Pole-vaulter has sky-high ambition

ARLINGTON — McKane Lee spends half his life flying through the air attached to a 15-foot pole, soaring literally and figuratively in search of a state record set 34 years ago.

Should he break it, and Lee believes he has a shot, everyone should have seen it coming.

His birthday, Dec. 4, matches the birthday of pole-vaulting icon Sergei Bubka, owner of 35 world records. His name, McKane, matches so naturally with his sport that it rings of destiny.

As for that record, well, the kid who asked his father "What's pole vaulting?" four years ago now has a shot at breaking it.

"Oh, you mean Casey Carrigan's record of 17 feet 4-3/4 inches, set in 1969?" asks Lee, obviously well aware of history. "I don't just know about it. I think about it all the time. I breathe it.

"I'm about," he holds his hands 11 inches apart, "this far."

The first time Lee, an Arlington senior, picked up a pole four years ago, it felt natural in his hands. The first day he attempted vaulting, he cleared 11 feet 6 inches.

Talent oozed from the outset, thanks to his background in gymnastics and an uncanny sense of his body in the air.

"By far, he's the state leader," says Arlington's first-year coach, Judd Hunter. "Nobody can come close to him. Unless there's some dark horse that transferred in from who knows where, I don't think anybody can touch him."

Lee's father, Riley Lee, pole-vaulted in what he terms the "dark ages." When McKane finished a gymnastics career that included two state club championships and started searching for another sport, Riley took him to a high-school track meet.

McKane watched the pole-vaulters for a few minutes and turned to his father.

"I can do that," he said matter-of-factly. "I bet you I can do that."

The rest, as they say, is history. And McKane Lee has been rewriting plenty of it.

Last month, he vaulted 16 feet 1 inch at the University of Washington, the best indoor performance for his age group in state history. At the Class 4A state meet last year, he vaulted an even 15 feet, good for a tie for second place. And his personal best, 16-6, stands 12th all-time among Washington high-school pole-vaulters and a little less than a foot off the state record set by Orting's Carrigan in 1969.

As often as Lee thinks about Carrigan's state record, he thinks about Bubka's outdoor world record of 20-2 much more often.

He's in the middle of switching from a 15-foot pole to one a foot longer, losing stiffness but gaining reach. The dividends won't be immediate, but Lee already accepted a half-ride track-and-field scholarship to the UW, and he's gearing his training for a successful college run.

"What's the trick to pole vaulting?" Lee says. "Well, gee, running really fast and jumping off the ground really high. Those two things are really necessary."

It sounds simple enough.

"But it's easier said than done," Lee adds. "If pole vaulting were that easy, everyone would do it. That isn't the case, though."

Just ask Lee's bruised and injured body parts. He has tendinitis in his left knee, the knee he jumps off. He has had a litany of bruises and incidents, like the time he got tangled up with his pole and landed — splat — on his face.

The affable Lee takes it in stride. Meet officials and coaches always approach Riley Lee to compliment his son, leaving him saying, "I'm just proud to have a kid like that."

"He's a pretty spunky guy. He likes to talk. He keeps a pretty good crowd of girls around him most of the time," Hunter says before mimicking Lee's bouncy walk. "He's just — dee-de-dee-de — just hangin' out."

All that's left before the start of Lee's college career is that aforementioned record. But with the switch in poles, along with expected growth in strength and speed, Lee doesn't know if the biggest gains will come during or after his senior season.

"I'm not really thinking heights right now. I'm just thinking, 'Go high,' " Lee says. "My main goal is getting on that 16-foot-long stick and then seeing what happens. If I get on that stick, good things are going to happen, heights are going to come from that.

"How high? I don't know. But I'm hoping it's big."

Starting over

Tim Colvin pulled over near his Snohomish home to put gas in his car a few months ago and ran into a former basketball teammate from Meadowdale Junior High of some 20 years ago: Kevin Allen, athletic director at Lynnwood High School.

"Would you be interested in coaching at Lynnwood?" Allen asked.

Right there, the seed was planted. Colvin takes over the boys soccer program this spring. The team hasn't won a varsity game in three years.

"The first day I gave them a sheet with 15 to 20 expectations," he said.

"From peer treatment to academic status, to all the skills I perceive the program to be lacking. I explained to them we're not going to settle for second best, but I would welcome anyone who wanted to come and work."

The graduate of Edmonds High School and Seattle Pacific University has been in this situation before, taking over a Seattle Academy girls team where 90 percent of the players had no soccer experience.

Colvin takes over a Lynnwood squad that barely had enough players last season, while running his family business, Northwest Caster and Equipment, with his brother, Steve.

Things are already looking up: The junior varsity won its first game in years last week, and the varsity lost 5-4 to Bishop Blanchet.

"I can't say we're definitely going to win a game," Colvin said. "But I can tell you we'll compete well."

Injury, flu bug hit school

The combination of a batting-practice injury and a flu bug caused the Archbishop Thomas Murphy fastpitch team to push back three nonleague games and delay the start of its season.

With first baseman Jessica Bookey out for about six weeks with a broken left arm and three other players sick with the flu, Archbishop Murphy had its roster depleted from 12 players to eight. Nine are needed to field a team, thus keeping the Wildcats, last spring's Class 1A state runner-up, from starting the season on time.

Late last week, the team also had its roster depleted when senior pitching ace Kristen Linscott was on a recruiting visit in Montana.

Once everyone is healthy, Coach Bruce Foxe is confident this year's squad will be as tough, if not tougher, than last year's.

"We'll be better talent-wise this year," he said. "But will everybody else be better, too?"

Around the county

The Shorewood drill and flag teams won Class 4A state championships last week in Yakima. The Shoreline school was first in the drill competition and third in pom. The drill team also tied for first overall. Meadowdale won the dance competition at the 3A state meet.

Seattle Times staff correspondent Matt Massey contributed to this report. Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@ seattletimes.com