There’s a picture of Hobart freshman Riley Johnston just inside the entrance at his family’s home. In that framed photo, he has a wide smile on his face and a pole slung over his shoulder like he’s about to take off down the runway for a vault.
He was 3.
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It’s not a big surprise, though, when considering Johnston’s background. Riley, who will compete at Saturday’s state meet in Bloomington, is the latest edition of his family’s lengthy lineage in the pole vault.
“It all started with grandpa,” said Jim Johnston Jr., Riley’s father.
Grandpa was Jim Johnston Sr., a 1954 Hobart graduate who won a state championship in 1953 and was an All-American at Purdue in 1958 and 1959 before coaching four other pole vaulters to high school state titles.
Jim Jr. was a four-time state finalist in the pole vault, peaking as a runner-up in 1980 before also coaching multiple state champions. Robb Johnston, Riley’s uncle, was a 1982 state champion and has three children who were state finalists at Penn, including 2012 state champion Kyle Johnston.
And after winning that state title with a mark of 16 feet, 1 inch, Kyle Johnston ran over to the crowd and hoisted his cousin Riley, who was only 8 then, telling him: “You’re next.”
Riley Johnston started pole vaulting two years ago. He said it took a while to find his groove.
“I didn’t get it right away,” he said. “And I wasn’t jumping as high as I wanted, so it wasn’t as fun. But I love it now.”
With his father as his coach, Riley quickly became one of the area’s top pole vaulters and qualified for the state meet with a third-place mark of 13-4 in the regional.
His best showing this season is 14-6, well ahead of his father’s 13-6 mark as a freshman.
“He’s way ahead of everyone right now,” Jim Jr. said.
And it’s not just the members of the Johnston family who have thrived this spring at Hobart.
Junior Elena Polizotto advanced to the state meet in girls track, going from 9-0 at last year’s regional to a third-place height of 10-6 this year. She found out about the Johnstons from her father Brett, a track coach at Valparaiso.
“He told me that Hobart had one of the best pole vaulting coaches ever,” Polizotto said. “(Jim Johnston Jr.) has really taken me under his wing and helped me get better on everything in pole vault.”
She’s been there for the extra practice sessions at the Johnston home, where there’s a runway, a new landing pit and a countless poles to choose from.
Riley said he intends to be out there all summer, when he’s not busy preparing for the upcoming football season at Hobart.
And Riley may have some tough competition in two years when his younger brother, Cody, enters high school.
“We want to go 1-2 (at state) both years we’re teammates,” Riley said.
That would just another chapter to add to the Johnston family legacy.
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.