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MVHS Athlete Breaks NV Record At State Meet

By DAVE BELCHER

Moapa Valley Progress

MVHS senior Caleb Witsken performed a record-breaking pole vault and became State Champion during the State track meet on Saturday. This photo shows Witsken vaulting the previous week at the regionals  in Boulder City. PHOTO BY DAVE BELCHER/Moapa Valley Progress.
MVHS senior Caleb Witsken performed a record-breaking pole vault and became State Champion during the State track meet on Saturday. This photo shows Witsken vaulting the previous week at the regionals in Boulder City. PHOTO BY DAVE BELCHER/Moapa Valley Progress.

Every once in a while there comes along an athlete to a school; an athlete who has dreamed, believed and worked so hard that he puts himself in situations where he can excel and become the best there is; the best there ever was.

Last weekend MVHS senior Caleb Witsken became that athlete. Not only did Witsken shatter the MVHS pole vault record that he himself set a couple months ago. Last Saturday he went a step further and shattered the Division IA state pole vault record by 8 ¼ inches.

In his state championship performance, Witsken vaulted 16 feet and a ¼ inch. By falling into the pit with the crossbar still in place he accomplished something no other southern Nevada Ia vaulter had ever done before, break the 16 foot height.

Actually, there have only been two others in Nevada state history to ever accomplish a vault over 16 feet. The current state record in the Division I is a remarkable 17 feet by Cameron Krool from Reno High School set in 2007.

MVHS junior RJ Hubert (center) is recognized on the winner’s stand for being the state champion in the 110 meter hurdles at the State Championship meet at Del Sol High School last weekend. PHOTO BY VERNON ROBISON/Moapa Valley Progress.
MVHS junior RJ Hubert (center) is recognized on the winner’s stand for being the state champion in the 110 meter hurdles at the State Championship meet at Del Sol High School last weekend. PHOTO BY VERNON ROBISON/Moapa Valley Progress.

MVHS alumnus Michael Lee was the holder of the former MVHS pole vault record. “I’m very happy for Caleb and wish him the best,” Lee said in an interview with the PROGRESS last week. “I’m happy that he brought the state record back to MVHS and set it up there high enough that it should be safe for quite some time.”

“As with many sports, pole vaulting is a very mental one,” said Lee. “So many things need to be just right to put together a record vault. Nothing is worse than to travel to a meet and struggle with steps or have a slight head wind mess with your concentration. Then you go home without even getting over your opening height.”

Witsken knows about that. Last month at Arbor View he waited for hours to start, as the rest of the competitors worked their way up to Caleb’s height. He struggled that night and was beaten, not finishing until around midnight to an empty stadium with just a few coaches and athletes watching.

State champion MVHS Pole Vaulter, Caleb Witsken.
State champion MVHS Pole Vaulter, Caleb Witsken.

It was just about five years ago that pole vaulting was almost removed as an event in high school, due to the danger it posed. Now with a larger padded pit and the signature from parents on what is jokingly called a death waiver, athletes continue to compete.

Caleb is now the best in the state in any league. When Caleb first broke the school record last month his vault was the tenth highest in the nation. But by the following weekend he had dropped to the top twenty with others throughout the nation making higher and higher vaults.

By the start of Saturday’s State Championship meet, Caleb was sitting at 44th in the nation, according to Athletic.net. By the conclusion of the state meet, he had climbed to the fourteenth ranking. Only twenty-three high school vaulters in the nation have cleared 16 feet. The nation’s best is from Bloomington South Indiana, Deakin Volz who cleared 17 feet 7 inches.

Caleb now has an open door for college. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see Caleb closing in on 18 feet by the end of his freshman year,” said Michael Lee. “Having a dedicated pole vault coach at the collegiate level will do wonders.”

Moapa Valley has another remarkable athlete who won a state championship last weekend. RJ Hubert won the state title in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.84.

Hubert competed in four different events over the weekend: three on Friday and one on Saturday. In Saturday’s event, he placed second in the 300 meters and improved his personal best of 40.78 to 40.42. He finished behind Nick Van Patton of Sparks who ran it in 39.39.

In his other two events, Hubert finished third in the high jump with a height of 6 feet 4 inches. He also finished third in the long jump with an incredible leap and new MVHS record at 23 feet 4 inches.

The long jump competition had something happen that has never happened in the Division IA/3A before. The top three finishers were the only athletes in the league to ever jump over 23 feet.
The state champion in the long jump was Mark Rubalcaba of Faith Lutheran with an amazing leap of 24 feet 8 inches. Second was Jon McCoy of Desert Pines with a leap of 23 feet 8 inches.

RJ is a junior this year and will be set to win all four events next year to complete his remarkable high school athletic career. He is truly an athlete that comes around once in a decade. Pirate fans will be able to enjoy his performance for one more year.

Faith Lutheran won both the girls and the boy’s state titles in the state team competition. The Crusaders scored 95.5 points with Elko finishing second with 75 points. On the girls side the Crusaders scored 125 points followed by runnerup Tahoe Truckee’s 96.5. Moapa Valley’s Boys finished 7th 2 points behind Boulder City and 5 points behind Fallon.

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