Record-setting day for Lavala

MIDDLETON — Riding a natural high from the Meet of Champions in Post Falls, and then on to the District competition at Timberlake, Isaac Lavala was feeling well-prepared for the IHSAA 3A State Track Meet held at the Middleton High School in Middleton. As it would turn out, the weather at the Meet of Champions would transpose itself to Middleton providing for an amazing experience for everyone at the meet.

For the past two years in a row the weather at the State meet in Middleton has been miserable. The average temperature for both years was a crisp 40 degrees and each year featured both rain and wind. When you are a pole vault athlete, both physical elements can be extremely detrimental to your performance, not to mention the risk factor that increases exponentially. Leading up to the track meet on Friday, May 19th, Southern Idaho would get snow on Wednesday, May 17, with temperatures in the low 40’s. Everyone, especially the pole vault team, watched the weather and hoped that the various news outlets had predicted correctly: Sunny with temperatures in the mid-70s.

Arriving on the Thursday before the meet, the team went to the field to practice and found the weather dry, warm, and with only a touch of wind. Then the big day arrived and the sky was clear, temperatures as forecast, and the anticipation of the athletes was palpable. Everyone applied the necessary sunscreen and into the arena they went, each to do what they had prepared for up to this moment.

It was around 2 p.m. when the boys 3A Pole Vault was announced and the guys started practicing. The poles were bending well and with the warm weather, the run to the vault was even faster than usual. Practice ended after about 30 minutes of the scheduled 60 and the vaulters listened intently for their name to be called. We had two vaulters in the boy’s division and one in the girl’s division (Jill Alexander). First up would be Nikolous Bertling with a PR (Personal Record) up to this point of 11’ 6”. Nik would best his PR by 1’6” and clear the bar at 13’ which would secure him a 4th place finish!

There was a level of drama and excitement as Isaac Lavala, ranked all year as number 1, entered the competition. He entered at 14’ and the only other young man to remain with Lavala at that height was Corbin Maltba from Priest River. Maltba and Lavala have been competing against each other for the past three years and now, both as seniors, it would come down to this last competition. Maltba’s first attempt at 14’ failed and Lavala came in and cleared the bar. Now Maltba would have two more attempts to clear at this height or Lavala would win outright. On Maltba’s next attempt he would not clear and he would land on the mat wrong and drive his knee into his mouth and nose. Blood was pouring from his face as the medical staff came and attended to him and to clean up the mat. After he was cleaned up the result was two front, bottom teeth would be broken off. There was a fifteen-minute break in the action to allow for both the cleanup of Maltba and the bloodied mat. Like the true athlete and fierce competitor that he is, Maltba grabbed the vaulting pole and attempted the 14’ barrier again. This time he cleared it amidst cheers from everyone in attendance. Now he would have only two minutes to do the next jump as he was first in the rotation. The new height was set at 14’6”, Maltba’s current PR, and he would have three tries. He failed on the first attempt and Lavala would also fail the first attempt. Maltba tried again but failed and Lavala cleared. Then Maltba failed the third time and Lavala had won the State 3A Championship.

However, there was one bit of unfinished business to attend to. Lavala needed to confirm that he could jump 15’2” to establish the new 3A State Classification record. The bar was set, the crowd was electrified with anticipation, the coaches — Shasta Baisden and Robert Lavala were barely breathing, each family member clutched the fence, and now was the moment. Lavala took off on the run, planted well, and cleared the 15’2” jump the first attempt setting the new record! The crowd, coaches and family all went wild and Lavala’s journey as a high school athlete was complete.

In his senior year Lavala would begin by taking Grand Champion at a Karate tournament in Spokane, going undefeated against the Black Belt division ages 16-30 years old; He would receive the Offensive MVP award for football; He won the Mr. BFHS competition; He set the new BFHS Pole Vault record at 15’2”, the new State record at the same, and accomplished his goal of becoming the State Champion.

Next on Lavala’s radar is shipping out to the United States Air Force in August. He will do boot camp in Texas and then his technical training there as well. He plans to join a pole vault club while enlisted and continue to push the limits and break the barriers of higher heights.

Special thanks goes out to George Hays (without his insistence Lavala would not have done the pole vault); Shasta Baisden (The current head pole vault coach); Tim Cheney (Who assisted in Lavala’s Junior year of pole vaulting w/ coach Baisden); Travis Hinthorn – Head Coach of the Badgers (Who encouraged us to go to larger competitions in Washington to prepare for the pressure of State); Tim Rielly – NW Pole Vault Academy (where we trained in the off-season); Sandpoint High School (Coach Paul – who loaned us the pole Lavala used to break the record); Sheila Lavala – Lavala’s mother (For traveling to every meet and encouraging both the athlete and the coach (me) to “Go for it”); And last but certainly not least to the Lord for keeping Isaac Lavala safe and providing the means necessary to do everything we did over these exciting years.