Chamberlain chasing history

Fresh off state title, Ephrata vaulter going after brother's school record next

EPHRATA — There are not many athletes out there who, within two years of starting an activity, can call themselves the best in the state at it.

Ephrata High School pole vaulter Wes Chamberlain is one of them.

Chamberlain began the challenging and intricate sport of pole vaulting last spring as a freshman. His older brother, Roger Chamberlain, is Ephrata's school record holder in the event and, the younger brother said, deserves credit for passing it along like a family trait.

"Without my brother I wouldn't have done track in the first place," Wes Chamberlain said, explaining that he nearly chose soccer instead. "My brother and I are pretty competitive with each other. I grew up watching pole vault and it's the coolest thing to watch. It requires a lot of physical ability."

Less than two years after his first vault, Chamberlain became a state champion. In last weekend's 2A championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, the sophomore cleared 14 feet, just ahead of Woodland's Hayden Woodard, Ryan Taylor of Black Hills, Hoquiam's Izzy Chavez and Blaine's Tygr Cain.

The scary thing is, Chamberlain is the youngest of that group. And if you ask him and Ephrata head coach Dan Martin, he hasn't come close to reaching his ceiling.

"He's matured a lot on the mental end of it, but he's still got a long way to go," Martin said. "With the pole vault, you're either on or you're not on. The not on means you're going straight up and coming straight down."

Chamberlain routinely broke 15 feet during practice this spring, but couldn't do better than 14-07 during competition. That actually put a bit of a damper on his state title, knowing he came up short of his brother's 15-foot school record.

"I was really happy, don't get me wrong, but I was a little disappointed that I didn't break my brother's record this year," he said.

Chamberlain still has two years in front of him to shatter the mark, and the 2A meet record of 15-04 is also in his sights. Chamberlain sees strength and technique as his biggest impediments right now.

"Basically, the better you get your form, the higher you go," he explained. "I for sure need to get stronger."

Chamberlain trains with a simple workout routine of chin-ups, push-ups and sit-ups that, as he puts it, makes "your muscles be capable of lifting your own body weight." He's also a high jumper — an event he qualified for state in but didn't medal — and Martin thinks he'll throw Chamberlain into the 300-meter hurdles next year as a way of improving his cardiovascular fitness.

The Tigers coach also believes Chamberlain isn't done growing, so a couple inches added on to his lanky 6-foot-1 frame could prove valuable as a junior and senior. Still, Martin puts Chamberlain in the same class as one of his former state champion vaulters, Clint Tackett of Wenatchee, and sees the school and state records as only a matter of time.

"He should've done it this year — that was why he was so disappointed," Martin said. "Being young in a big venue like that, he got a little nervous. …He gets down on himself more than he needs to."

Chamberlain's focus is self-improvement rather than wins and losses, a characteristic he sees in most competitors. Tiger teammate Kyle McLeod has helped Chamberlain in that aspect.

"Me and him really pushed each other at practice to get PRs and just to get better," Chamberlain said. "Most (vaulters) don't think about the winning and losing part of the sport —they just think about improving."

Chamberlain's post-high school goal is to earn a full-ride scholarship to Brigham Young University, a place he likes because of his Mormon background, having a couple siblings already attend, and for the Cougars' highly respected pole vault program.

Before that, however, Chamberlain could achieve a rare title — three-time high school state champion.

"I can't say that I'm going to get it, but I hope I will," he said.