HARTFORD, Wis. — It's a sport that most identify by its equipment.
"Is that that thing that you have a really big stick and you run into it," says Aaron Cummings, 2022 WIAA State Champion in the pole vault.
At Hartford Union High School, pole vaulting is more than an oddity.
"They really pull for each other and they work with each other really well. It's a fraternity, it really is. It's really different from other sports," says Mike Cummings, Pole Vault Coach at Hartford and Aaron's father.
For the father-son duo, Mike and Aaron Cummings, this high-flying sport is also a family affair.
"I needed a place to go after school when I was younger, and he was always up here pole vaulting. So I was like well might as well go there and start vaulting," says Aaron.
"He would watch the high school kids and he would get right in there and do the same drills as them and picked it up fairly quickly," says Mike.
Falling in love in the fourth grade, all Aaron expected out of the sport was a rush. The only bar Coach Mike ever set was a joy.
"I really didn't even know where it was going to take me, I had no idea I was just doing it for fun. I loved it. Actually, I was thinking about going right into the trades after high school," says Aaron.
"The greatest thing I got out of it, is I got to spend a lot of time with my son which not a lot of people get to do normally. Fortunately, we got along very well and he always understood that I was only trying to help him do as well as he wanted to do," says Mike.
That combination resulted in Aaron winning the Division I State Championship in 2022 and an opportunity to continue to compete at the collegiate level.
"When you win at state, does that reaffirm you are on the right path," asked Delaney Brey, TMJ4 Sports reporter.
"Absolutely. Absolutely reaffirms that I'm on the right path. Because who can wake up in the morning and say I won a state championship," says Aaron.
With a future at North Dakota State University and the 2023 track season underway, it may surprise you to learn Aaron won't be vaulting anytime soon. Instead, all of April, Aaron will be running multiple relays to work on his speed.
"We call it phases throughout the pole vault. So the first phase in sprinting and if you aren't a good sprinter you're not going to get far enough into the pit to actually land in the pit. You aren't going to be able to move up to bigger poles. It's all a bunch a physics so you need speed to put in motion," says Aaron.
Flying in more than one direction, Aaron is set for whatever bar he wants to clear. And dad is ready to hand over the reigns when the time comes.
"Do you expect to get a phone call when he does go off to college, like, dad coach told me to do this. I don't think it's right that's not how you taught me," says Delaney.
"I don't think I'll hear that from him, but if I do the answer is going to be he's your coach do what he says," says Mike.
Aaron will start vaulting at high school track meets for Hartford Union come May, when qualifying for regionals and state become a priority.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
