This year, Liberty Track athletes are reaching new heights- literally. 

As the most recent and 14th track event, pole vaulting is providing a new opportunity for students on the track team to develop technique and skill, as well as being part of an incredibly welcoming environment. 

Pole vaulting, a track and field event that’s been around since Ancient Greek times, is a sport that requires athletes to use a long, flexible pole to propel themselves over a high bar, aiming to achieve the greatest height possible.

This sport remains popular today, and is now being properly integrated into Liberty’s track program after years out of the spotlight.

In the past, aspiring pole-vault athletes at Liberty resorted to traveling to other high schools to practice their event, mostly due to the lack of a pole-vaulting coach and supplies at Liberty.

However, Liberty track athletes claim that because vaulters couldn’t practice with everyone else, it hurt the team culture on track and “othered” the vaulters.

“I didn’t know we had pole vaulters until we got some points from it for state,”  junior and long distance captain Dexter Mcfadden said. said. “Because it’s less common, pole vaulting needs to be accessible for people to try it. It’s not like soccer, where basically everyone’s played it at some point.” 

This new addition of pole vaulting as an option at Liberty, along with shiny new supplies and a new coach, means that practice is more accessible and valued. Now, vaulters have a chance to soar.

“They aren’t isolated from the rest of the team by having to travel to different places to pole practice,” track manager William Rupard said. 

With pole vaulting opportunities now just a quick walk away from the locker room, vaulters are getting the recognition they deserve. As a result, track athletes are clamoring for the chance to take to the skies. 

“32 people showed up to try out for pole vaulting,” Mcfadden said. “They haven’t made cuts yet, but it’s definitely going to be a big group.”

Track members claim that this surge of interest can be attributed to pole vaulting’s incredibly difficult yet rewarding nature. 

“I definitely wouldn’t say it’s an easy event,” junior pole vaulter Kasyn Olivadotti said. “It’s challenging because there are fast moving parts and you need to be very precise.”

Pole vaulting is a very unique track event because other than general athleticism and drive, most of the skills required for vaulting aren’t transferable from other track events.

Unlike track events such as long distance running or sprints where your focus is set on pumping your feet and arms, pole vaulting requires athletes to keep track of a variety of things.

“Technique-wise, you have to get your arms up, out, and over your head and then keep them moving as you vault- which is very difficult while airborne,” Olavedotti said.

Olivadotti moved to Washington this year and has been pole vaulting for seven years. Now that she’s joined the Liberty track team, she’s using her past experience to help other Liberty athletes refine their pole vaulting skills. 

“I learned how to pole vault when I lived in Wisconsin, and I used to help other kids with technique,” Olivadotti said. “It’s nice to be able to help my teammates here, too.”

However, the track students aren’t the only ones experiencing growth. Liberty’s new pole vaulting coach, Devynn Warns, is new to pole vaulting herself and is excited to learn and provide support and encouragement to the team.

“I’ve never pole vaulted before this year,” Warns said. “And it’s like learning a whole different language.”

Warns was originally reached out to by Liberty PE teacher and track coach Bradly Anderson, who encouraged her to become the pole vaulting coach.

“I agreed to coach because a lot of my current students are on track, so I thought it would be fun to watch them compete,” Warns said.

“Pole vaulting is such a new experience for me because my thing used to be basketball, so learning pole vaulting is like how it would be to learn Japanese because it’s so different,” Warns said.

Luckily, Warns claims that Liberty’s track athletes are amazing people to work with.

“I have such a dedicated group that comes to practices on the weekends and are so eager to learn,” Warns said. “Track can be sometimes labeled as an individual sport because of all the different events, but in reality you end up with 100-something students all cheering each other on.” 

This compassionate mindset is something that, according to participants, is very common in pole vaulting.

“My dad and I always say that pole vaulting is like the Canada of the sports world, because everyone is so friendly and open to helping out,” Olivadotti said. “It’s a great way for me to connect with other people and integrate into the team.”

Another Liberty track athlete, sophomore Sofia Sota-Deras, joined the team after discovering pole vaulting online. 

“I didn’t know anything about it before, but I started watching videos about it and thought it’d be fun,” Sota-Deras said.

Once she joined, she quickly found the same welcoming community that Olavedotti and Warns have praised.

“The people and the coach are definitely a highlight for me,” Sota-Deras said. “Everyone is always happy to help you.”

As one of Liberty’s largest student groups with more than 100 kids, this positive environment is likely going to make a huge impact.