How elite Churchill pole vault state record holder Addison Kleinke continues to improve

Playing music is important for Addison Kleinke as she prepares to pole vault at an indoor practice facility in Springfield.

"Sometimes it's for the motivation, sometimes it's for the vibe," she said.

One day it could be country and the other R&B. But on one recent late Tuesday night she was feeling the music of rock band Creed.

The song "Higher" — one of the band's biggest hits from their 1999 album "Human Clay" — played as she ran down the long corridor and attempted to clear an elastic 13-foot bungee crossbar.

Kleinke broke the high school state record as a freshman vaulter from Churchill last year and has been practicing for around two years inside the timeworn space her father, Robert, who is also one of her four coaches, was able to secure.

The phenom will look to repeat as the 5A state champion this year. But she has a different mindset this time around.

"I feel like as an athlete ... I've matured mentally a lot, and my approach has become a lot different," Kleinke said after placing second in April at the Oregon Relays, one of the top high school track and field meets on the West Coast.

"I feel like I'm taking everything one step at a time instead of jumping forward and looking ahead super far. Obviously, I'm looking ahead to set goals and stuff, but everything is one step at a time, and I feel like it's doing me well.

"...Last season, it was a lot of pressure, pressure, performance, performance and this year it's just like take everything slow and enjoy it."

Kleinke is looking to stay consistent as she prepares for districts and the state meet later this month at Hayward Field.

Here is a look at the training life of Kleinke.

Pole vaulter Addison Kleinke adds long jump and sprints

Kleinke spends an hour three times a week at Churchill practicing drills for pole vault, long jump and sprints. It is the only vaulting she does outdoors besides in competition.

"Getting used to holding a big pole in the wind makes a big difference with my performance when I'm jumping outside," Kleinke said.

Gabriel LeMay, a pole vault coach at Churchill, said he tries to be a "sounding board" for Kleinke.

"We get used to stabilizing, feel a gust and your body naturally corrects itself," LeMay said.

Kleinke spent a decade as a gymnast before transitioning to pole vault in middle school.

As an eighth grader she went 13 feet, 6 inches — a mark that would have been a state high school record.

Her breakthrough came as a freshman when she broke the state record — twice. First clearing 13-4 1/2 to win the 5A title at the OSAA track and field state championships last year. She improved that mark by going 13-7 1/2 at the USATF Oregon High School Invitational that summer.

Kleinke is also adding long jump to her events list.

Head coach and long jump coach Billy Fields has worked with Kleinke on specific drills this season, including plyo drills which "focus on getting her knee up and add height in her hips in long jump."

So far, Kleinke has seen an improvement in long jump after she jumped 16 feet, 7 inches last spring to a personal-record 17 feet, 2 inches at the Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays in Portland on April 26.

"She really pays attention to detail," Fields said. "When I'm telling her to do something, she does it. She knee drives, she lifts, she pulls her legs through. Her jump looks like she's been jumping for years."

Fields said if Kleinke can improve on her speed and lift off the ground, her timing would change as well.

Sprints have also come into play for Kleinke. She has gone from competing on the 4x100 relay team to running the 100 and 200 meters.

She had to relearn how to run at the beginning of the season.

"I was doing a lot of run throughs because my stride was so inconsistent," Kleinke said.

She had PRs in the 100 with a time of 13.86 at a tri-meet on April 17 and in the 200 with a time of 31.03 at a dual meet on April 24.

"She does really well in the first 80 meters," Churchill sprints coach Susie Hammond said. "When you see her race, she gets off the blocks really nicely. She explodes. She uses that power and then it's maintaining it. She kind of fades off a little bit and that takes practice."

Hammond also dedicates a portion of her practices to weightlifting for the sprinters, jumpers and hurdlers.

"I definitely gained a lot of muscle mass this season," Kleinke said.

Support, coaching from family is key for Kleinke

After drills at Churchill, Kleinke heads to the facility where her dad coaches her. There he has her run 20-25 jumps and build up to 40 as the season progresses. In addition, she does 25 minutes of conditioning, which include stairs, plyo boxes and rope climbs.

"He really likes the mindset of 'If you're not crawling out of practice, you didn't do it right,'" Kleinke said.

Her support system extends with her younger sister, Brynn, also an aspiring vaulter, and mom, Melanie, who records each of their jump's during practice.

"We just choose to dedicate our life to it," Robert said. "This is our family time."

Edith Noriega is a sports reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at ENoriega@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Noriega_Edith.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: How Churchill pole vault state record holder Addison Kleinke trains