REED CITY — Nathan Fasbender is coming off a state championship season for Reed City with hopes of having another successful year in the pole vault.
The Reed City senior took fifth as a sophomore in the pole vault and won it last spring in Division 3. He also won the overall indoor state title this winter at Aquinas. He cleared 15-foot-3 inches for a new personal record.
“I was incredibly close to 15-6,” Fasbender said, adding his best outdoor vault has been 14-9. He’s looking for something over 16 feet this season, perhaps 16-6.
Next week, he’s set to sign a letter of intent to vault at Grand Valley State University. He was attracted to GVSU’s academic programs.
“I’m going into computer informational services and they have a pretty good program for that,” Fasbender said, adding the school has had strong track programs. “They always have incredibly good vaulters.”
Reed City returns to action next week from spring break.
“I’m definitely hoping to win outdoor state again,” Fasbender said, “and continue to increase my speed in my vault.”
The 16-6 mark “is a big goal but I’ve made some recent improvements lately that have made that look reachable,” he said.
Fasbender isn’t sure yet about other events.
“They’ve always had me in the relays 4x1, 4x2, 4x4 kind of a deal,” he said. “I long jump as well. I think my best last year was 20 feet, 7 inches. I’ll probably do some events like that. But I’ll focus mainly on pole vaulting.”
Fasbender anticipates he might be vaulting his best as the weather improves.
“Definitely the warmer it is the looser the muscles and the better you can perform as a sprinter, which is essential for the first half in the pole vault,” he said.
The season resumes April 15 at Newaygo.
