The pole vault is Kyle Rex's headliner event--at least until you start thinking about the decathlon. Photo by Paul Jaeger.
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Kyle Rex's Best Marks
Decathlon - 5876
Pole Vault - 15-1
High Jump - 6-2
Long Jump - 20-9.75
110 Hurdles - 16.46
300 Hurdles - 41.88
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I know you had other options, what finalized the decision for UCCS?
I was accepted and offered scholarships to Air Force, Belmont, Baylor, and Nova Southeastern University (FL). The UCCS Head Coach Brandon Masters was very welcoming and wanted me for pole vault and do the decathlon/heptathlon. He was a pole vaulter/decathlete in college too and showed me a great vision of what I could become and contribute to the team. They offered a great scholarship and had the curriculum that would lead me to be a physician's assistant. I am excited to be part of their new field event team for their track program with 35 other freshmen in a new indoor facility.
What do you plan to study at UCCS?
I am enrolled in the Pre Medical major, preparing for my masters as a physician's assistant.
You've been busy with multis since I can remember, but you'd also done very well with the pole vault. Do you have a clear preference of one over the other or does that vary some from day-to-day or week-to-week?
I really enjoy the pole vault and train from October through July. I enjoy doing all the other events to stay fresh and prevent overuse injuries. I train in PV, HJ, LJ, at school and with my track club once a week during HS season, I recently added in the 110m hurdles, 300m hurdles at high school once a week and will throw the discus/shot a few times each week. I also change it up each week with the sprinters group in the 100/400 training groups. I cycle thru all the other events on Sundays (javelin, discus, shot put & 1500 meters) during May/June preparing for two/three decathlons during the summer.
You had the concussion from the indoor vault at the Air Force Academy this winter. Is it hard to get back into the swing of an event after a situation like that?
Yes it was. It was hard to sit out 5 weeks and miss the first three weeks of high school track. I couldn't train until cleared by the high school and my medical team. It was distracting not to go to all my classes, sleeping 12 hours a day, not using the computer or training every day. I am all the way back physically and working hard to get back to my previous pole vault height and other jumps back to my indoor marks.
What would be the one highlight moment of your high school career to date?
Winning the Boys 4A Team State Championship at Palmer Ridge and going 15 feet in the pole vault. Sam Pierson, the current 4A state pole vault record holder, was encouraging me to break his record of 15-8 and was cheering me on as I made my attempts.
Do you have any particular goals remaining for the last few remaining meets of your high school career? Will you be doing any summer meets this year?
I want to qualify and score in four events to help Palmer Ridge repeat our state championship, go over 15 feet again in the pole vault, and score over 6,500 points in the decathlon. I will compete in the Brighton HS Pentathlon and the decathlon and pole vault at the Great Southwest Classic meet and will decide on Colorado USATF/Region X Championships or New Balance Outdoor Championships based on GSW results. I am starting at UCCS June 17 and not sure how much time I will be training while in college.
Thank you for all your efforts with the co.milesplit website to highlight our sport and athletes, it has helped me and many of my friends develop our vision to pursue track and get recruited into college! It made it easier to walk away from a state championship basketball team and go into nine months of track training per year, knowing it was the right decision for me.
