Shielding himself from the sun under an umbrella, Lakes senior Paul Migas sat for a few minutes before making his final attempt in the pole vault at the state meet late Saturday afternoon.
Migas was getting ready to shine.
“I’ve been jumping out of my mind,” he said. “This has been the most confident I’ve been. This is also the strongest and fastest that I’ve been, so I knew I was in for a good day.”
Setting the state record in the pole vault is the only way the day could have been better for Migas, who won his third state title in as many years at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Stadium in Charleston.
Migas didn’t break former Bloomington star Zach Bradford’s record of 17 feet, 6 inches. But the Tennessee recruit did become Lakes’ first three-time state champion in a single individual event — Cameron Ruiz, who played football at Northwestern, won three state titles total in the long jump and the triple jump — and Migas did it with a victory in Class 3A after competing in 2A in the previous two seasons.
With a winning height of 17-0.75, Migas beat Neuqua Valley senior Nick Pennington by 6 inches.
“I’ve been super confident all year,” Migas said. “I know I’m one of the best in the country, and I know how to compete really well. I came in real confident, but there was a lot of pressure going for the third title, especially being seeded No. 1.
“Nobody has ever won the same event three times at my school, so just making school history is something that’s been on my mind.”
Migas impressed Lakes coach Dan Jazo.
“It was a great day for him,” Jazo said. “Doing it once is pretty hard to do. But twice is even harder, and anything back to back to back in a new class is amazing.”
Jazo said the 6-foot-1, 160-pound Migas, who missed his freshman season with an injury, has learned to rely on more than physical tools over the course of his career.
“He got bigger, faster and stronger, but he also started to commit and became a student of the event,” Jazo said. “He works at his craft every single day, and he believes in himself and has high goals, and he hits them.”
Migas didn’t do it alone.
“He had a lot of help,” Jazo said. “It took a village. All the little stuff makes the big stuff work. But you also have to be a great athlete.”
Grayslake Central senior Sean Mullen, a Michigan State recruit who intends to compete in the decathlon in the future, placed fifth in the pole vault and also added a fifth-place medal in the 110-meter hurdles. He has never beaten Migas in the pole vault but said he appreciates every matchup against his Northern Lake County Conference rival.
“I’ve been competing against Paul since seventh grade,” Mullen said. “Paul won state in seventh. What makes Paul so good is he always has a positive mindset and is happy to be here and be around other (athletes). He’s pushed me and given me big goals to go after.”
Migas said his senior season was filled with several highlights, including his outstanding performance at the Texas Relays on March 29. Migas cleared 17-4.5, a personal record and one of the top marks in the country this season.
“The Texas Relays showed I’m capable of jumping a lot higher,” he said. “It put pressure on me, but it was a good feeling to make the high mark in April.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
