Current Hoosiers continue pole vault tradition

Eighteen All-Americans, 21 Big Ten champions and three national champions.

For more than 100 years, men’s pole vault has been a highlight of the IU track and field team.

IU has seen 10 men clear a height of at least 5.18 meters indoors since 1977. The record is held by former Hoosier Mark Buse, whose jump height of 5.66 meters in 1994 still ranks today. Buse won the national championship in 1993.

Bryce Beecher became IU’s first national champion pole vaulter in 1932, the same year the whole team won the national championship.

Two of IU’s top 10 record holders are still involved in the program today. One is volunteer coach Dave Volz, whose clearance of 5.65 meters in 1982 is second all-time in IU history.

Volz won the outdoor pole vault national championship in 1981 and placed fifth at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

Volz said IU’s history in pole vault has continued through the years.

“IU has a steep tradition in pole vaulting,” he said. “Folks have jumped high here, and there is a reason for that, which is a combination of the right coaches and athletes.”

In terms of involvement with the program, Volz said he is trying to help current IU athletes successfully follow in his footsteps.

“It is fun being around young athletes and trying to help them achieve their potential,” he said. “Even as you get older, you never lose the desire for competition, so it is great to help kids today go out and be successful.”

The other record-holder currently involved in the program is senior Jeff Coover, whose 5.45 meters at the Big Ten Indoor Championships last weekend was fourth in IU history and made him the 2009 Big Ten Indoor Champion.

Coover said he is proud to be associated with the program’s history and credited Volz for his success. 

“IU has a super-rich success in the pole vault,” he said. “To be a part of that is really, really cool, and to have Dave on staff has helped me a lot.”

Coover also said the history behind the program is what brought him to IU from his hometown of La Jolla, Calif.

“IU is a good place for pole vault, and I wanted to be a part of this university and was ready to step into a new phase of my life,” he said.

In his second season with the team, IU coach Ron Helmer said the program’s history allows him to continue to recruit good athletes to the sport.

“I think that you have the ability to talk with some of the best vaulters in the country because you have a history with the program,” Helmer said. “Right now I think we are doing a good job with development, so we should have a shot to continue to get good pole vaulters.”