Either you like to fly or you don’t. Pole vaulters like to fly. If they didn’t, they would put their strength, speed and fearless competitive streaks to work in other events during track meets.

Trevor Hillis likes to fly. He flew higher than anyone at Free State High ever had Friday during the school’s track and field invitational. Hillis set the school record in the pole vault by clearing 15 feet.

“I like it,” Hillis said of being in the air. “It’s exhilarating.”

For the crowd, too. Hillis was the only one left jumping, so he decided to set the bar up at 14-7 to break the school record by an inch. Once he cleared that, he tried for 15 feet and got it on his third try. He almost kept the bar in place at 15-6, but kicked it on the way down.

His date, Alexa-Harmon Thomas, won’t be the only record-holder at the prom this year.

Hillis took up pole vaulting as a sophomore at the recommendation of a friend.

“I tried it and I loved it,” Hillis said. “It’s just different. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s so much different from any other sport.”

The coolest part about it?

“When I clear the bar, falling down to the mat and seeing the bar is still up there,” Hillis said.

As a pole-vaulting novice two years ago, Hillis took note of the school record on the wall by the entrance to the gymnasium.

“My first meet I jumped 10-6,” he said. “I knew it wasn’t that far away, so I knew that if I kept going at it by my senior year I’d probably get it.”

Hillis threw gratitude the way of his Free State instructor, Phillip Mitchell, his Vault United club coach, Ryan Hays, and his personal trainer, Eric Wells, of Studio Alpha.

Nice of Hillis to recognize those who have helped him along the way, but he’s the one who dropped the pole into the pole vault box.

Speaking of pole vault boxes, did you know that legendary Kansas University track and field coach Bill Easton was fired because he spent $60 of the athletic department’s money on two new pole vault boxes to conform to NCAA rules at the Kansas Relays? Athletic director Wade Stinson blew a gasket that his track coach would spend that sort of money without his approval. The men got into a loud argument in Stinson’s office, and the AD fired the coach over it. Until Lawrence High basketball coach Mike Lewis was fired a few days ago, I’d have to say that’s the silliest canning of a coach in Lawrence history. Oh well, at least Stinson had an explanation for it. Even an embarrassing, petty explanation is better than none at all.