Asad Khimani
Staff Writer
When people think of good athletes at Westford Academy, basketball players or football players are usually what first come to mind. However, Brendan Sullivan, a junior and a pole vaulter on the WA track and field team, is one of the most successful athletes to come through WA’s doors.
In mid-May, Sullivan broke the high school state record for pole vault going over a bar set at 15’7”. Last weekend, he placed second at the New England Track and Field Championships in Burlington Massachusetts with a height of 15’3”. However, his season is not over yet. This coming weekend, he will be competing in the pole vault in the National Track and Field Championships in Greensborough, North Carolina, aiming to place and set a new personal record of 16’0”.
Sullivan first got into track and field because it runs in his family. His dad was a decathlete, coached track and field at the Air Force Academy, and also placed fourth in the Olympic trials for the decathlon. Sullivan’s grandfather, also a decathlete, still does track and field today.
“A lot of people in my family have done it,” said Sullivan.
According to Sullivan, the best moment in his high school career in track and field so far was when he broke the state record.
“The best moment would be probably when I made fifteen-seven and I broke the state record…It was at the end of a meet, everyone was around, so it was exciting. It was a shock to myself and I think it was a shock to a lot of other people too, but it was fun,” Sullivan explained.
Although Sullivan already has many outstanding achievements, he still has goals for the future to become a better athlete. He is hoping to be able to pole vault 17’ in senior year and he wants to be an All-American athlete. Also, he hopes to place first in the pole vault in the NE Track and Field Championships. He is not sure exactly where he wants to college yet, but he says that he definitely wants to go to a school with a Division 1 Track and Field program and he is sure that he wants to keep doing the pole vault.
“I definitely want to do Division 1, but I’m not sure where yet. Probably on the East Coast somewhere, but definitely a Division 1 school. I’ll be doing pole vault and maybe decathlon too,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan still has one year before going off to college. Until then, WA will continue to have the privilege of having this high performing athlete on its track and field team.
