[05/10/02]By the time Saturday’s Class 1A state track meet is over, St. Aloysius’ Austin Golding hopes to have a school record in the pole vault.

To get there, all he has to do is win a state championship first.

Golding, a sophomore, easily won the South State title with a vault of 10 feet, 6 inches. A similar mark would probably win a state title on Saturday, as long as he can resist the urge to go for record-breaking heights long enough to reach it.

“If I jump 11-9, I’ll break the school record and that’s been my goal all year. But I’ve no-heighted before, so I just have to do like coach (Gene Buglewicz) said and worry about winning the meet first,” said Golding, who has cleared 11-7 in practice.

Golding is one of a handful of St. Al athletes who will compete in the state meet at Hughes Field. Only five St. Al boys and four girls advanced to the meet, leaving them virtually no chance of challenging for a team title.

Still, the Flashes are confident they can bring home a top-five finish and challenge for several individual titles. The Lady Flashes will compete in only three events, but also figure to do well.

“I feel pretty confident that we can finish in the top five. Out of five boys, we’re finishing first and second in everything,” St. Al coach Chuck Trahan said.

Golding won South State a year after St. Al started pole vaulting.

“Last year, we didn’t even know which side of the pole to start with,” said Buglewicz, who coaches field events. “Now he’s winning South State.”

Golding worked on weekends and attended the prestigious Earl Bell camp in Arkansas to get ready.

Golding probably won’t challenge the state record of 12-8 1/4, set by Weir’s Tommy Blake in 1990, this season. With two more years to vault, however, he’ll settle for a state title this season and work on the record in the years to come.

“I want to go to the point where I can put some records up and bring some more people into pole vaulting,” Golding said. “I’ve set my goals in between 13-1/2 and 14-1/2 feet.”

Golding isn’t the only St. Al athlete with a good chance at a championship. Seniors Mack Henry and Bethany Connor won South State titles in the high jump and discus, respectively. They expect tougher competition from the North, though.

Henry won a state title in cross country in the fall, but had never high jumped until this spring.

Henry jumped 5-8 to win South State, and his best has been around 5-10. That may be a few inches short of what’s needed to bring home a blue ribbon, but it won’t be his only chance. He’ll also run in the 800 and 3,200 meters.

“We’re all bunched up within about 15 seconds and it’s going to come down to a sprint at the end,” Henry said of the 3,200. “I’m definitely going to try to win the 800, because that’s going to be my last race.”