It didn’t take freshman Ben Goran long to break a high school record. At the boys track team’s first meet Wednesday, the pole vaulter earned the freshman all-time state record at 15 feet, soaring past the 13-foot, six-inch historic best. It was also a new personal record for the already-accomplished state and Junior Olympics competitor.
Goran began his journey into pole vaulting during the 2024 indoor season of track when he was in 8th grade at 14 years old. His father competed in Pole vault when he was in high school in the 80s, and Goran then inherited the physical attributes and skills from his father which led him to join and go on to break records.
“It’s a lot of different stuff,” he said of the training. “You need to work out a lot for your core, especially because you’re basically pulling yourself upside down,” he said. It also takes a lot of strength training and involves sprinting and several short motions to put it all together.
Goran also is on the Spring Lake swim and dive team, and being on the diving team there’s a lot of explosive jumping which then helps him further the spring. In the 2024 outdoor track season, he competed for Spring lake Middle School, where he placed either 1st or 2nd place at every meet for pole vault.
Goran also trained with Aquinas Vaulting Academy, which is a club in Grand Rapids. He also made his way to the Region 5 and Michigan Association Junior Olympic Championships for their 2024 outdoor season.
Goran said he watched the 2024 Summer Olympics as the world’s top athletes brought his sport to the international spotlight. Goran has a long way to go in high school, but is off to a historic start.
Goran said of the dedication to the sport, “If you put in all the work, even if it’s basic and it’s not paying off at the moment, it may suck, but eventually it’ll pay off and it’ll be worth it in the end.”
