Cripps leaps into spring sports after football, basketball
GENTRY — Gentry coach Daniel Ramsey remembers the fifth-grader who tagged along with his older sister years ago and watched her practice with the Pioneer track and field team.
“He was watching the pole vaulters and I asked him if he wanted to try it,” Ramsey said. “He said ‘sure’ and that’s how he got started. “
That fifth-grader, Cole Cripps, is now a senior at Gentry and defending state champion in the pole vault in Class 4A. He’s an all-around athlete who will leave as a member of six consecutive conference championships if the Pioneers win the league title again this spring.
Cripps also plays football and basketball at Gentry.
“I’ve been at Gentry for 10 years and Cole is definitely one of the top athletes we’ve had here in the last decade,” Ramsey said. “He could be even better in the pole vault if he did it year-round. But he’s a little behind at first because he plays other sports and he’s still good enough to be a state champion.”
Cripps hopes to defend his championship after clearing 14 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault last spring during the Class 4A state meet at Nashville. Cripps displayed his ability during a meet on Friday at Alma, where he cleared 13-6 to win the pole vault and jumped 41 feet, 5 inches to take first place in the triple jump.
Cripps is a three-sport athlete and academic standout with a 3.94 grade point average. His senior season began in football, where he totaled 1,140 yards as a running back, receiver, and kick returner for the Pioneers. He then moved to basketball, where he was a starting point guard.
Cripps’ focus is now on the outdoor track season where he holds school records in the pole vault (14-6) and triple jump (41 feet, 91/4 inches).
“I don’t really have a favorite sport,” said Cripps, who also competes in the high jump and long jump in the spring. “I just like being part of a team and doing what I can to represent our community.”
Like a placekicker in football, pole vaulters spend a lot of time away from the group while working out. Cripps travels to Fayetteville High School each week to work with Greg Culp, who was an NAIA All-American in track and field at Arkansas- Monticello. Cripps said those sessions have helped him improve his performance and put him in position to defend his state title in the pole vault.
“Pole vaulting is really about the form you take,” said Cripps, who also trains with Brad Culp, a member of the University of Arkansas track and field team. “Form is crucial in the pole vault if you want to jump high. If one thing is off, it can throw the whole jump off.”
Cripps is hoping to continue his track and field career, possibly as a walk-on at Arkansas. But he is more definite about his plans to study biology and pre-med at Arkansas, where he’s earned an academic scholarship.
“My goal is to repeat, for sure, and get that second state championship,” Cripps said. “Whatever it takes to do that, but I’d like to jump, hopefully, about 16 feet this year. I’ve kind of got my eye on jumping at the next level and I know what I’ve got to do to get there.”