7:10 PM / Downtown Grand Forks
“Oooooooh,” the crowd sympathized with my misfortune. I had landed deep in the pit. Too deep. On my third attempt at 4.87m / 15’11, I crashed the bar and ended with a miss. Now I was out of the competition. I waved to the crowd and took a bow.
Scheisse, I swore under my breath. Sharp disappointment arose in me.
On one hand, I was relieved to have been able to jump at all. I woke up at 4:30 am and hauled the pole vault pits to Downtown Grand Forks. I then stayed out in the sun all day in 95 degree heat announcing and running the event. My training had taken second priority to coaching this season as well, and I was running from only six lefts. My nightmare was not being able to jump at all and having to pull out of the elite men’s session, or no-heighting in front of everyone at my own event. I’ve always had a fear of no-heighting since the first time it happened.
On the other, part of me was still holding out on a dream. A dream that I would break through and become a national title contender. A professional pole vaulter. It had been all I wanted for so long. I jumped 5.50m / 18 feet as a sophomore in college at the age of 20. And here I was three years later, age 23, and 18 feet was still difficult for me. I was frustrated by my lack of progression the last three years, despite training harder and smarter than ever before. I had only just started vaulting about a month and a half before the street vault, so I was nowhere near being in tip-top form, but I thought just maybe I’d show up feeling amazing and equal or surpass my personal best, then I’d have to train hard again with some newfound strength unlocked and easily fly past 18’6, then 19’, then 19’6 and…
But it was a dream only. I knew I was done growing, and at 5’10 I was on the shorter side for a pole vaulter. My technique was nearly perfect since my coach really didn’t have much to say after my best jumps. I was strong and fast, but the best in the country were noticeably faster than me. I had peaked, seen my potential, and it wasn’t enough to make it to the next level. I discovered that after the 2025 D1 National Championships, where I showed up in my best form. I fought for my life and made great bars, but still ended up in 12th place. Middle of the pack. Mediocre. Futureless.
I considered the other competitors, vaulters I had met or knew over the years. Kyle Gibbs had turned pro after graduating college, chasing the dream of making the Olympics. He, like me, carried a personal best just over 18 feet, but he still had the confidence to sacrifice a career headstart and go after the dream. He showed up in fantastic form and was running a full 8-left approach. He was the main athlete I had used to promote and market the event on Instagram, and my favorite to win the event. His warmups looked amazing, and I was excited to see his competition.
The bar rose to 5.02 m / 16’6. Seven athletes remained, and this was the first bar that Kyle Gibbs came in at. He crushed it easily, and so did the others. Kyle looked real good on the Essx poles I brought for him. He and several other vaulters were flying in for this event, and so I had convinced Steve and Caroline to bring the pole line I had jumped on at Minnesota down with them. It worked out beautifully. I smiled. Steve had said I was really going above and beyond making sure everyone had the poles they needed. That’s the type of person I want to be: a forward thinker and planner who does more than is expected.
Six competitors remained with the bar raised to 5.17m / 17’. Funny, this bar would seem impossible to anyone at the North Dakota high school state championships 2 weeks prior. And yet three high schoolers from other states were still jumping: Calvin Piescher and Josh Schmidt were from Minnesota and had just graduated, and Andrew Nuyen was an incoming senior from Illinois. Andrew and Josh had both yammed 5.35m / 17’7 in their seasons prior, an absolutely insane mark for high school.
A roar erupted from the crowd. Josh Schmidt had gone clear at 17 feet! His jump was chaotic, slamming into the plant and aggressively exploding upwards. That kid is going to be great, I thought. He still had a lot of technical progress to be made. And he was going to exactly the right place to make it. NDSU has a great pole vault coach and vaulting culture with Aaron Cummings and Jarod White being his future teammates.
As an athlete, I could never watch other people’s jumps. It would only mess with my head, and make it harder for me to make my bars. But now since starting coaching, I started having some fun watching other vaulters and thinking, If only he made this change, he could jump 6 inches higher, etc. It wasn’t nearly as fun as thinking about how I could jump higher, but I was beginning to enjoy it.
For a brief moment, my mind drifted to my favorite book. Phil Knight wrote Shoe Dog, a memoir on his adult life. Strangely enough he claims his life started at the age of 24, after he was done with D1 athletics. Building Nike was more fun for him than even running at the University of Oregon was. I couldn’t believe it the first time I read it,
How could building a business be more fun than being an athlete?
Again, shrieks from the crowd. Collin Kao had just cleared 17 feet as well, letting out a roar as he flew over the bar with clearance and landed deep in the pit. Collin was the most interesting vaulter in the competition: The straight-A biomedical engineering student from Purdue and UW-Oshkosh spent his free time chasing bears in Alaska. On top of that, he was good at pole vault, winning the 2026 DIII indoor national title with 5.35m / 17’7. A tall, powerful athlete, he jumped on the biggest sticks in the competition. I had offered to rent poles to him for the event, but there were none at UND nor Minnesota that would be large enough for him. His smallest stick is a 5m / 16’5 200lb pole. Monstrous. I never even touched that in my best college season.
Kyle Gibbs bowed out at 17 feet. A shame, I thought he would be the forerunner to win the competition. But pole vault is notoriously difficult to be consistent in. Nobody is a lock to win.
And a surprise third athlete over on his third attempt! Andrew Nuyen went clear on his 7th attempt in the competition. He had the most powerful run I had ever seen – he was jumping from only seven lefts and would charge down the runway with huge big knees. Hailing from Illinois, he trained at RISE Pole Vault, one of the best pole vault clubs in the country. He was moving up poles like crazy. I didn’t recognize the one he had now — it was a beautiful carbon fiber pole that Steve White must have thrown in the bag.
I thought about Steve’s pole business, how he built a network in Minneapolis buying and selling pole vault poles across ten years. He had shown me his setup with very clever engineering to test and store hundreds of poles. He was obsessed, knowing every little detail about their material and construction. It was reminiscent of how Phil Knight and his business partner became obsessed with running shoes. I hope I can become obsessed with something, I thought. Life is going to be very long if I don’t.
The bar went up to 5.32m / 17’6, nearly the exact PR for Collin, Andrew, and Josh. I enjoyed watching the competition, but the problem was I still had the last pair of HOKAs to give away. I racked my brain for ideas, but I was genuinely tired at this point and having problems coming up with something. Besides, I was enjoying being a spectator at this point.
17’6 is high, and summertime is when most athletes are out of their training cycles, so I wasn’t surprised when Collin Kao and Josh Schmidt bowed out.
I watched Andrew Nuyen take his third and final attempt.
And he made it! I couldn’t believe my eyes. On his 10th jump of the competition Andrew nearly tied his personal best at 5.32m / 17’6 to win the competition. Wow, that is a fantastic mark, I thought to myself.
Andrew Nuyen, Champion of The Ark. As champion, he could place the bar wherever he wanted. He decided to go after the most coveted mark in pole vault: 18 feet. There used to be only ten vaulters in the country who could clear 18. Shawn Francis, my favorite pole vault YouTuber under the name Team Hoot, had placed second at the 2013 USA national championships with that same mark. And now a high schooler was attempting it. Crazy.
Andrew’s first attempt just nearly grazed the bar. But in pole vault, all near attempts receive the same mark: a big red X. He began chalking up for his next attempt.
Suddenly, I realized I had a job to do: give away the last pair of HOKAs. I had gained more energy, and a thought sprang into my head: how funny would it be if an energetic little kid spun in a circle, suddenly stopped and pointed randomly at the next HOKA winner?
And I knew just the right kid to make this happen. Jim Vahrenkamp, head coach of track and field at UND, was to my left announcing the event. Jim was absolutely clutch for the street vault, and it genuinely could not have happened without him. I really respected his leadership capabilities; he was like a big construction foreman as he ordered around all of the volunteers while setting up the event. He also brought his speakers and microphone and a small white tent for the check-in area, and he had pretty good taste in music.
“Hey Jim,” I called to him, “I have a question for you,”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Would you donate your child?”
He chuckled. “Like for what? Scientific research?”
“For the street vault,” I said, “I need to give away the last pair of HOKAs. Your kid spins in a circle, spin, spin, spin, STOP! He points at someone in the crowd, they win free HOKAs!”
“Ha! That’s hilarious,” Jim said, “Unfortunately I think my wife took the kids home so you’ll have to figure something else out.”
He was right, the kid I had been planning on kidnapping was nowhere in sight. And when I looked around, I realized there were no little kids in sight, either. Strange, I had seen so many just a couple hours before.
Drats, I need another idea for a HOKA challenge, I thought.
Blue eyes slid my way. Jerzie Horner, a pole vaulter at UND, suggested, “What about a handstand contest?”
Jim’s eyes lit up. So did the other vaulters’ in the vicinity.
A handstand contest! Perfect! Amazing.
“That is an incredible idea!” I exclaimed. I wasted no time. I knew Andrew needed 5 minutes between attempts.
I grabbed the mic and leapt on the runway.
“Pole vaulters! And spectators! We are going to have a handstand contest! The winner gets a free pair of HOKAS! Everyone who wants to participate get ready for a handstand after Andrew’s next attempt!”
Excitement, and movement among the crowd. The stage was set.
Andrew’s second attempt was so, so close. He had the height, but just couldn’t hollow his body quite enough to clear the space. The bar came down all the same.
I grabbed the mic again.
“Alright! We are about to begin the HOKA handstand challenge! Rules are simple: stay on your hands as long as you can, the winner receives a free pair of HOKAs!”
Chatter among spectators and participants.
“Okay, three… two… one… GO!”
Over 30 vaulters kicked into handstands everywhere on the street. On the concrete, on the runway. This is going to make for some awesome photos, I thought to myself.
Most dropped in the first 20 seconds, but Jarod White from NDSU and Sophia Roskoski from Oklahoma stayed in for over two minutes.
Jarod had impeccable form, holding his handstand dead-still with shoulders right over his hands. Meanwhile, Sophia was walking all over the place, but seemed to catch herself every time she came close to falling.
I hopped on the mic. “Wow, look at Sophia Roskoski!” I was having a great time.
Finally Sophia dropped. Shortly after Jarod realized he had won, he came down and raised his hand to applause from the crowd. I made a big show of handing him his pair of HOKAs.
I glanced towards the back of the runway. Andrew was ready. He stood with still determination. Only 17 years of age, and yet he carried with him a deep sense of maturity. Quiet, reserved, he had never started the clap once during this meet. Steel, like a homing missile. Yeah, he’s going to be insane.
Pole upraised, pure determination directed down the runway, Andrew began his approach. Those same huge big knees, I still couldn’t believe how much power he put down into the ground. Nice, big plant! Up in the air, straight and true.
Wow! His best attempt would have cleared if the bar was just two inches lower. But again, in pole vault all misses are the same: a big red X and on a third attempt it’s an exit from the competition. A great day nonetheless.
I jumped on the runway with the mic.
“Here in Grand Forks we have marvelous artisans, which is why I am proud to present this trophy and special work of art crafted by Badman Design to Andrew Nuyen, CHAMPION OF THE ARK.”
Thunderous applause.
I walked off the runway. Job well done, time to put stuff away.
“Hey Jak,” Bart Roskoski, whose daughter had jumped in the previous session, came up to me at the end of the meet.
He reached out a handshake.
“I just want you to know you did an outstanding job hosting this event. We’re all grateful you’re doing so much to promote the sport.”
I was taken aback. “Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed coming here.” He nodded and walked away, and another parent came up to me. And another. And another.
Eventually I broke away and helped my volunteers with putting the pole vault mats away.
12:30 AM / Downtown Grand Forks
We’re finally done putting everything away. I sit in the U-Haul truck and take a moment to reflect. I am dead tired but my mind is still bursting with ideas. Next year I’m going to tighten the logistics – we’ll need more benches out for better seating, more custom trophies, better HOKA challenges. I’m somewhat surprised that I did pretty well on the mic. More of that next year; I’ll really script it out. Plus I’ll get an ice cream vendor – that would be killer on a hot day. I’ll do more marketing and merchandise and elevate the event’s brand.
That one question pops back into my mind:
How can building a business be more fun than being an athlete?
