It takes a bit of a daredevil mentality to take on the pole vault.
Running full speed before relying on a 20-pound fiberglass pole to bend into a frightening parabola, then propelling oneself skyward – typically heels first – over the height equivalent to the top of a basketball backboard isn’t territory many dare to tread.
When he first saw the sport, however, Montezuma-Cortez senior Houston Hurst couldn’t wait to try his hand.
Four years later, he’s set his sights on the school record, all while helping to navigate a strong Panthers track and field program back to IML and state success.
As a middle schooler, Hurst watched the event with fascination, and even with a steep learning curve, he’s transformed himself one of the top vaulters on the Western Slope.
“My freshman year, I had no idea what I was doing,” admitted Hurst, “but through working with coaches Yarbrough and Archibeque as well as coaches from other schools, I’ve totally changed how I approach it.”
Hurst’s new personal best of 12 feet continues to inch closer to the school record of 13-6, set over three decades ago.
“I know I’ve got to get my form down, but I’m really wanting to go after that record,” said Hurst.
Pole vault has become “his event,” but Hurst’s pole vault success has yielded success in other events like the 400 meters and triple jump, where his power, speed, and explosiveness also go on full display.
“Last year, I think I focused so much on pole vault that I didn’t get in the work on my speed, but this year, I’ve done a ton of sprint workouts, which has improved my power coming into the mat,” said Hurst.
Hurst’s patience and persistence is a testament to one of the hallmarks of the Panther program. M-CHS boasts the largest combined boys and girls roster in the Intermountain League – with depth that they hope will bode well when they contest for the league championships in a few weeks.
A significant portion of that roster is composed of seniors like Hurst and Colby McMillian, wanting to close out their M-CHS careers on the front foot. The duo forms a couple of the relay legs for the 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 relays – among the four relays that M-CHS hopes to send to Lakewood in mid-May for the 3A state championships.
“Just looking back on last year and what we had returning, we knew our relays would look good,” said McMillian.
A sign by the Panthers team camp reminds their athletes to “Practice like a Champion,” with the letters “ACT” in ‘practice’ highlighted to demonstrate the importance of a combination of hard work and character. It’s a standard that head coach Bob Archibeque and his coaching staff look to model, and something that the student-athletes look to emulate with the seniors carrying the torch.
“Coach Arch has put in a lot of work for us over the years, so I wanted to make sure that I reciprocated that back to him,” said McMillian of his offseason training.
Hurst and McMillian both closed out their football careers this past fall, but along with a bundle of multisport seniors for whom track and field may not have been their primary sport during high school, they continue to set the example for the underclassmen to finish up strong.
“We’ve got a huge team with a ton of underclassmen, so it looks promising for the future,” said McMillian. “I played football with a lot of these guys, so it’s nice to have a couple more months with them.”
McMillian has dropped his times with a healthy senior campaign, dipping under 11.5 in the 100 and dropping a massive personal best in the 400 at the Bob Archibeque Invitational by nearly breaking the 50 second barrier. Hurst also added a big personal best on the track earlier this season, going under 53 seconds in the quarter-mile to accompany his new PR in the vault.
“It feels like freshman year was yesterday,” reflected Hurst, “but getting to run with these guys this year on the relays, I’m just happy to get a enjoy it before its done.”
Just like Hurst in the middle of one of his vaults, the bar is fully bent and ready to uncoil – and with these Panthers, there’s no telling just how high they can go.
