. So Mueller takes pride in helping to set the bar high.

"When we first started the women's pole vault was kind of a joke," she said. "It was so ugly to watch. Now look how far we've come. I'm proud to have played a part in all of that."