Sophomore Logan Isaacs remembers how excited he was when he cleared 10 feet in the pole vault at Bethlehem High School. Now he’s a collegiate All-American. (Luke Napier/Centre College Photo)
Logan Isaacs played football at Bethlehem High School in Bardstown because that’s what everyone in his family had done. However, the assistant football coach was also a pole vault coach and thought Isaacs would be perfect for that event.
“He kind of scouted me out and once season was over asked if I would like to try it and I did. I took it and stuck with it,” said the Centre College sophomore.
That was a smart move because Saturday he cleared 16 feet, 3/4 inch to finish fifth overall in the Division III NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship in Birmingham. By placing in the top eight, Isaacs became the first Centre men’s track & field athlete to be named an All-American in the pole vault and the first All-American in a field event since Chrys Jones won the national title in the indoor triple jump in 2011.
Isaacs’ performance was no surprise. He won the Southern Athletic Association outdoor championship in 2022 with a vault of 15 feet, 4 1/2 inches and is the favorite to repeat this year. During the indoor season, he broke his own school record in each of the first three meets and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the NCAA Division III performance ratings.
“I had never even heard of pole vaulting. I was under the false impression that track was just running, so I had stayed away from it,” Isaacs said about joining the high school track team. “I was a safety in football. I stuck with it until my junior year and backed off my senior year to focus on the pole vault to get ready for college.”
He noted it was a hard transition but his coach and parents encouraged him. He still remembers clearing only nine feet in his first meet.
“When I got 10 feet my freshman year I thought that would be it,” he said. “When I got to 13 it was exciting but it was a long journey. But when I got to 13 and started feeling good about myself, I had no idea there would be a lot of slumps ahead. I wish I would have known that earlier so I would have celebrated getting to 13 feet a little more.”
Isaacs doesn’t assume he will win the conference championship again. He respects his completion and does not “doubt” anybody’s ability.
“I know what it feels like to be that guy who is chasing, always getting second place. I know somewhere out there a guy is chasing me. I will never look past anybody,” the Centre College sophomore said.
Isaacs tries to avoid setting a goal for what he might be able to do this outdoors season. Normally vaulters go higher outdoors than indoors and he had a “really good offseason” to strengthen his shoulder.
“Things were clicking going into the meet (when he first cleared 16 feet). My coach (Jim O’Hare) and I had an idea something might happen but not that big. I learned from my high school days to celebrate because you never know when it might be your last one to celebrate,” Isaacs said. “I have been bitten in the past by setting expectations. I just put in the work and see what happens.
“If I put in everything I know I could put in, I won’t be sad no matter what happens. I know there is more there but you have to just do your job, keep your head down and it will happen when it happens.”
He said the 16-foot jump is probably one he was capable of sooner if not for his fear.
“I do get scared a lot. I have a scar on my hand. You can fall in a very bad position and get yourself hurt pretty easily when you vault,” he said. “My biggest limiter is my fear. My 16-foot jump is probably one I have had in me for a while but on that particular day I just was not scared and went with it. Coach told me to let go of the fear and do it and I shut my eyes and did it.”
Isaacs’s grandfather and uncle both attended Centre and became dentists. Isaacs, a biology major, has the same professional goal.
His family’s ties to Centre got him interested in the school and his high school pole vault coach, O’Hare, also coaches pole vaulters at Centre.
“Every once in a while I would come over here to practice after the Centre athletes were done because it was just more convenient for him. I got to see the campus a lot, meet some coaches within NCAA regulations and I just decided I fit best academically here and I liked the campus,” Isaacs said.
He said Centre and Bethlehem are “almost identical” in many ways with successful sports teams and familiar faces you see daily. “I also like knowing my professors by their first names. It’s really great,” he said. “Bethlehem is all about core college preparation. You start writing essays and taking the ACT tests and stuff much earlier than you do at other schools. You get in that mindset of being college ready a lot earlier and that has really helped me.”
The same preparation is big with his pole vaulting. He believes in mental repetitions and that can range from visualizing a vault while sitting on his bed or just holding the pole in his hands at practice and visualizing his movements.
“You have to believe you can do it and then you are halfway there,” he said.
He practices with Centre sprinters Monday, Wednesday and Friday to help his speed. On Tuesday and Thursday he will do gymnastics routines that can include the high bar to help his balance.
“My coach’s son jumped at Tennessee and they did it there and produced two Olympians,” Isaacs said. “It was a good thing to steal from them and helps with my coordination. It helps with core stability. Elite vaulters are very muscular, so whatever I can do to strengthen my body will make me a better vaulter.”
