On Dec. 21, Aidan Raney, a junior on the Lexington High School track team, broke his previous school record in the pole vault with a height of 13’5.50—an increase of nearly a foot.
Raney, initially drawn to the sport’s uniqueness, started pole vaulting during March of his freshman year.
“I just like the feeling of flying through the air. It’s hard to describe how pole vaulting feels, but I don’t get that out of running or doing any other jump events,” Raney said.
As Raney began training pole vault, he practiced mainly at a club, due to the lack of accessibility elsewhere.
“Most of my training happens outside of school, I practice at a club at the Harvard Indoor Track, [being] the route that most pole vaulters go as it’s not that available at the state,” Raney said.
Training at his club and school, Raney dedicates much of his time out of school to pole vaulting.
“A lot of my days will look like finishing practice with LHS at six, and after my club, I’ll be done with pole vault and be home at nine,” Raney said.
Having a busy schedule, he has learned ways to balance his athletics with school, ultimately becoming more efficient.
“In freshman year, before I started [pole vaulting], I did a lot of procrastinating. Now, I have my methods. If I need to do homework during lunch, I try to eat fast and get to the library. I also use my I-Blocks wisely,” Raney said.
In addition to maintaining good habits, staying motivated is also important to academic success. Raney believes being a part of a team, whether that be his club or LHS, and his high standards, has pushed him to new heights.
“I’m motivated by a sense of community on the team. I’ve always wanted to contribute points on the board, whatever piece I can do for the team. A lot of my motivation also comes from myself. I hold myself to a high standard, so I would say I’m never truly satisfied. I’m always chasing my own goals that I’ve already set for myself,” Raney said.
The day of the track meet, after a rough warm-up, Raney was surprised to have set a new record.
“I almost failed out at a lower height. Suddenly it just clicked on one of my jumps and then I ended up clearing it [on my] first try, which caught me by surprise completely. Going into that jump, I was ready to just take away whatever happened from that up as a lesson,” Raney said.
His new record means a lot to Raney, who hopes his achievements draw more attention to the sport.
“I’m honored to now be a part of the school’s history. I think that’s huge because I’m hoping to also bring the sport to this town and have more people follow after me, hopefully in the future, somebody else will break the record,” Raney said.
