Andover Central pole vaulter Bryce Barkdull wins Nike national high school championship
The meteoric rise of Bryce Barkdull in the high school pole vault world hit a new high this past weekend.
Less than three weeks after completing a record-setting season as a junior at Andover Central, Barkdull added his most prestigious accomplishment yet during his breakthrough year.
Up against some of the best amateur pole vaulters in the country, Barkdull cleared 16 feet, 11½ inches on his final attempt to win the title in the championship division at the 2023 Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. on Sunday.
“It was exhilarating being up there with all of the big guys who have been here before and then me, basically a new guy in this realm,” Barkdull said. “It’s honestly insane to think I’m at the top of the high school level now and I’ve still got space to jump.”
Barkdull won the prestigious national championship without anything close to his personal-best mark, which is a 17-6¼ vault he cleared at Andover Central to break the all-time state record in Kansas. He later won the Class 5A state championship by clearing 17-1, shattering the state meet record that was set one year earlier by his older brother, Ashton.
He is the youngest son of Ryan Barkdull, a two-time NCAA All-American pole vaulter at Wichita State.
“It felt so amazing accomplishing all of these dreams I’ve seen become reality this year,” Bryce Barkdull said. “It feels so unreal. It’s just an amazing experience. I’m not sure many kids get to go through all of this stuff, so I feel very privileged right now.”
While Barkdull didn’t need his career-best on Sunday, he still had to deliver in the clutch. With only one other vaulter remaining in the competition and San Antonio’s Leo Bowen passing until the next height, Barkdull missed his first two attempts at 16-11½.
At the time, he figured a third miss would give Bowen the victory. So he waited for the swirling winds to calm down, then funneled every last bit of energy into his final attempt.
“I honestly just gave everything I had left,” Barkdull said. “I knew if I didn’t get it there, I might not win the championship. So I ran as hard as I could, got myself as pumped up as I could and used all of the energy I could.”
Barkdull was left in awe by the experience at the world-famous Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.
It was at this very facility that his idol, world record-holder Armand Duplantis, broke the world record in the pole vault last year.
“To be on that same runway with those same mats and those same standards that he set the record with, that’s just insane to me,” Barkdull said. “To realize I’m at the level where I can be competing in the same places as someone like that is just incredible to me.”
Barkdull’s breakout summer isn’t done yet. He has a chance to make one final impression at his biggest meet yet, the USATF U-20 Outdoor Championships, where he will once again compete at Hayward Field on Saturday, July 8.
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