Credit to James Kowalczyk

Jackson Gamby vaults over pole at meet on April 16.

The track program looks towards the future with the new pole vault coach, Kyle Morse. The FHN Alum plans to turn the program back to how it was when he attended. The time when 12 out of the top 20 pole vault all-time records were held by his teammates. There’s no questioning his experience as he holds the school record with a 14 ‘9″ jump and performed on the Division I level at Mizzou. Morse plans on passing this knowledge down to the next generation of athletes here at North. 

“To do a pole vault program really well, it has to be more of a year-round thing,” Morse said. “I wanna do more camps in the summer and extra things in the winter, so that people who do pole vaulting are really more immersed and see results in the spring.” 

Junior Becca McGuire is set to be a part of this revival as she creeps into the record books at North. McGuire PR’d at 11 ‘7” this season and is laser-focused on only going up. 

“I would love to break the school record and go to state,” McGuire said. “I also want to learn more about vaulting physically and mentally, to gain experience to hopefully take me to a good college.” 

Pole vaulting is intimidating to the average high school student, however, Morse’s approach eases athletes into the sport. Like everyone else, Morse was new to the sport once, too, and understands that jumping 10 feet up into the air can be intimidating. He focuses on technique, so athletes are safe while performing. 

“I try to teach kids the technique first, and then we add speed later,” Morse said. “We do a lot of really short run stuff to learn the technique and then back up when they are ready to add more speed.” 

North’s program is quite small right now. North has 6 vaulters and competitors, having a similar number of competitors but a smaller student population; however, the team still loves the dynamics. The community is smaller and feels more connected, pushing each other day in and day out. Senior Landon Diers was passionate about what North has to offer.  

“What sets this program apart is the flexibility,” Diers said. “Morse takes the time to evaluate our vault and works with us one-on-one to perfect our craft.” 

In addition to the new hire, the program is looking forward to their new practice fields, which are currently undergoing construction and are expected to open in the fall of 2025. With Morse’s resume, updated facilities and specific plans for the future this team is bound to succeed. 

“The feeling of showing up to a meet and the other teams saying, ‘Oh shoot, we are not going to win today,’” Morse said. “That’s the attitude I want people to have about my program.”