Once prohibited in Arlington County, pole vaulting is now allowed, and the event has become quite popular at two public high schools in the county.
With the 2026 outdoor spring high-school season now underway, a number of vaulters from Arlington schools, girls and boys, are expected to be among the best during regular-season and postseason meets.
During the winter’s indoor campaign, Wakefield High’s Devin Carlson was a top jumper. The senior won district and region meets, then placed second in the Class 6 state competition with a leap of 14-feet, 6-inches.
Also for the Wakefield boys, senior Diego Fernandez, junior Cyrus Archuletta and sophomore Isaac Gunville placed in postseason meets. In addition, sophomore Tate Wadhwa is one of Washington-Liberty’s best pole vaulters.
For the Wakefield girls, sophomore Emily Schimmel is expected to be a major contender this spring. As is her twin sister Addison Schimmel, who competes for Washington-Liberty.
A year ago, Charles Gent and Pierce Wardian from Washington-Liberty and Alex Epstein and Jackson Gray from Wakefield were top boys pole vaulters. Top girls jumpers were Wakefield’s Madeleine Wearing and Alexis Morley-Lascano of Washington-Liberty.
Wearing also is a standout for Wakefield’s girls gymnastics team. Being a versatile gymnast has helped her pole-vaulting techniques.
Jordan Wright is Wakefield’s head track-and-field coach and a former pole vaulter. His past experience with the event helps him coach pole vaulting and attract more participants.
Wright said athletes have been eager to try pole vaulting because it takes speed, strength, agility and versatility.
“Athletes like what pole vaulting has to offer, and it’s fun for them, but not easy,” Wright said. “I know that because I was a pole vaulter.”
In past years, high-school pole vaulters in Arlington were much fewer and were playing catchup to track-and-field teams from neighboring Fairfax County. Fairfax has included the event during the indoor and outdoor seasons for decades.
Pole vaulting officially was reinstated in Arlington as an official track-and-field event during the summer of 2020. The event had not been included for Arlington teams, with the exception of one individual, for decades because of safety reasons.
Local athletes once had done quite well in competition. A boys pole vaulter from what was then was Washington-Lee High School won the VHSL’s Group AAA indoor state championship in 1960.
The 2020 reinstatement occurred when then Wakefield director of student activities Nate Hailey, also a former longtime track-and-field coach, spearheaded the change.
“Arlington athletes deserved to have this opportunity, and that has proved out with some good jumpers,” Hailey said. “Many in Arlington have become very good.”
Hailey began asking questions about why Arlington schools did not have pole vaulting. It was determined that Arlington did have the clearance to proceed with the event, but the topic had not been approached for many previous years.
Prior to the event’s reinstatement, the last pole vaulter from an Arlington school was William Harris in 2006. He received a waiver to compete because Harris was an accomplished vaulter who transferred from out of the area to attend Arlington’s Yorktown High School.
Harris won the National District championship that year and finished eighth in the region meet.
Yorktown, though, has not offered pole vaulting since the event was reinstated.
Prior to pole vaulting again being included for Arlington schools, those teams had been at a disadvantage in meets because they earned no points in that event, compared to teams from most other jurisdictions.
Top high-school pole vaulters in other areas of Northern Virginia during the spring’s outdoor high-school season are expected to be Cody Scott of Gainesville on the boys side and Chantilly’s Jacqueline Bullock on the girls side.
Each won Class 6 indoor state championships during the 2026 winter indoor season.
Hayfield’s Sierra Guaragno is another top girls vaulter.
Some of the other top boys high school pole vaulters from the Northern Virginia area this spring are expected to be Derek Ryman from Osbourn Park, Malakai Gagnon from Hayfield, Anthony Brown from Madison, Austin Haupt from Alexandria City, Maurico Melgar-Castro from Justice and Yassin Eltablyh from Colonial Forge.
Other top girls are Robinson’s Trieu Haley, Alexandria City’s Laela Ferrick and McLean’s Sophie Knudso, Sarah Thomas and Avery Diaz.
