KC at the Vault

Photo credit: Baylor Bears

There are a few last names in athletics that aptly predict one’s success in the sport: Marina Stepanova in hurdles, Rollie Fingers and Prince Fielder in baseball, Gary Player in golf, Margaret Court in tennis; and of course Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man. Add Lightfoot to that curious list, for that last name belongs to the NCAA Indoor record-holding pole vaulter KC Lightfoot.

On January 16, 2021, at an indoor meet at Texas Tech University, Baylor athlete Lightfoot cleared 5.94 meters (19”5.75”), surpassing Chris Nilsen’s record set last year, which supplanted the previous record set by Armond Duplantis. With a clean slate, KC went for the elusive 6 meters, a height he’s cleared in practice, but came up short three times. Still, he went home that night with the NCAA Indoor record and the world lead. Two weeks later, he broke the record again with a vault of 5.95 meters, (19’6.25”). Six meters remained out of reach.

But on February 13, on a return trip to Lubbock for the Texas Tech Shootout, KC bested the indoor record again with a mighty six meter jump, positioning himself alongside Mondo and Renaud Lavillenie as the only three men in the world to clear six meters at this point in the season.

The 21-year-old Lightfoot grew up in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, playing a wide range of sports and spending weekends on a motocross bike. Baseball was a passion and he was good at it, but when he first picked up a pole at Just Vault, in Excelsior Springs, around thirteen, he was quickly hooked on the sport. By sixteen he knew he had something, and so did his father, Anthony, who had been a vaulter in high school and college (4.90m). His son was a natural, and the heights increased quickly.

“I studied the sport,” Lightfoot says, like any serious athlete, watching YouTube videos of the French world record holder and Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie and, later, his compatriot Sam Kendricks. And of course, Mondo, who is his peer. His last two years of high school are a blur of accomplishments: Missouri Boys Gatorade Track athlete of the year and two-time state champion in the pole vault; the Missouri all-time best and United States No. 2 jump in high school history; New Balance Nationals Outdoor Cham-

by Ralph Hardy

pion and meet record; first place at the Pole Vault Summit, third at U.S. Juniors; second at New Balance Indoor Nationals; second at Texas Relays, and 10th at the U.S. Indoor Championships-tenth, against the best adult pole vaulters in the country. A model of consistency, Lightfoot cleared 18 feet 12 times in 10 meets and finished high school with an astounding PR of 5.61m (18’5”). College coaches took notice and he received scholarship offers from a number of universities including Baylor, Kentucky, Washington State, Kansas, and South Dakota, all pole vaulting powerhouses. He chose Baylor for its strong track and field program led by coach Todd Harbour as well as its high academic standards. Moreover, Brandon Richards, Baylor volunteer assistant coach, had been a protégé of his club coach, ensuring a positive transition. Now, the 6’2 junior is at the top of his class and a three time All-American, with accolades and records as long as his favorite pole. Nineteen feet has become routine.

A kinesiology major, Lightfoot has to juggle a demanding academic schedule: biomechanics, anatomy, nutrition, exercise physiology. He takes his classes in the mornings, grabs lunch, gets treatment, then has two or more hours of pole vault practice, followed by weight training three times a week. After dinner, there’s always homework. Rinse and repeat. And of course he has to travel to meets, which can last all weekend, so he does his schoolwork before he leaves. All the while aspiring to being not only the best collegiate vaulter, but to be among the world’s best at his sport. He’s already made one world team. He first competed for the U.S. in Belarus at the Europe vs USA meet a few weeks before the World Championships in 2019. He was a teenager training with and competing overseas against his more senior idols. Minsk is a long way from Missouri. He came in 6th with a clearance at 5.30m. Later, in Doha, he found himself warming up alongside the best in the world: Lavillenie, Kendricks, Lisek, Braz, Duplantis, and another American, Cole Walsh. Lightfoot cleared 5.60m, but missed qualifying for the finals by about 4 inches, and ultimately placed 15th. Kendricks won at 5.97m. According to KC, being a member of the World team ranks as one of his greatest athletic highlights and proudest achievements.

Lightfoot has a deserved reputation as the Baylor track and field team daredevil. He bridge jumps, cliff dives, and skydives. It’s those precious seconds of freefalling--of weightlessness--that has him hooked. The same mental process that convinces him that he can jump out of an airplane at 10,000 feet allows him to stare down a nineteen-foot bar and believe he can clear it. And he usually does. Lightfoot considers his plant to be one of his strengths, which allows him to get on some big poles, relative to his weight. Perhaps landing a motocross bike thousands of times honed his aim, but he rarely blows through an approach. Watching videos, visualization, and trusting his training helps him cope with the mental aspect of the sport, which he admits can sometimes be overwhelming. Lost confidence has broken more than one elite pole vaulter, but KC trusts his process.

“There are always butterflies,” he says, despite the fact that in most collegiate competitions he’s jumping nearly a foot higher than his fellow vaulters. “It’s a solo sport, really. It’s you against the bar.”

Some vaulters obsess over their numbers, but not KC. “I feel that picking a specific number can lead to problems because if you do not hit that number you may feel disappointed, or if you hit the number too early then you may become satisfied and quit working as hard,” he says. “The numbers will come. It’s the process that matters and trying to get better every day.”

Photo credit: DyeStat.com

As with every other athlete, Covid-19 has impacted Lightfoot’s training.

Last year’s NCAA outdoor season was cancelled and there were no trips to Europe. Instead he returned home. His mother, Kim, was glad to have him back, and he spent more time with his siblings, Carli, Chuck, and Tanner. Some athletes might have slacked off without the watchful eye of a college coach, but KC didn’t. He returned to his home club and made the best of it. The shorter runway there may have been an unexpected blessing. It forced him to focus on top end speed and technique. When you can clear 5.80m from six lefts, you know you have something in the tank, and he is proving it this season. It’s hard not to look ahead toward Tokyo, but the NCAA indoor and outdoor seasons remain his current focus. Then he’ll have the Olympic trials where Sam Kendricks and others will be vying for one of the three spots available. The Olympics themselves might even be cancelled. But KC knows he can’t worry about that. You can only clear one bar at a time.

Despite the fact that he has jumped the world lead twice, KC says he doesn’t have a target on his back. Mondo and Renaud began their indoor seasons with world record jumps of 6.01m and 6.02m.

Photo credit: Baylor Bears Still, the track and field world is paying attention to what’s happening down in Waco. KC is giving interviews on college radio stations. He was profiled in World Athletics. Pole vault fans-and there are more every day-are checking out KC on YouTube or following his meets online, refreshing their browsers, looking for the zeros that mark each clean jump.

Inside the frenetic, circus-like arenas of an indoor track meet, more eyes are turning to the pole vault. There, a slender, brown-haired young man in green and gold grabs his pole and stands, waiting. The other vaulters, many with three X’s already, watch expectantly. The clock ticks down. The arena grows silent. No one breathes. KC is at the vault.