Barkdull concludes elite high school pole vault career

Special to Kansas Pregame

He surpassed 10-feet in pole vault in just his second high school meet as a freshman. 

Bryce Barkdull and his ascension to heights still unknown hasn’t stopped since. 

“I started vaulting my freshman year, and I cleared 9-foot-6 at my first track meet,” the recent Andover Central High graduate said. “I was excited, but I had no idea what kind of journey this would take me on.” 

After his 10-foot vault in his second meet, he went on to jump 10-6 that day. 

His Journey to Greatness is far from complete. The Jaguar vault extraordinaire will showcase his skills next year and joins brother Ashton at the University of Kansas, whom he chose over the likes of Texas Tech. 

“The Big XII Conference is very competitive for pole vaulters, but I’m excited to see what I can do against all the new competition,” said Barkdull, the 2022-23 Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year for boys track. 

His senior year ended with a state meet record of 17-2. His all-time best vault is 17-9. 

“The state meet is always amazing,” Barkdull said. “The crowd is electric, the announcers are excited and everyone cheering me on definitely gets the adrenaline going. I had a plan to break my meet record by one inch again this year, I’m really glad I was able to do it flawlessly without any misses.” 

“I’ve watched him vault a lot, but I find it really impressive how easy he makes the whole thing look even though it’s not,” Parsons vaulter Kaden Berry said. 

“This season has been a lot of fun,” said Barkdull, ranked the No. 1 vaulter in Kansas. “I got to compete against my friends from all over the country at Texas Relays and other competitive meets, it’s just been a blast.” 

His impact on Berry has been felt and seen in southeast Kansas. 

“I tore my ACL second week of the season so I wasn’t competing all season,” Berry, who faces surgery on June 20, said. “But the first meet back to finish the season I PR’d with 14 (feet).” Berry qualified for state and finished fifth. 

“I went up there (Wichita) all indoor season,” Berry said. “Bryce and his dad, Ryan, have taught me a lot. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do now without what they have taught me.” 

Owning the #1 vaulting spot means his endless work perfecting his craft is reaping some dividends. 

“I’ve definitely come a long way,” Barkdull said. “It means a lot to put my mark on my school and in the state of Kansas with my records.” 

He’s broken the A-Central vault record a staggering 10 times, including twice each as a freshman, sophomore and senior and four times as a junior. 

Success, though, didn’t come easy for Barkdull right away at state. 

“Freshman year I didn’t even make state. I came in sixth at our regional,” Barkdull said. “Then sophomore year, I was overshadowed by my brother, who set the 5A state record. Junior year was much better, clearing 17-1 for an all-time state record.” 

“Bryce is very hardworking and driven to do well in the sport,” Ashley Kramer said. “His dedication has a positive impact on the team and makes those around him better.” 

A year ago, Barkdull took his game to Gold Coast, Queensland for the Coast2Coast International meet. He took gold with a clearance of 17-1. 

“The Coast2coast meet was a lot of fun,” he said. “I still had jet lag from all the traveling, and I was on borrowed poles so I didn’t expect much. I pulled out the win with a jump of 5.20m, 17-1, and I was really excited.” 

Then last month in the league meet at Salina Central, Barkdull did something that few will ever do. He won gold with a personal-best leap of 17-9. 

“The 17-9 vault day was very unexpected,” Barkdull said. “I was doing senior grad stuff (senior prank all night and then senior grad practice early in the morning), so I didn’t expect to jump high off of little sleep. It came as a welcome surprise though, as it was one of my best technical jump days I’ve had all year. My form looked good and I was running better than anticipated.” 

Pole vault has been a second teacher to Barkdull. 

“Pole vault has taught me a lot about discipline and hard work,” he said. “Before track, I didn’t really enjoy the sports I was in, and that made it hard to motivate myself.”

He concluded with this.

“I have learned how to work through injuries this year, how to train while recovering and how to do my best to win in all conditions,” he said.