One of the most difficult events in the sport of track and field is undoubtedly pole vault. Pole vault is where an athlete uses a long and flexible pole to launch themselves over outstanding heights.
Requiring combinations of speed, strength, flexibility and technique, athletes here at Shadow are executing and performing to the fullest. However there is one athlete in particular who seems to be taking the spotlight. Senior Chace Juden has broken the school record for pole vault this year at Triton Invitational with an impressive height of 14’6”.
“Originally I wanted to try pole vault because one of my friends/enemies did it, but once I actually started getting into pole vault, which was around like my sophomore year, I realized my potential and started to become more serious about pole vault,” stated Juden.
However, even breaking the school record does not stop Juden from working hard and reaching his next goal.
Juden states, “The first time I broke the school record at the Arbor meet last year, it kind of set off a streak. All my teammates started breaking records so that definitely encouraged me to work harder.”
Coach Amber Smith states, “Chace is an incredible athlete. Apart from that though, he is a true student of the sport. He studies the pole vault, and every time I see him, he tells me his thoughts about videos of professional vaulters he’s watched, what he needs to work on to make his jumps better, and how he can improve now to perform better come postseason. His mindset is truly process-oriented, and instead of focusing on his present performances, he knows that by focusing on technique and intentionally making changes, his performances will be better in the future. He is the definition of, “It doesn’t matter how you perform now, it matters how you perform in May.”
“Breaking the school record last year motivated me to do it again this year at Laguna. It was really exciting since it had been my first time going over my personal record since last year,” said Juden.
Pole vault wasn’t always easy for Juden but his work ethic led him to be successful.
“I would say about 90% of pole vaulting is the run and launch, being up in the air is just the exciting part people look at, but taking practice seriously and taking constructive criticism definitely helped me improve,” stated Juden.
Juden looks forward to trying out for BYU as a walk on after completing his mission.
“I’m going on a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints so hopefully after that’s completed, I will try to walk on at BYU,” Juden states.
