Worth the risk? Pole-vault tragedy might make schools reconsider

Q: What do you know about the tragic pole-vault death last week of Ryan Moberg of DeSales High School in Walla Walla? What are the possible repercussions?

A: Moberg's death sent shockwaves through the state. The 18-year-old senior is the first Washington high-school student to die of injuries suffered in the spectacular but risky event.

Moberg, 18, was neither a novice nor an accomplished vaulter. He was a senior who had competed in the Class B state meet as a sophomore, where he cleared the unspectacular height of 9 feet. He missed state last year because of a medical condition.

Moberg suffered fatal brain injuries last Monday at an indoor practice when he didn't make it to the bar and reportedly fell backward onto the runway in the Catholic school's gymnasium.

The pole-vault coach was present. Moberg apparently wasn't wearing a helmet, but there is no guarantee that a helmet would have saved him.

Walla Walla is no stranger to prep-sports tragedy. Two of the state's 11 high-school football-death victims since 1936 were from public Walla Walla High School. Those deaths occurred in 1971 and 2001.

Within a two-month period in 2002, three vaulters — high-school athletes in Kansas and Florida and Penn State's Kevin Dare — died. Moberg's death is believed to be the second in the nation since then.

The Associated Press reported that from 1983 to 2000 there was an average of one pole-vault death a year.

By all accounts, DeSales and the city of Walla Walla have lost a wonderful kid in Moberg. He was an honors student and football player who helped with Little League baseball. He was headed to Washington State to study engineering.

The early word from DeSales is that the pole vault will remain an event at the school.

Mike Colbrese, executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association who has served as chairman of a national prep pole-vault committee, called the death "a tragedy."

However, he said the event doesn't appear in jeopardy in Washington.

Colbrese noted that new regulations this decade increased the size of the landing pit and introduced padding requirements elsewhere near the pit. Also, the WIAA requires pole vault coaches to be certified in the event and to renew their certification.

The cost of new, larger landing pits prompted some schools to drop the event years ago. Moberg's death now will be factored in every time a school decides whether to keep, add or discard the event. Alaska and Iowa don't have the pole vault as a state event, and some classifications in Utah don't give team points for it.

I don't see the pole vault going away in Washington but I won't be surprised if fewer schools, especially small ones, decide it's not worth the risk.

Have a question about high-school sports? Craig Smith will find the answer every Tuesday in The Times. Ask your question in one of the following ways: Voice mail (206-464-8279), snail mail (Craig Smith, Seattle Times Sports, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111) or e-mail csmith@seattletimes.com