Paul Malquist soaring to record heights (GA)

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http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=219205

Gainesville's Malquist soaring to record heights


BY MORGAN LEE EDITOR

Gainesville High junior Paul Malquist has vaulted as high as 15 feet, 8 inches this season for the Red Elephants.
GAINESVILLE -- When Todd Wofford first met Paul Malquist three years ago, he knew there was something special about the athletic Gainesville High freshman.

“I’ve been coaching track for 14 years and never had a good pole vaulter, so when I first met him and he told me he was the middle school pole vaulting champion, I said, ‘great, you’re my pole vaulter,’ ” Wofford recalls.

Not even Wofford knew Malquist was this special, however.

The Red Elephant track star recently cleared a school record 15-feet, 8-inches -- the best competition vault in any classification so far this season by almost a foot (Mill Creek’s Michael Kopanski is second at 14-10) and more than two feet higher than his second-place finish in Class AAA last season (13-6).

And after five years of catapulting himself through the air, the Gainesville High junior is currently amongst the best pole vaulters in the nation.

“Right now I’m ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 8 in the nation,” said Malquist, who says he first attempted the sport on a whim.

“I was in seventh grade, running track, and it was just something cool and new to do,” Malquist said. “I liked being high up in the air... It’s just something completely different.”

Now, Malquist’s abilities have made him something completely different.

“He’s a great athlete, and he has a serious passion for pole vaulting,” Wofford said. “It’s an event you have to guts to try; you don’t see a lot of people lining up to try it.”

That’s because bad technique or a misstep can result in serious injury for an athlete sprinting down a runway at full speed, planting a pole in a narrow slot and trying to sling himself over a bar.

“I’ve seen a lot of people let go of the pole in mid-air,” Malquist said. “That’s not a good idea. I’ve always been able to catch myself though. You’ve just got to follow through, even if you know you’re going to have a bad vault.”


But bad vaults are a rarity these days for Malquist.

“Now, he doesn’t even start attempting vaults until they reach the level that he cleared at state last season,” Wofford said. “He usually doesn’t even start until everyone else in the event is already finished.”

Yet while Malquist’s flights have taken off this season, it’s actually been a process long in the making, one that didn’t really come into focus for the 17-year-old until he began learning the sport’s most advanced techniques in high school.

“I just started bending the pole recently,” said Malquist, noting that, until then, he’d just been relying on upper body strength to get himself over the bar. “I was getting a little bend on it my freshman season, but I really started bending it at the end of last season.”

By bending, Malquist is able to sling-shot himself higher and quicker -- though the pole itself has also been a critical piece to the puzzle.

“For my first pole we just kind of guessed from my strength and speed what length it should be,” Malquist said. “Turns out I was already too fast and strong for it, and I was already ready for a new pole.”

Malquist has since procured a better device but says he’s ready again for another one.

“I want to get a bigger one next year, because I think I can clear 17 feet by then,” said Malquist, who isn’t finished improving on his clearances this season.

“I could have gotten 16 [feet] the other day, and I think I will by the end of the season.”

Wofford says it wouldn’t surprise him for an athlete that has played a key role for the Gainesville track team all season -- and not just in the pole vault.

“He’s a five-event kid,” Wofford said. “That’s the most you can do in a meet. He’s a great 200 and 400-meter runner; he’s on the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams. The other night we put him in the 300 hurdles for the first time ever and he finished second.”


Performances like that may mean that Malquist -- who is drawing serious collegiate attention -- will do more than just pole vault on the next level.

“Some of the schools are talking about him being a decathlete in college,” said Wofford, noting that Georgia, Georgia Tech and Florida State have all made inquiries about Malquist.

It’s a move that would suit the junior just fine -- as long as he gets a chance to compete at the highest levels.

“I definitely want to go to a big college if I can, and I’d like to be a decathlete,” Malquist said. “You have to be well-rounded to be a decathlete, and I love competing at everything.”

For now, the competition has some catching up to do if anyone is to challenge Malquist at his top event -- though he admits that could change at the state meet.

“I’m kinda’ worried because I haven’t had any competition for a while, and I don’t know how I’ll respond when I do.”

If his response is typical of this season, get set for some new records.