- May 21, 2026
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The sensation of running forward with the pole in her hands, preparing to soar over a bar, is something Zoe Buller has grown to love.
Even more, it’s become her athletic addiction.
An affinity for pole vaulting runs in her blood. Her parents, Longboat Key's Russ Buller II and Dana Ellis, both felt it years before their daughter did.
Now retired from the sport, they’ve since inspired their daughter to carry on the family legacy.
“I just want to be like my mom and dad,” said Zoe Buller. “I want to be an Olympic pole vaulter (like her mom).”
That desire went on display this past track and field season. The Out-of-Door Academy seventh grader, competing at the varsity level for the first time, won the FHSAA Class 1A-Region 3 and Class 1A-District 11 titles for girls pole vault on May 1 and April 21, respectively.
The Longboat Key resident qualified for the 1A state championship at Jacksonville’s Hodges Stadium, where on May 6, she placed eighth with a mark of 2.85 meters — enough to earn a medal.
Among the 15 individual events at the statewide meet, 10.8% of medals were awarded to middle schoolers. Only six were in seventh grade or earlier, including Buller.
“It was a bit harder for a seventh grader to do,” said the 13-year-old. “I learned about how to not be stressed and be confident in yourself, trying to reach that level.”
Her path to pole vaulting mirrors that of her mother.
Before starting the sport as a sixth grader, Zoe Buller was a Level 7 gymnast in the “optional” segment of USA Gymnastics’ Women’s Development Program. That meant her skills were advanced enough to the point where she started to build her own routine for competitions.
Ellis — born in Kitchener, Ontario — was a gymnast herself for the Canadian National Team from 1990-97. She later took up pole vaulting, and eventually became the 2004 and 2005 national champion at the Canadian Track and Field Championships.
The highlight of her career, though, was a sixth-place finish in women’s pole vault at the 2004 Athens Olympics, representing Team Canada.
Russ Buller II was her coach at those Games. Over two decades later, he offers tutelage to his daughter as an assistant for ODA middle school track and field.
Cal Davidson-Turner, the team’s coach, saw that father-daughter connection produce an individual season which featured no shortage of success.
“As soon as I started working with Zoe, she was a rock star,” Davidson-Turner said. “There’s a level of maturity that she’s shown. As the season went on, and she continued to jump higher and higher and better and better, you could see that confidence come out.”
Competing for LSU track and field from 1996-2000, Russ Buller II became — and still remains — one of the most decorated pole vaulters in program history.
He was crowned the 2000 NCAA indoor and outdoor men’s pole vault champion, and as a Tiger, also collected six SEC titles. In 2017, he was inducted into the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
The sport took him to great heights, just like it did for Ellis. Professionally, he was the 2006 national outdoor champion in men’s pole vault at the USA Track and Field Championships, and served as an alternate for Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Having grown up with high-profile athletes as her parents, Zoe Buller's childhood began in Newport Beach, California, before the family moved to Florida six years ago.
“When I moved to ODA, I was inspired by its sports teams,” Buller said. “A lot of people (here) have improved over the years and I just wanted to feel that.”
She posted a mark of 2.60 meters in her first meet this season. At the state championship, she had improved to 2.85 meters.
The seventh grader made a major change to her technique at her father’s advice. Instead of having “bendy arms” when she plants the pole into the ground, she now keeps her arms straight, allowing herself to vault even higher.
Buller placed second at the ODA Thunder Classic on April 1, first at the George Steinbrenner Invitational on April 4 and second at the Sarasota County Championships on April 10 in the lead-up to the FHSAA postseason.
“Athletes are getting younger and they’re faster at a younger age, but what she did, you just don’t see that often at this level,” Davidson-Turner said. “That’s something to celebrate.”
The Olympics — sports’ ultimate stage — is Buller’s dream. She envisions a future where she goes for gold with the world watching.
Her next steps will be working on “getting upside down” and turning her body before she gets over the bar. Those improvements will allow her to soar even higher.
For now, Buller will focus on finishing seventh grade, with the start of her high school career more than a year away.
