Blue Ponies raising the bar

Many high schools across the state of Montana do not have the luxury of having a pole vaulter on its track and field team. And if a program is lucky, they may have one or two vaulters who can push for team points throughout the season.

Havre senior Thurman Holdsclaw goes up on the pole during the 2013 Cal Wearley Track Meet last month in Havre. Holdsclaw is part of a strong HHS contingent of vaulters who seem to be going higher and higher.

However, the Havre High Blue Pony track team isn't in that group, not anymore.

Through the 1990's, the Pony track program had a dominating group of pole vaulters.

And current pole vaulting coach Andy Smith was part of that elite group. Smith was a very exciting vaulter to watch in his day, clearing heights upwards of 13-6 as a sophomore. But the Ponies also had vaulters like Scotty Leeds who cleared 13-6, Nick Compton who cleared 14-0, Shawn Rismon who cleared 14-0, and Terry Richardson who cleared 14-6. It was a good time to be a vaulter in the prep ranks, but the program then went through a dry spell for several years after, leaving a lot to be desired from a once dominate sport.

Pole vaulting is not for everybody. It is a high-effort and high-risk event, and if an athlete is able to stick it out, it is also high reward. And coach Smith is fortunate enough to have a group of athletes that have been very hungry to get the sport back to where it was in its glory days.

Smith has been coaching for six years now, and he has witnessed the turnaround first hand. And a lot of the credit has to got past athletes Tyson Gruber, Lane Waid, and Jake Myers.

HHS's Lacey Waid is one of the top pole vaulters in Class A this season.

"Those three really got things going again," Smith said. "When they were here they were all trading spots for first, second, and third place at meets. They were all friends and all graduated together. They were just three goofy guys that had a lot of fun. But you also have to be a little fearless to vault and they all had that quality. They pushed the limits and they pushed each other, and that has really got more and more kids interested in vaulting again.

"When I first came back to Havre I tried to get some kids to come out and vault," Smith added. "But the best any kid ever really did was 10-0. It was like that for the first couple of years, but then all of a sudden I had a group in Tyson Gruber, Lane Waid, and Jake Myers who got a lot better. They would go to pole vaulting camp together over the summer, and it was something they all caught onto, and had fun doing it. But that is the thing with pole vaulting, you really have to stick with it because nobody comes in and just all of a sudden clears 13-0. You really have to be patient and put in the time."

In the 2009-2010 season, Waid even captured third place at the state meet, clearing 13-0. That was the first real big accomplishment for the Ponies since the 90's. But in Smith's first season at the helm things were less successful. Smith took two vaulters who hovered around the 10-6 mark to state. The opening height was 11-0 and neither vaulter made it out of the gate.

Today the program is much improved, and the Blue Pony vaulters are a major contributor at each and every meet they compete in.

Havre High's Thomas Gruber is following in his older brother's footsteps as an elite pole vaulter for the Blue Ponies.

Right now, Lacey Waid is the No. 2 vaulter in the Class A girls ranks. She was formally tied for the school record, clearing 9-6, but this season she broke the record at 9-09, and then again at 10-0. Waid also placed sixth at the 2011 state meet.

Senior Thurman Holdsclaw is also the top HHS male vaulter, and owns a sixth-place finish after clearing 13-0 at the state meet last season. He has cleared 13-6 in the past, and leads a very talented group of boy vaulters. Thomas Gruber has also cleared 12-6, Zach Plum has cleared 12-0, Matt Emge has cleared 12-0 (12-6 last year), sophomore Gunnar Aageson has cleared 10-6, and freshman Nate Rismon has even cleared 10-0.

"(Waid and Holdsclaw) are two pretty dang good pole vaulters." Smith said. "Lacey is No. 2 in Class A this year, with just one girl ahead of her at 10-6. And Thurman only has one kid ahead of him at 13-6, so they are both at the top of the state in the Class A."

But vaulting doesn't come easy to anybody. In fact, it takes a lot of time, effort, patience and work to become a dominating force.

Holdsclaw is the perfect example, as Smith questioned his capabilities for the first couple of seasons. As a sophomore he only cleared 9-0, and for some reason, things just weren't clicking. But Holdsclaw never gave up, he worked harder, and pushed forward, a trick of the trade for many vaulters.

"There was a point that I was going to tell Thurman to go find another event," Smith said. "He couldn't get past about 9-0, and it was a battle. I felt bad because he wanted it so bad, and he tried very hard, but it just wasn't happening. But finally by the end of his sophomore year, it just clicked and he went 12-0 at divisionals and won the divisional meet that year.

"But that is why they say it is the most difficult track event." Smith added. "There are so many components to consider, you have to be strong, you have to be quick, and you have to have body control. There are just a lot of pieces that have to come together for a good jump. All of a sudden it just clicks, and you have a jump where everything comes together. Thurman had a lot of determination and patience and it paid off for him."

From outside looking in, pole vaulting looks hard, but not impossible. But athletes have a lot to consider. Their hand position on the pole is crucial, as are their steps, the standards, their speed, strength and approach to the pit. The weather is also always a factor.

If this group the Ponies have vaulting for them now sticks it out and continues to perform and bring in new vaulters, the Ponies have a chance to continue their successful program further down the road. Aageson and Rismon are both young and new to the sport, but have already showed great promise. And if it wasn't for young aspiring vaulters getting the chance to watch successful vaulters, the Ponies wouldn't be where they are today.

Tyson Gruber and Lane Waid are the older brothers of Thomas Gruber and Lacey Waid. And both Thomas and Lacey watched their siblings vault as eighth graders, staying after the middle school practice and getting an early inside look to their future events.

"Gruber and Lacey are very similar," Smith said. "Aand they have both taken huge strides. Lacey would sit at the track as an eighth grader and watch her older brother vault, and Thomas would do the same thing. They would pick up the pole and kind of mess around, and they have both come a long way."

And it was the success of his older brother that drew Thomas in.

"Pretty much with all the sports he did (football, track, and wrestling)," Gruber said. "I looked up to him. He made it look fun, especially pole vaulting, that looked really fun. And that is how I got started. And seeing what he could do really made me want to beat him and do better than him. He got 13-0 his junior year, so now I have to get 13-0 this year. I am getting closer."

Lacey also got sucked in by her brothers' success, and has made the most of her opportunity thus far.

"I always thought it looked cool," She said. "And pretty much watching my brother made me want to pole vault. And I always thought I could be pretty good. Your very first jumps are pretty scary, I remember being scared when I first jumped. But you just have to get over that, and then you realize just how fun this is. Now I want to win state and clear 10-6 or 11-0 this year. I still have one year left."

Vaulting doesn't come easy to many people, and the best vaulters normally work harder than the vaulter next to them. Fortunately for Havre, the Blue Ponies have a whole crew of vaulters who have been willing to put in the time and effort to bring the HHS vaulting name back to the top of the ranks. And if they are lucky, they will continue to do so for years, and seasons to come.