Most teams are content to have just one elite pole-vaulter. Idaho is lucky enough to have two, and both of them are Idaho natives.
File photo by Philip Vukelich | Argonaut
Caldwell, Idaho, native Matt Sullivan vaults during practice Jan. 16 in the Kibbie Dome. Sullivan and Jeremy Klas have made their names known around the Western Athletic Conference, and have the chance at earning berths to the NCAA Championships at the end of the season.
Sophomore Matt Sullivan broke senior and three-time All-American Jeremy Klas’ outdoor pole-vault record earlier this season and now both athletes have their eyes on a possible WAC title and NCAA National Championship appearance at the end of the year.
Sullivan’s vault currently ranks 24th in the nation so far this season.
“Not to sound cheesy or whatever but I’m kind of like his biggest fan. I feel like it’s mutual back to me,” Klas said of Sullivan. “When we were down in Arizona, when he went out and broke the school record, I was ecstatic for him. Now I have something to strive for.”
Sullivan, originating from Caldwell, Idaho, had a great freshman season, earning First-Team All-WAC honors in both indoor and outdoor track and field, but he struggled to improve on personal records from high school. That all changed during the 2013 indoor season when Sullivan improved by more than 10 inches in the pole-vault. He carried that momentum into the outdoor season, improving by more than 15 inches to break Klas’ outdoor school record.
“The first year that I really got here, I was kind of that weird kid that no one knew,” Sullivan said. “It was a big adjustment to go from high school … to the weights and training and everything that goes on here. Coming back this year, I know what is expected of me and I set my goals a lot higher.”
It’s been a rollercoaster of ups and downs for both athletes throughout their careers but there have been a lot more ups than downs. For Klas, his pole-vaulting career started at Moscow High School but it didn’t start on the right foot.
That first couple weeks of pole-vault practice I came home and I was like ‘Mom, I think I found the first sport that I’m bad at,'” Klas said. “I was just frustrated. It’s one of the most frustrating sports, especially when you’re first starting.”
Klas didn’t give up after his difficult start to pole-vaulting and by his senior year, he was the best in the state of Idaho by more than a foot.
Even as the best pole-vaulter in Idaho, Klas wasn’t recruited out of high school. But again he wasn’t discouraged and set out to prove himself as a walk-on for the Vandals. A year later, he earned his first All-American honor at the conclusion of his sophomore indoor season.
He’s come a long ways,” Idaho coach Wayne Phipps said of Klas “Although he vaulted well in high school, he made huge improvements in his very first year and then has gone on to be one of the most successful track and field athletes that we’ve had at Idaho.”
When Idaho’s former jumping coach Jason Graham left at the end of last season, Klas took the role as the leader and player-coach of the pole-vault program. Klas didn’t have any indoor eligibility left, so he spent extra time making sure Sullivan and the other pole-vaulters were staying in top form. Since then, Idaho hired former multiple-time All-American jumper Allen Simms for the outdoor season.
Despite Idaho’s dominance in WAC pole-vaulting for the last half-decade, Klas and Sullivan will head into the WAC Championship as underdogs against Texas State’s Landon Cunningham. Cunningham is the current WAC leader in the pole-vault but Klas and Sullivan are up to the challenge and they will continue to push each other along the way.
“I’m super excited to be able to go out and know that we’ll have some really good competition,” Klas said. “I think it’s going to be more fun than anything, just going out and knowing that if I want to be competitive, I have to go out and compete my best.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]