GENEVA – First Tyler Loontjer set a new Southern Nebraska Conference pole vault record, then he broke it at the same meet and set a new Class C state record while he was at it. The Fillmore Central Panther brought the SNC Championships to a halt as he went higher and higher. The only vaulter left in the field, Loontjer first took the conference record for himself at 15-2 ½, then smashed it himself with a leap of 15-9 ½ that brought the crowd to its feet in full voice. The meet had been suspended by that time, so everyone at the Fillmore Central facility could tune in to Loontjer. The mark of 15-9 ½ also gave Loontjer the Class C state record by a half-inch over T.J. Kloster of Arlington who went 15-9 in 1997. “Tyler has worked extremely hard for this,” said FC boys coach Adam Verhage. “He and his dad (volunteer pole vault coach and a former Nebraska pole vaulter Glenn Loontjer) have worked on technique for the last four years. They work on it in the off-season and during the summers,” reported Verhage. “They often would go wherever they could get into an indoor facility or vault during the winter and during our early season. “It is a neat situation to have such a great pole vault coach, and it be your dad. I am sure Tyler would tell you the same thing,” he added. more
