St. Aloysius pole vaulter Austin Golding practices in his yard for Friday’s state track meet, where he hopes to set a Class 1A state record. (Jon GiffinThe Vicksburg Post)

[5/6/04]For four years, Austin Golding has been chasing an invisible line in the sky.

He’s soared past it a few times, but never when it’s really counted. He only gets one chance a year to do that, and his chances are running out.

The line is located 12 feet, 8 1/4 inches above the ground. It’s the Class 1A state record in the pole vault, and Golding is determined to make it his. The St. Aloysius senior a heavy favorite to win his second state title in the event will make his last run at it Friday at the Class 1A state track meet in Pearl.

He unofficially broke the record with a vault of 13 feet, 3 inches at last week’s South State meet in Gulfport, but the record can only be broken at the state meet.

“There’s always pressure, but I’ve peaked at the right time. I’m not guaranteeing anything, but if I keep jumping like I am I think I can get 13-6,” said Golding, who won the Class 1A title in 2002 and has finished no worse than third at the state meet each of the last three years. “It gives you a goal to have in the back of your mind. I’d like to have my name next to it.”

Golding began his pursuit of the record in 2001. Then-St. Al coach Jimmy Salmon was “looking for someone crazy and ignorant enough,” as Golding put it, to run full speed down a strip of track and propel themselves into the air. Golding accepted the challenge and quickly fell in love with vaulting.

He cleared 8 feet by the end of the regular season, and vaulted 10 feet at the state meet good enough for second place. He began working with former Warren Central and Mississippi State vaulter Chris Moore late in the 2001 season, and credits Moore with getting him to the extra height.

“I probably wouldn’t be over 10 feet if it weren’t for a combination of Chris, coach (Mike) Jones, and coach Salmon,” Golding said. “It takes good coaching to get you out here and not settle for just hanging around.”

Moore returned the compliment by calling Golding a good student and a good vaulter.

“He’s got the mentality of a real good pole vaulter,” Moore said. “He can hold his own as far as putting things together in his head. He’s got a good run and good form on top of the pole.”

Before Golding’s sophomore year, one of his biggest vaulting problems was solved the lack of a practice facility.

St. Al doesn’t have its own track, let alone its own pole vault pit, so Golding trekked over to Warren Central to work out during his freshman year. Eventually, his family purchased some secondhand equipment and converted a feeding pen into a front yard vaulting pit.

“To get a pit this big at school was going to be almost impossible with the facilities they have there,” Golding said, adding that he kept the pit’s existence quiet for a while. “I didn’t really tell anybody, and have it be like bragging. It’s just a pole vault pit that’s doubled as a wrestling mat and a feeder for horses.”

Having the pit at the house allowed Golding to train regularly, and it paid off with his first state title in 2002. He set the school record with a vault of 11 feet, 6 inches, and began his march toward the state record set by Weir’s Tommy Blake in 1990.

A series of setbacks slowed his pace last year, though.

First, a high fever on the day of the state meet led to a third-place finish. He had been clearing 12 feet in practice, but had to settle for a subpar vault of 11 feet at the meet.

“I thought I could get it last year, and I probably could have if I hadn’t gotten sick,” said Golding, who competed at the state meet despite a 102-degree fever. “It’s tough, but it’ll help me focus. If I had gotten it, I wouldn’t be as determined this year.”

A few weeks later, he snapped a pole during practice and took the rest of the summer off. Fiberglass shards were all around him, but Golding was unhurt.

“I checked around my body to make sure I wasn’t bleeding or had a pole sticking out somewhere. Then I saw Chris laughing and knew I was OK,” said Golding, who has kept the pieces of the broken pole in his bedroom.

Finally, he suffered a hand injury during football season that kept him from vaulting until late January. He since has returned to the pit with a vengeance, watching his competition from a lofty perch. He has worked out at the prestigious Earl Bell camp several times this season, including once last week, and progressed through the 12-foot plateau to over 13 feet.

Golding cleared that mark for the first time in competition last week, and believes he can hit 13-6 on Friday. The nearest vaulter is more than a foot below him, around 12 feet. That’s good enough to beat Golding if he slips up, but not if he’s on his game.

“The competition is himself, and he’s been training to beat himself,” Jones said. “That makes it harder on an athlete, when you’re really competing against yourself all the time.”

Moore thinks Golding can go even higher, up to 14 feet. Golding isn’t so sure, but Friday’s meet may not be his last chance to get there.

He has an offer to walk-on to Mississippi State’s track team, and likely will take it. The pit also will remain in the front yard to help future St. Al vaulters, including a new girls’ pole vaulting program that will start next year.

With the pit waiting for him on weekend visits home, it would be hard for Golding to pass up a few trips down the runway and into the sky.

“It’s something you do and it doesn’t feel like work. It’s not like football where you’re going out and getting pounded on,” Golding said. “It’s fun to me. It’s a unique sport … It’s not like I look at it and say I’m not looking forward to going to practice.”