Decades-old pole vault record falls at Relays

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

A Cassville boys track and field record first set in 1986 and tied in 1996 has officially fallen in 2026.

Corbin Rhoads, senior pole vaulter, cleared 14 feet, 1-1/2 inches at the Wildcat Relays on Thursday, topping the 40-year-old record of 14 feet, 1 inch set by Allen Osborne, which was matched 30 years ago by Jeremy Huse.

Rhoads cleared multiple heights before setting his sights on the record, nearly clearing it on his first attempt and fully clearing it on his second.

“There was actually nothing going through my head at that point, [when I lined up for my second attempt],” Rhoads said. “I have learned to ignore how high the bar is and just focus on the jump. That feeling of pure joy and success hit immediately after I cleared the bar. 

“The few seconds I was falling felt unreal, I have been looking at the record board every day knowing that I would one day beat it.”

Clay Weldy, Cassville boys track coach, said Rhoads has put in an appropriate amount of work to reach the new height.

“He has worked really hard getting better on his form and has worked hard in the weight room getting stronger,” Weldy said. “Coach [Erin] Flehmer, [girls track coach who specializes in field events and also coaches Rhoads], has done a good job working with him, and he goes to a pole vault coach, as well. That has helped him work on fine tuning a lot of things.”

Rhoads said to achieve a record, one necessary trait stands out more than others.

“Consistency is more important than anything,” he said. “I’ve had days and meets this season where I’ve jumped perfectly and others where I couldn’t even get off the ground. Success is the end result, and it takes failure to get to that point. Focus on the basics — you can’t build a house without a good foundation.”

As teams, the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats performed well in the Wildcat Relays, earning multiple medals across multiple events. Weldy said for the boys, the season has produced equitable results across events.

“We’ve had pretty solid success all around this year,” he said. “We are getting points in all our areas, which has made me happy as a coach. We’ve had some really good performances out of our freshmen that have been pleasant surprises: Cash Smith, Vincent Buttrum, Colton Beebe, Dade Zajac, Jack Chappell and Clay Williamson. “

Flehmer said the girls have also been meeting their goals.

“We have gotten better every meet and that was our goal,” she said. “Hopelynn Thompson has really impressed me this year. She learned pole vault the second week of the season and has scored points every meet and continues to improve every vault.”

The Big 8 Conference meet becons this week, set for Thursday in Monett. The Class 3, District 6 Meet is on May 9 in Lamar, followed by the Class 3, Sectional 3 Meet on May 16 in Buffalo and the Class 3 State Meet on May 22-23 in Jefferson City.

“You really never know what is going to happen in the postseason,” Weldy said. “I’ve seen kids come out of nowhere and advance to state and I’ve seen kids that were considered no-doubters that have a bad day and don’t advance. So, I just want our kids to do their best here in a couple weeks and we will just see what happens.”

Flehmer said the Lady Wildcats will continue working hard leading up to each day to do their best. Both coaches said staying health, staying focused, working hard and locking in will be the keys to a successful postseason.

Full results from the Wildcat Relays include:

Boys Results (1st place as a team)

1st Place

Corbin Rhoads, Pole Vault, 4.31m/14’1.5” (New School Record)

Brextin Sprague, Triple Jump, 12.01m

Isaac Luney, Shot Put, 13.60m

Zach Myers, Discus, 36.29m

Vynnie Arguelles, Javelin, 43.55m

Tyler Rattigan, 110 Hurdles, 17.94

Tyler Rattigan, 300 Hurdles, 46.63

Mace Bredeson, 100m, 12.04

Mace Bredeson, 200m, 24

Jacob Hudson, 1600, 5:01.31

Dade Zajac, 800m, 2:13.28

Preston Driskill, 3200m, 111:03.29

Preston Driskill, Dade Zajac, Jarrett Paul, Jacob Hudson, 4×800 Relay, 9:31.36

Cash Smith, Dade Zajac, Colton Beebe, Mace Bredeson, 4×400 Relay, 3:45.30

2nd Place

Carlos Barrientos, Long Jump, 5.81m

Jack Chappell, Discus, 31.29m

Logan Parsons, Pole Vault, 3.35m

Ricky Norris, Javelin, 41.40m

Preston Driskill, 1600m, 5:04.29

Jarrett Paul, 400m, 1:02.96

Jacob Hudson, 800m, 2:17.57

3rd Place

Andon Goutney, Long Jump, 5.78m

Andon Goutney, Discus, 30.35m

Carlos Barrientos, Javelin, 35.36m

Colton Beebe, 300 Hurdles, 48.04

Vincent Buttrum, 3200m, 13:32.87

4th Place

Carlos Barrientos, Triple Jump, 10.78m

Ricky Norris, Shot Put, 10.80m

Cash Smith, Pole Vault, 3.04m

Jarrett Paul, 200m, 26.68

5th Place

Gunner Knight, Shot Put, 10.30m

6th Place

Andon Goutney, Triple Jump, 10.54m

Brextin Sprague,  Long Jump, 5.44m

Girls Results (1st place as a team)

1st place

Brynn Whittenburg, Abbi Yarnall, Mckenzie Wall, Claire Reuter, 4×100 relay, 56.07

Brynn Whittenburg, Abbi Yarnall, Kailyn Speer, Claire Reuter, 4×400 relay, 5:23.32

Brynn Whittenburg, Abbi Yarnall, Molly Cox, Claire Reuter, 4×800 relay, 12:40.73

Claire Reuter, 400m, 1:12.36

Shelby Knoefler, Shot Put, 10.04m

Shelby Knoefler, Discus, 28.47m

Molly Cox, 300m Hurdles, 1:04.54

McKenzie Wall, High Jump, 1.37m

Hopelynn Thompson, Pole Vault, 2.43m

2nd Place

Estrella Garcia, Analeigh Winchell, Makiah Colf, Kailyn Speer, 4×200 relay, 1:04.02

Kailyn Speer, 300m hurdles, 1:09.36

Estrella Garcia, 400m, 1:14.84

Elizabeth Fohn, Javelin, 7.32m

3rd place

Makiah Colf, 100m, 14.75

Analeigh Winchell, 400m, 1:22.91

Molly Cox, 3200m, 16:36.09

4th place

Brynn Whittenburg, 100m, 15.13

5th place

Keely Bailey, 100m, 15.29

Analeigh Winchell, 200m, 32.19

Lyndsie Vanderhoef, Shot put, 7.67m

6th place

Hopelynn Thompson, 200m, 32.67