Louisville track and field ushers in new era with first pole vaulters in 30-plus years

LOUISVILLE — Opening day at Louisville High School's track and field facility saw a rebirth.

After an absence of more than 30 years, pole vaulters wearing Louisville uniforms competed at a brand-new landing pit. This time the event likely won't be disappearing.

This will be a grass-roots journey taken by Garrett Thrasher, Josie Rigdon, Taydem Everhart and Landon Sheets this season. There are no unreasonable expectations for any of them. They are part of a new beginning and just want to improve as the season goes on.

"It's a challenge, but it's fun," Rigdon said.

Why did a program the size of Louisville's not have vaulters for so many years? Here's some background:

After the Leopards joined the old Northeastern Buckeye Conference in 1989, the league chose to drop pole vault from track and field as a contested event. The Eastern Buckeye Conference, the NBC's successor, has never reinstated it.

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Louisville became an independent after the NBC disbanded. The track and field program was free to add pole vault. It took a few years before the hopes of boys head coach Frank Grimm and girls head coach Jerry Fresenko became reality.

"Coach Fresenko and I have been pushing for it for years and years," Grimm said. "We've had some good teams over the years. Last year we went to the county meet, finished second and we didn't have pole vault. In a perfect world, there's 18 points on the board that we don't even get a chance to compete for."

The expense of adding pole vault was a factor during the Leopards' early years as an independent. The pit Louisville installed cost around $34,000. The poles alone cost hundreds of dollars apiece.

"It was an expensive endeavor," Grimm said. "The school made a commitment to us last year that they were going to do it, and they really put it in motion. Jerry and I really oversaw it, and we have it. We're very excited about it."

The Leopards did not have to look far for a vaults coach.

Former Kent State vaulter Jeff Hoffman has taught industrial arts at Louisville for many years. He won a Mid-American Conference championship and set a school record with the Golden Flashes. He also coached his daughter Megan, who vaulted at St. Thomas Aquinas and Ohio State.

What's one thing Hoffman keeps emphasizing to his young Louisville vaulters?

"Repetition, repetition, drills, drills, drills," Hoffman said. "Kids all want to jump at bars and have fun, and that's not where we get anywhere. You don't make progress doing that. You just make them do the same thing over and over again and watch their small steps."

Thrasher has embraced the coaching. The sophomore did not have a vaults coach last year when he attended high school in Mississippi.

"It was really hard," Thrasher said. "We had to coach ourselves and coach each other.

"It's hard when we're not professional pole vaulters like our coach was. It's nice to actually have somebody who is able to see what your mistakes are, tell you what they are and help you manage and correct them."

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Louisville's vaulters will have multiple years with Hoffman.

Rigdon and Sheets are juniors, Thrasher is a sophomore and Everhart is a freshman. Hoffman took Everhart to road venues to practice when she was in eighth grade. He also coached her in eighth-grade meets.

Louisville currently has around five middle school vaulters who are getting a head start before high school. One middle school girl recently jumped 6 feet, 6 inches.

As for his four high school vaulters, Hoffman does not talk about specific heights he hopes to see them reach by the end of the season.

"They can progress and they'll jump safely with us," Hoffman said. "They'll progress at their own whims.

"Some of them are making progress for their first year of pole vaulting. They're making good progress."

Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @mpopovichREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Pole vault as competitive event returns to Louisville track and field