Raising the Bar

Three years ago, Lebanon senior Jack Howard had never pole vaulted before.

Heading into his sophomore year, he decided to give track and field, and pole vault, a try since he wasn’t doing any sport in the spring.

But once he started, there has been little to stop Howard’s progress in the event and he has become not just the best in Lebanon history at it, but one of the best in the state of Indiana this year.

“I am extremely surprised with the rapid progress,” Howard said this week. “But I have been really happy with it and hope to continue it.”

In Howard’s first meet as a sophomore, he cleared just 8-feet.

That improved to 11-feet-6-inches by the end of the year, and he cleared 13-feet last year as a regional qualifier.

Last year he also joined the club team Pole Vault Elite based in Fortville, giving him year-round training to reach his goals.

Howard said being around other like-minded vaulters has helped him elevate his level.

“It has been a great benefit and they have great competition for me,” Howard said. “They push me to be better, and just watching them compete makes me want to do better.”

The hard work paid off as he placed third in the Elite category at the Adidas Indoor Nationals at the end of March, clearing a then personal best 14-feet-5.50 inches.

In his first outdoor meet this spring, he won the county title and broke the Lebanon school record in clearing 13-feet-6-inches, breaking the record that Bill Smith set in 1975 (13-feet-3-inches).

Just a few days later, Howard cleared 14-feet-6-inches in the Tigers’ home meet with Guerin Catholic and Tri-West.

While it is still early in the season, that is the fourth-best height by a pole vaulter in Indiana this spring.

“I am very excited to be where I’m at,” Howard said. “Not just the record, but beating my PR from indoor nationals a few weeks ago. I just hope to keep breaking it and pushing the record up.”

Lebanon pole vaulting coach Josh Frost has worked with Howard for the past three seasons.

Frost said that he has been impressed with the way Howard has handled the transition from indoors to outdoors, where there are more factors that can cause issues for vaulters.

He said that Howard’s work ethic is one thing that sets him apart.

“He’s very coachable, he listens, and he is willing to accept corrections and focus on making those fixes,” Frost said. “One of his greatest assets is his coachability and his willingness to listen.”

Frost said that having someone excel like Howard is a huge asset for the entire Lebanon pole vaulting group.

Lebanon didn’t have pole vaulting for nearly 20 years because they didn’t have a runway on their track. But in the past five seasons, the group has continued to grow.

On Tuesday, they had 11 boys and girls competing in the event.

“It really helps to have solid examples and witness people have success,” Frost said. “They learn a lot from each other, and sometimes that peer support is needed. They have multiple teammates to rely on and that helps the program reach new heights, pun intended.”

As for the rest of the season, Howard isn’t satisfied with what he has accomplished so far.

The state standard for pole vault, which comes with an automatic qualification to the State Finals if hit in the regional, is the 14-feet-6-inches that he recently cleared.

That height would have placed him eighth in the state last year.

But with the future in mind, Lebanon athletic director Phil Levine recently ordered bigger poles for Howard to use, which should help him reach higher heights, as they will help him “shoot upwards, and not just forward.”

He said personally he thinks he can get at least another foot to 15-feet-6-inches, and Frost thinks that his star pupil is just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential.

“I would like to see Jack on the podium at the state meet, and I think he has that potential,” Frost said. “It’s very different to compete indoor to outdoors, but to have the success indoors, and already match that outdoor, where wind is such a significant factor is great. That’s a tremendous credit to his effort, to achieve that. I think he is on a steep trajectory upward. I really believe he has the potential to finish his career in the 16-foot range, which I think is tremendous.”

Howard and the Tigers are next in action at the Big Orange Meet at Hamilton Heights today.