The first thing he noticed was just how much was going on.

Senior Nathan Lutz walked into Penn State University’s Horace Ashenfelter facility at around 8 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25. He strode onto the track, set down his equipment and went to check in with the officials. Then he started his warm-up routine.

“I had to wait a little bit because I didn’t come in at the opening height. So I sat around a little bit to stay loose,” Lutz said. “Once I came into my opening bar, I heard my opening bargain. I just had to stay focused. There was a lot going on. There’s what’s going on around you. There’s a lot of people there. You just can’t let it get to you. Stay focused and have fun—that’s the biggest thing. Once you get in your head, you’re done.”

Lutz has been pole vaulting since seventh grade. This was his third time at the PTFCA (Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association) indoor state championship. This year, he vaulted his personal record and earned fourth place.

“I think at most state meets you’re pretty nervous, but nerves are a good thing. I think I do better when I’m nervous. I feel like I should care about something. You’re nervous, but then when you compete [you feel better]. It all comes down to it. You’re finally at the end of the season. You’re glad you worked hard, realize it was kind of worth it [to be at] every single practice, every single day for three months and missing out on times with friends. In the end, it’s all worth it,” Lutz said.

Since the beginning of his pole vault career, the senior has been working together with his coach, Rob Wahl. Wahl convinced Lutz to consider pole vaulting by enticing him with doughnuts.

“Annually, I have a middle school pole vault clinic on the first Saturday of the outdoor season,” Wahl said. “I always bring in doughnuts for the parents and the high schoolers who come to help. He heard about the doughnuts and decided to come and see what this pole vault thing was all about.”

Ever since then, Lutz has been hooked.

“From the first day, I immediately clicked with it,” Lutz said. “It just felt right. I never had an issue. It was fun for me. I wasn’t nervous about doing anything. I always felt different about other sports. I was always nervous to go play football or soccer. With pole vaulting, I would just go out and have fun because it was very individual. I felt it was very individual, and I liked that about it.”

To prepare for the indoor state championships, Lutz focused on his diet and drilled and practiced every day.

“He will give everything each jump,” Wahl said. “For someone who knows he is undersized as an athlete, he has beaten others who are better athletically. He understands who he is and who he is striving to become.”

On the Wednesday before the championship, Lutz was invited to a neighboring school’s pole vault facility to practice for that Sunday. The jumping didn’t go as well as he’d hoped, but Wahl told him to forget about it and focus on what he could do.

“When he got home, I told him to do one thing,” Wahl said. “He had video copies of his previous year’s Penn Relays meet where he finished in third place. I told him to watch those videos—but to not just watch them, but to become engrossed—to remember the sights, sounds, feel, smells, etc. Once he did that, I said that when he went to bed [he should] close his eyes and recreate in his mind that Penn Relays experience. The feel of running down the runway, jumping off the ground, swinging up, and clearing the bar. Over and over again as other more highly ranked vaulters went out. I got a hold of him the next day and said to do the same thing with last year’s Mt. Lion Classic, another very good meet for Nathan. Then, at the PTFCA championship, he vaults his indoor personal record and places fourth.”

Wahl would describe Lutz as having a “controllable intensity” as an athlete, and a determined personality as a person.

Lutz’s fondest memories of pole vaulting are at the Penn Relays meet with its “awesome environment.”

“Penn Relays is like the biggest meet in America, with 37 states, Jamaica, and Africa,” Lutz said. “There are a lot of schools there. It’s such an awesome environment. They pack Franklin Field. Last year, I got third there. Penn Relays is my favorite meet. It trumps all state meets. It is one of my favorite things to do, to vault at Franklin Field. If you ask anyone who’s ever been to Franklin Field, that’s ever run there, they love it. You just feel so much adrenaline and it’s awesome. It’s definitely my favorite meet out of anything at any state meet. Penn Relays is always the best. [The state meets] are not even close.”

Through working with Lutz, Wahl has been able to nurture a successful student-athlete. He would like other aspiring athletes to focus on their passions and enjoy their high school years.

“No matter who you are, focus on what you enjoy whether that is your academics, chorus, drama, sports, volunteering, or any other activity,” Wahl said. “Nurture your passion and do not let your parent’s, guardian’s, or others’ passions get in the way. Do not try and become someone you are not or do not want to become. The only one you have to answer to is the one who looks back at you in your mirror each and every day.”

Lutz would also like to offer advice to aspiring student-athletes.

“After going through high school, I wasn’t the best athlete,” Lutz said. “I would always go out and I would do this and that, but I was just a mediocre athlete. But if you work at something, then it pulls you away from everyone else. [If you] have a good work ethic, with sports, and your academics, you will go very far in your sport. Separate yourself. I do things other people don’t want to do because that’s what separates yourself from other people. An extra rep, an extra everything.”