Fitch pole vaulter Spalding returns from injury at district track meet

Corresponding photo / Robert Hayes. Fitch pole vaulter Harrison Spalding competes in the pole vault during the district track meet Wednesday at Austintown Fitch.

AUSTINTOWN — Qualifying for regionals during the freshman campaign is one way to set the bar high. Fast forward three years, and Austintown Fitch senior Harrison Spalding has two in-state outdoor trips under his belt, and is now considering a third.

After suffering an injury during the first outdoor competition of the spring, Spalding returned to form at districts Wednesday night, reaching a height of 13-6 before inclement weather ended the pole vault competition prematurely.

“I was just super excited to be back. There were people asking me if I would be scared or nervous. I suppose none of this occurred to me; I was just super excited to be back. It was so boring to do nothing for so long. » said Spalding. “I felt really good. I was a little disappointed (about the weather), but I think it was God who asked me to stop the game in the first match, you qualified, you placed first, you got 10 points for your team, and that’s it.

Falcons pole vault coach Dylan Latone was happy Spalding was able to get back into action Wednesday night.

“Actually, he came back a little earlier than expected. He was right where he was going to be, he wasn’t 100% where I knew he wasn’t going to be there, but if he wasn’t 95% then he was very close.” , said Latona. “There’s a reason for everything, we’re going to take what we did today, carry it over to next week and continue to push it until the end.”

Last June, Spalding placed 7th at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at the state meet with a 13-04 mark, improving on his 15th place finish his sophomore year. Her prep career also includes indoor trips over the past three seasons, with qualifiers in events such as the 60-meter hurdles and 4×400 over the past few indoor campaigns.

He also represented Fitch on the football field for three years before devoting himself fully to athletics this year.

Spalding’s older brother, Sam, was a pole vaulter himself, and with his father’s support, Harrison attempted this difficult event with their support. Following the regional bid for his first season, he saw his potential early on.

“It gave me more confidence. I got there, so I’ll go back”, » said Spalding. “Honestly, I don’t even think about it. It’s just muscle memory, just repetition, I don’t really think about it.

Latone, a 2015 Fitch graduate who placed fourth at the state competition his senior year before going on to a successful career at Youngstown State, wanted to continue some of the vaulting legacy when he returned to his alma mater to become a coach.

“Honestly, when he started I wasn’t sure what I was going to get with him, he just showed up and said he wanted to jump, and I said OK.” said Latona. “He continued to progress and he was jumping higher than me from one level to the next. I saw we had something special here with him.

“You have to be physically strong to do it, you have to have the strength to do it. Your body is working really hard everywhere, your shoulders, your legs, your core, so you have to develop all those muscles. Once you’ve built those muscles, it’s just a matter of focusing on what you need to do. Once it clicks in your head, it’s more like stepping back and relaxing, it’s like riding a bike. It’s a very mental event – you see where you jump and you always end on a bad note, you always end on three failures no matter what. It’s a very big mental game, but Harry does well to put it behind him and just do what he’s supposed to do.

As in any sport, a strong working relationship can push an athlete to become even better, and Spalding credits Latona for his success thus far.

“It doesn’t feel like a coaching type bond, it’s almost like a bond between brothers. He helps me and mentors me, it’s really nice. » said Spalding.

After competing at the 2023 New Balance National Outdoor Meet last June in the 4×110 hurdles shuttle alongside Nick Tibolla, Deonte Stallings and Josh Cayson, Spalding wanted the opportunity to become a decathlete at the next level. He recently signed his letter of intent with Youngstown State.

As regionals approach, he just wants to represent Austintown Fitch as best he can.

“It’s definitely a matter of honor, it’s such a good track team (at Fitch), everyone is very involved, great coaches and teammates, we all take it very seriously,” » said Spalding. “(YSU) contacted me, I’m going to compete as a decathlete, so I’m pretty excited about that.

“I managed to compete in the indoor event my junior year in hurdles, I was on the New Balance national team at the national hurdle relay championships, so hurdles and pole vault are, in my opinion, among the most difficult events in the (decathlon), so it has become second nature to be a decathlete.

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