GALION — Brett DeGray coaches pole vaulters for Colonel Crawford when he’s not drawing up defensive alignments for the Eagles football team in the fall.

That’s not an easy task, especially given the unseasonably cold and wet spring in north central Ohio.

“These kids have been working hard for almost two months leading up to this (the Crawford County Meet). We have only had six high school meets and junior high only ran four,” he said.

DeGray has a couple kids who pole vault indoors with a track and field club.

“But that’s not readily available to the kids in this area. They have to travel to Sunbury or Bellevue or someplace like that.”

It’s a unique event.

“It’s like hurdling and high jumping. You can’t just step over there and say, ‘I’m an athlete. I’m going to do it.’ It’s a specialty event. You have to really put some time into it,” DeGray said.

What makes a boy or girl want to do it?

“It’s something completely different than basketball, football, cross country. It’s a gymnastics sport on the end of a pole. I think that’s a draw for some kids. They want something completely different.”

DeGray said all pole vaulters need an intangible.

“Fearless, number one. They need to have good body control also. You obviously need core strength. I’ve had distance kids who don’t have a lick of upper body strength, but they have really good core and body control.”

Discipline is also a requirement.

“You watch the vault, and everybody thinks to go higher you have to pull yourself up like you’re going up a ladder or a rope. It doesn’t work that way.”

DeGray pointed to several of his vaulters, including Matt Clinard, a junior.

“He’s been vaulting for me for several years now. He does a nice job.”

Clinard went 12 feet, good for first-place honors at the meet.

Freshman Logan Goddard placed second.

“He’s coming along and has worked hard. Gabby Roston went 11 feet for a PR at (Canton) GlenOak, so she’s worked really, really hard to hit those marks.”

Roston vaulted 9 feet, 6 inches to win the county title.

Lynae McKibben, a sophomore, finished second at 7 feet.

“She’s doing a nice job. A former gymnast. You look for that as a coach,” DeGray said. “If you’re a gymnast you should have pretty good body control.”

McKibben is enjoying her second year of pole vaulting. She also runs the relays for the Lady Eagles.

“I used to be a gymnast so some of it comes a little natural. I’ve done track since seventh grade. Pole vault is completely different with the run into it, the up the swing and the turn. Put it all together and it should be pretty good,” she said.

Crestline’s Carter Giesige is small in stature, but the freshman sprints and pole vaults.

“You got to have confidence and a mindset that you’re going to do it,” Giesige said after finishing fifth at the county meet.

Wynford sophomore Dekon Harper is another vaulter with a good attitude heading into his second season.

“My PR last year was 9 feet 6, but this year’s been a slow start. Anything past 10 feet will be good for me.”

Harper placed third in the meet and also runs sprints and relays for the Royals.

“With pole vault you have to focus. You get set, run and figure out what you’re doing while you’re up in the air for maybe a second.”

Dalton Barker is a three-sport junior at Bucyrus who takes a light-hearted approach to the event.

“It’s just fun. You control the bend, go up high and it’s so much fun. It looks scary,” he said.

Barker began participating in the event in seventh grade.

“I’ve had many different coaches, different opinions. My personal best in a meet is 11 feet. My goal by the end of next year is to get around the 14-foot area,” he said.

“I love it. We got a new vaulter, Mike Wise. We threw him in here and it seems like he’s enjoying it a lot.”

Keeping vaulters motivated isn’t that difficult, according to Redmen assistant coach Dave Jones.

“The kids are self-motivated in many respects, even doing the drills inside,” he said.

“Dalton is a good athlete, football and wrestling, and he adapts to whatever you put him in.”

Carlee Burton is the lone girl pole vaulter for Bucyrus. She went 5 feet, 6 inches and is anxious to improve in her first season.

“The county meet is a good barometer for everyone to finally see where we stand as we make that stretch into the next couple of weeks.”