State Feature: Goolsby vaults way to state as sophomore
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Attention to detail is important in many sports, but in the sport of pole vaulting, it differs for the fact the athlete not only has to have a perfect sprint to get their steps in order, but they are in fact vaulting themselves in the air with just a single pole and their skill set to get them over a single bar.
That is the story for all pole vaulters, including Hillsboro sophomore Austin Goolsby, who became a first-time state qualifier after placing second at regionals last weekend, but his height of 14-09.00 didn’t come easy. He has the capability to not only equal that feat, but exceed it during Friday’s 2016 OHSAA Division II Track & Field State Championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, located on the campus of The Ohio State University.
For Goolsby, he was first allowed to begin his quest for state when he was in junior high, when after a season of Goolsby asking to take part in the event, the coaching staff allowed him to finally do so. Guess what … he loved the sport and hasn’t stopped vaulting since, reaching the state meet in just his second year of competition at the varsity level.
Besides his aforementioned 14.09-00 height at regionals, Goolsby was second at the district championships with a 14-00.00, and he was also the South Central Ohio League pole vault champion with a height of 14-07.00.
“Austin has been a bit of a surprise, but he’s worked very hard at it,” HHS boys track and field head coach Bud Marsh said. “We knew when he came in as a freshman last year he was an athlete, and pole vault was his event. We just told him last year to go to camps during the summer, and he did, and during the winter he got into indoor and continued to work hard at it.
“I couldn’t believe he went from 10-foot to 15-foot, but he just works so hard at it. He doesn’t have much fear, and he has 14-09 in competition at regionals, but in practice he’s vaulted 15-06. It is just a matter of doing the right things. He got 14-09 on his last jump at regionals, and that is just pure heart and determination. You just don’t see that at the end of their jumps. He’s just a sophomore, and he’s going to just continue to get better.”
The feat of qualifying for state has left Goolsby excited for the final event of the high school season this Friday, while also speaking about his season, beginning with his indoor season during the fall.
“It is an exciting experience, and I am happy to compete at that level,” Goolsby told The Highland County Press. “Starting with indoor and going from 10-feet last year to 15-feet this year, it’s just a great opportunity to be able to qualify for state in outdoor.
“I come out and practice about three times a week and get some good jumps in with my competition poles, then outside of that, I just do drills and different workouts.”
Remember, this journey to Columbus began for Goolsby when he was still in junior high.
“I was in seventh grade, and I saw a bunch of people participating in the event, and I thought it was pretty cool,” Goolsby said. “I just begged my coach to let me do it, and he wouldn’t let me until the end of the season. I finally started doing it, and I was the best of the group, so I just started to like it and started improving.”
When talking about the moment he knew he was going to state, one word came to mind for the sophomore … “relief.”
“It was a relief … that’s all I was going for,” he said. “I don’t care what my height was at regionals, I just wanted to qualify and know I was safe in making state.
“This weekend, I have to be prepared, and I just have to get up there.”
The event of pole vault is a tricky one. It is just more than running with a pole at full speed and vaulting yourself over a bar. A lot of detail and technique is involved with the pole vault event as well, and with an adrenaline rush, a lot of work is involved in succeeding at the event.
“It is a really fun sport, and I enjoy it,” Goolsby said. “It definitely isn’t a regular sport, but it is fun. If you try it …. it feels like you are flying. It is a lot of technique, but once you get that done, the hardest part of learning it was getting upside down to get your feet in the air and getting to the point where the pole will shoot you up.”
Goolsby has high aspirations but knows the competition will be the toughest he’s faced thus far.
“I want to go for the best, but my goal for now is to place,” Goolsby said. “I’ve competed in the indoor state event, and I’ve also gone to the indoor nationals, and that was exciting. There is a difference with indoor and outdoor, because indoor is a controlled environment, and it is a lot easier because you don’t have to worry about the elements that you have to during outdoor.”
That is the story for all pole vaulters, including Hillsboro sophomore Austin Goolsby, who became a first-time state qualifier after placing second at regionals last weekend, but his height of 14-09.00 didn’t come easy. He has the capability to not only equal that feat, but exceed it during Friday’s 2016 OHSAA Division II Track & Field State Championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, located on the campus of The Ohio State University.
For Goolsby, he was first allowed to begin his quest for state when he was in junior high, when after a season of Goolsby asking to take part in the event, the coaching staff allowed him to finally do so. Guess what … he loved the sport and hasn’t stopped vaulting since, reaching the state meet in just his second year of competition at the varsity level.
Besides his aforementioned 14.09-00 height at regionals, Goolsby was second at the district championships with a 14-00.00, and he was also the South Central Ohio League pole vault champion with a height of 14-07.00.
“Austin has been a bit of a surprise, but he’s worked very hard at it,” HHS boys track and field head coach Bud Marsh said. “We knew when he came in as a freshman last year he was an athlete, and pole vault was his event. We just told him last year to go to camps during the summer, and he did, and during the winter he got into indoor and continued to work hard at it.
“I couldn’t believe he went from 10-foot to 15-foot, but he just works so hard at it. He doesn’t have much fear, and he has 14-09 in competition at regionals, but in practice he’s vaulted 15-06. It is just a matter of doing the right things. He got 14-09 on his last jump at regionals, and that is just pure heart and determination. You just don’t see that at the end of their jumps. He’s just a sophomore, and he’s going to just continue to get better.”
The feat of qualifying for state has left Goolsby excited for the final event of the high school season this Friday, while also speaking about his season, beginning with his indoor season during the fall.
“It is an exciting experience, and I am happy to compete at that level,” Goolsby told The Highland County Press. “Starting with indoor and going from 10-feet last year to 15-feet this year, it’s just a great opportunity to be able to qualify for state in outdoor.
“I come out and practice about three times a week and get some good jumps in with my competition poles, then outside of that, I just do drills and different workouts.”
Remember, this journey to Columbus began for Goolsby when he was still in junior high.
“I was in seventh grade, and I saw a bunch of people participating in the event, and I thought it was pretty cool,” Goolsby said. “I just begged my coach to let me do it, and he wouldn’t let me until the end of the season. I finally started doing it, and I was the best of the group, so I just started to like it and started improving.”
When talking about the moment he knew he was going to state, one word came to mind for the sophomore … “relief.”
“It was a relief … that’s all I was going for,” he said. “I don’t care what my height was at regionals, I just wanted to qualify and know I was safe in making state.
“This weekend, I have to be prepared, and I just have to get up there.”
The event of pole vault is a tricky one. It is just more than running with a pole at full speed and vaulting yourself over a bar. A lot of detail and technique is involved with the pole vault event as well, and with an adrenaline rush, a lot of work is involved in succeeding at the event.
“It is a really fun sport, and I enjoy it,” Goolsby said. “It definitely isn’t a regular sport, but it is fun. If you try it …. it feels like you are flying. It is a lot of technique, but once you get that done, the hardest part of learning it was getting upside down to get your feet in the air and getting to the point where the pole will shoot you up.”
Goolsby has high aspirations but knows the competition will be the toughest he’s faced thus far.
“I want to go for the best, but my goal for now is to place,” Goolsby said. “I’ve competed in the indoor state event, and I’ve also gone to the indoor nationals, and that was exciting. There is a difference with indoor and outdoor, because indoor is a controlled environment, and it is a lot easier because you don’t have to worry about the elements that you have to during outdoor.”