LAKEWOOD — As soon as Monarch junior T.J. Rowan hit the pole vault mat after clearing the 15-foot, 8-inch height of the bar, he looked to his older brother Cole, flexed his muscles and screamed.
He had already secured his Class 5A state title-winning mark at 15-3. The 15-8 height, however, put a stamp on his personal record during the state track and field championships at Jeffco Stadium on Saturday. His previous PR, which he cleared earlier in the season, was a 15–7.
“That’s just kind of what I do when I make a PR,” he said. “They don’t come that often, so I get really excited.”
Cole, standing right next to the pit, patted the top of his own head with both hands. He looked to T.J. and said, “If you want (the crown), you got to out-jump me.”
With the state title and PR firmly in hand, T.J. decided he wanted to take a stab at Cole’s best personal mark from his high school career six years earlier. Cole, who spent his collegiate career vaulting for Duke, won the state title in 2017 and finished high school with a PR of 16 feet.
T.J. barely missed clearing the 16-1 bar.
“It feels like I’m following his footsteps. I really wish I beat him today, but I’m happy with the title,” T.J. said. “My older brother is my biggest inspiration in my life. He’s the one that got me into pole vault. He’s one of my coaches that pushes me in the indoor season every single day. He always wants me to go further. So coming here, winning the state title like he did six years ago, is really just kind of a full-circle thing.”
Cole, for his part, has no doubt that T.J. will eventually pass 16 feet, even if he has to wait until his senior season to achieve it.
“He’s a real talented vaulter, and the mission for him all year has been to beat my junior-year record,” Cole said. “He’s better than I am, so he could have done it at any time. We were hoping it would be today. I got the crown that I have, put on my head, and the second that he out-jumps me in high school, it’s going to go right on his head. But if he wants it, he’s got to earn it.”
Monarch’s Ethan Nuttall capped off Monarch’s effort in the event with a sixth-place finish and height of 14 feet.
A peak performance
The moment Fairview senior Olivia Kosanovich popped up from her Class 5A state championship-winning pole vault — 12 feet, 10 inches — she smiled and put her hands over her mouth. She couldn’t believe it.
Not only did she go for the gold in her final season with the Knights, but she beat out her own personal record — which she set at the state meet last year — by four inches. Her other Fairview teammates ran over to hug and congratulate her.
“I was really surprised because on the second jump, I was like, ‘Oh, I can’t get it on the third try,’” Kosanovich explained. “But then, I just kind of dialed in and I was like, ‘I want this, and I really think I can do it.’ And then I just kind of gave it everything I got and made sure before I got on to dial everything, and then I cleared it.”
Saturday’s performance, she said, boiled down to confidence and focus. The dream she’d been chasing since she was in seventh grade finally panned out. Now she gets to take that into Vanderbilt next year.
Kosanovich led a strong Fairview effort in the event, as Sophie Pierce and Charlotte Elliston placed third and fourth, respectively, with clearances of 12-4 and 11-10.
Ending while banged up
Directly after Kosanovich’s final vault, Broomfield’s Lilly Nichols bowed out of the contest, clearly nursing an injured foot. She ended her day having successfully vaulted over the 12-7 bar and, despite the setback, couldn’t help but smile at her silver medal.
Finally, in a season defined by wind and rain, she got to compete in nice weather.
“You know kind of where the pit separates at the end of the box and the side of the box? I got my foot stuck in there and then I went forward and it jerked it. Now, it really hurts, but at least I still have one good one, right?” she said. “It feels awesome. I mean, I’m proud of myself. I think today was a really nice day, so it was one of the best meets I’ve ever had.”
Reaching new heights at the right time
When Fairview senior Flynn Meier bounced out of the boys 5A pole vault competition at 14-6, he ended his high school career on the highest note possible.
Literally.
After chasing that height all season long, he finally cleared it when it mattered most to secure the bronze in the event. His previous PR was stuck at 14-3.
“It was just sort of like, ‘Finally,’” Meier said. “I’ve just been there for so long. I just (went) crazy. Previously, I’d never know where to put my standards. It’s such a game of where to put them and I just got them right today, so that felt good.”
Meier chalked up his final mark to getting his plant down just right, and looks forward to what that means when he’ll continue his career at Claremont McKenna College in California next year.
A scary situation
Amid the usual success that locals see in the pole vault event every year, a scary situation unfolded during the 5A girls competition this time around.
Broomfield’s Elizabeth Dunham, having perhaps the best day of her pole vaulting career, suffered a mishap when she attempted to break a PR for the third time on Saturday alone. She hooked her arms on the pole, then landed on her back directly on it.
Meet officials brought in an ambulance to cart her away, neck brace on, to determine just how bad the injury was. By the time they loaded her into the ambulance, she was able to wiggle her fingers.
“It was their last attempt and she was being aggressive and she almost cleared it,” Broomfield head coach Justin Hazzard said. “Being at those heights, she just came down and put her arms and spread out. Just have to wait to figure out what’s actually wrong.”
Before that happened, she demolished her former PR of 10-6 and successfully cleared as high as 11-4 to place 10th overall.
