Bastow nearly quit pole vaulting —now he’s a champ

Cliff Bastow was about to walk away after reaching his maximum level of athletic disappointment.

Bastow was cut from the Northampton baseball team as a freshman and sophomore, then turned to track & field. The pole vaulter was demoralized after failing to clear the opening height in his first five meets two years ago as a sophomore.

The Konkrete Kids coaching staff then entered him in a JV meet at Northampton against a group of girls.

“I won that meet,” Bastow said. “The next day [at practice], I cleared 8-3 and then 8-9. That was the biggest day, the turning point of my entire career. I decided that day to put everything I had into this.”

Two years later, Bastow was on the top of the podium with a gold medal around his neck after winning the EPC title by clearing a career-best 12 feet, 6 inches Monday at East Stroudsburg South.

It came on his first attempt, which gave him the edge over Parkland’s Brian Warren and Emmaus’ Aiden Hurlburt — two competitors Bastow had been looking up to all season.

“It is a relief, honestly,” Bastow said. “It’s amazing. I never won a league [varsity] meet until this spring. Now I’ve had a perfect season so far. I’m looking forward to the challenges at districts.”

Bastow threw himself into baseball. He played in the fall and tried out in the spring as a freshman and sophomore. He played whatever position was needed to help the team and help his chances of making the team.

Still, he came up short.

But it was during his sophomore year that something changed for the better.

“I went from being a little chunky guy to a taller, skinnier guy,” Bastow said.

“I always love being motivated, having something to push myself so after being cut from the baseball team, I tried out for track. My coaches saw that I could do pullups pretty fast, so they said to try pole vault.

“My sophomore year doing the pole vault was definitely not a fun year.”

It took Bastow most of the season to clear 8-9. His parents kept encouraging him, motivating him to stick with it.

Bastow did, using the JV meet two years ago as a stepping stone.

He trained throughout the COVID-19

pandemic season in 2020. In November, he cleared 12-4. Then came a different kind of pressure.

Bastow committed to Southern Virginia University, where he wants to continue pole vaulting. So, he pushed himself to continue clearing new heights.

It wasn’t coming. Even as he was winning during Northampton’s abbreviated dual-meet season, Bastow was stuck at 12-4 . ... until the EPC meet.

That’s where he competed against Hurlburt and Warren for the first time. Emmaus and Parkland are part of the EPC’s Lehigh County Division while Northampton is in the Northampton County group with Liberty, Freedom, Nazareth, Easton and Bethlehem Catholic.

“All season, I saw two people in front of me,” Bastow said. “I was chasing them all season. Seeing their names above me really motivated me.”

Bastow had not cleared anything beyond 12 feet this spring before Monday’s EPC meet. It took him until his third (and final) try to clear 12-3 to advance with Hurlburt and Warren.

The Konkrete Kid then got over the bar at 12-6 on his first try, giving him the edge over his two pole vaulting friends who eventually cleared the same height but lost the tiebreaker.

Hurlburt cleared a District 11-best 12-9 during the regular season, but everyone will be looking at Bastow after he won the EPC title.

“It’s going to be a battle against myself and my friends,” Bastow said. “I’m excited. I don’t know what it will be like, but I’m going to try my absolute best and try to keep it going.”

Many track teams this spring have taken participation hits because of lingering COVID-related reasons. Northampton also is among those without a middle school track program to generate interest and create development.

Bastow finding his way to coach Tim Caffrey’s program and sticking with it after so much initial failure is succeeding against significant odds.

“Cliff is a very easygoing and coachable kid,” Caffrey said. “He has supported the team in many areas. He will be missed next season.

“And he was also chosen as our male scholar athlete for Northampton track and field.”