Cumberland

RIMERSBURG — Nolan Cumberland watched YouTube videos of the pole vault as often as he could.

He studied what some of the best in the nation and the world were doing and went out to the track at Union High School and tried to duplicate it.

By no means was he an instant success.

Cumberland struggled at first while trying to get down the basics of the event.

And getting over some mental obstacles as well.

“It's the fear of being so high off the ground, the thought of falling and getting hurt that's the hardest to get over,” said Cumberland, a senior three-sport star at Union. “At first, I had that fear, but during my junior year, that fear was not there.”

And Cumberland began to grow as a pole vaulter.

During his senior season this spring, Cumberland broke a school record that had stood for 22 years in the event, clearing 13 feet to snap the previous mark of 12-6.

It was a goal Cumberland had set for himself when he first flung himself successfully over a crossbar in the seventh grade.

“It kind of goes unsaid, but the record I broke I did it on my own,” Cumberland said. “I take a lot of pride in that.”

In many ways, Cumberland said he was self-taught in the event.

He attended as many pole vault camps as he could in an attempt to get better and learn the finer points with hand-on training.

When he couldn't do that, he studied.

“The camps were a big part, that and watching teaching videos and YouTube,” Cumberland said. “Those things were a big part of my improvement.”

Cumberland, who was also a standout football and basketball player at the school, chose the pole vault for a very specific reason.

“Because no one else could do it,” he said.

Cumberland will do it more in college.

Recently he committed to Penn State Behrend where he will try to reach new heights — literally — in the event.

“I checked out Penn State Behrend and it's a small school that kind of fits what I wanted,” Cumberland said.

He also considered Grove City College for the pole vault. He also considered not competing at the next level and going to either Ohio State University or the University of Pittsburgh.

Ultimately, though, he decided he wasn't done with the pole vault.

“In college I'll have more coaching,” Cumberland said. “That's why I wanted to do it. I feel like I can do so much more in college.”