BUTLER TWP — Getting to the state indoor meet was a goal.

A goal Tristan McGarrah quickly expanded upon.

“All I wanted to do was qualify for states,” the Butler sophomore pole vaulter said. “That was my goal all year.

“Once I got there, the goal became to place.”

He did that as well, taking seventh place over the weekend with a vault of 14 feet, 6 inches. That marked a career-high for McGarrah.

The top eight in each event at the meet — held at Penn State University — earned medals. McGarrah was the only Golden Tornado competitor to do so.

And he felt he should have done better.

“I could have hit 15 feet,” he said. “I was too amped up ... My first two attempts, I ran so fast that I ran under the pole.

“My last attempt, I got off a good vault, but I had the wrong pole. It wasn''t long enough and I hit the bar on the way up.”

Butler's pole vault coach knows Tristan's capabilities better than anyone. He is Jerry McGarrah, his father.

“You never know what's gonna happen, but it's highly likely Tristan's going to top 15 feet this spring,” Jerry McGarrah said. “Can he make a run at the school record? He's capable of that as well.”

Jack Codispot set the Tornado pole vault record of 15 feet, 6 inches last spring. He is now competing at Slippery Rock University.

Codispot and McGarrah are three years apart.

“He's like a big brother to me. That's our relationship,” Tristan said. “He told me that if anybody breaks his record, he hopes it's me.”

Jerry McGarrah isn't surprised by such a thought.

“Jack mentored Tristan when he was here. They became very close,” the coach said. “The school was able to bring in a bigger pole for Jack to compete with as a senior. Tristan is using that pole now.

“It's great that we have another pole vaulter who can take advantage of that equipment for the next few years.”

McGarrah's highest vault last spring was 13 feet, 3 inches.

“A lot of times in track and field, improvements are made inch by inch by inch as time goes on,” Coach McGarrah said. “Sometimes an athlete kicks in and improves by large chunks,

“That's where Tristan's at now. He's taking big chunks off his previous best heights. His technique is there and he's jumping with the bigger pole.”

Tristan began pole vaulting in seventh grade, one year after his father returned to the Butler program to coach the event. A 1991 Butler graduate, Jerry McGarrah was a pole vaulter himself.

His highest career vault was 13-6. The school record at the time was 14-0.25, set by Jesse King in the early 1970s.

“My dad talked me into trying the event and it was a lot of fun,” Tristan said. “He's been coaching me every year since. It's been a great experience, having my das as my coach.

“We've been accomplishing this together.”

As for hitting 15 feet, Tristan said: “It's there. I just have to make it happen. I believe I can make the record happen this spring, too.”

John Franco, from the Philadelphia area, won the state indoor pole vault title this year with a vault of 16 feet.

“I don't know how high I can go,” Tristan said. “Just keep reaching goals and setting new ones, I guess.”

“He's developed a real passion for the sport,” his father said. “I know how much he loves it and that's going to keep driving him.”