‘Your soul is happy’: Marsh Valley’s Lydia Townsend is one of nations’ top pole vaulters – and she’s not done yet

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ARIMO – “You’re honestly worthless right now.”

Most people have probably experienced that level of despair at times as they’ve navigated the lowest of the low points that ultimately flow through every life.

For a high school athlete, the lowest of the lows can be devastating.

For Lydia Townsend, that feeling of worthlessness was easy to pinpoint last summer as the Marsh Valley High School track and field standout tried to overcome an injury suffered while clipping a hurdle. A pinched nerve eventually led to back and foot problems. Returning to elite status seemed bleak.

The confidence that highlighted a once-promising career was shattered, and Townsend admitted she was tired, both physically and mentally.

She considered quitting the sport she grew up loving.

“I definitely got to a low point, not just in track, but in my life,” Townsend said. “At that point, I based my whole self-worth off of how I was doing in track.”

Something had to change.

Townsend eventually did what she did best: She flew.

She flew higher than any girl in the country.

This weekend, the Marsh Valley senior talked about her journey, from how she considered giving up track and field to eventually becoming the nation’s top girl pole vaulter.

Townsend cleared 13-8 two weeks ago at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational in California to earn the No. 1 spot in the country.

That mark was broken this weekend when Annie McCracken, of Ohio, cleared 14 feet, but that doesn’t diminish Townsend’s re-emergence.

Townsend also has her sights set on 14 feet and beyond. That’s a goal that seemed unlikely a few months ago.

After placing 32nd last year with a respectable 11-3 jump at Nike Outdoor Nationals last summer, Townsend was spent.

“I was having mental blocks,” she said.

She told her dad, Eli Townsend, who is also her pole vault coach, that she couldn’t do it anymore. He suggested taking a month off; a family trip to California proved beneficial.

“I came back and realized things needed to change — how I view myself,” Townsend said.

A revitalized mental approach, rehabbing from her injuries, plus some changes in her pole vault technique – “going back to beginner’s stuff” – helped Townsend return to the track.

So how’s the reemergence of Lydia Townsend going?

She won all seven indoor meets this past season, clearing 13 feet at the National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nevada, and coming back the following week to top 13-4 at a meet at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

“That’s a big mark for pole vaulters,” Townsend said, of clearing 13 feet. “That’s when you go from amateur to you’re really getting on pace.”

She cleared 13 feet in three of her next four indoor meets, which included a pole vault title at the Simplot Games.

Townsend has won all five outdoor meets this season, including another 13-foot vault this weekend at the Direct.com Invitational.

The pole vault requires speed, footwork, technique, strength and a dose of fearlessness. It’s arguably one of the most interesting events and isn’t for the faint of heart.

Townsend knew she was hooked on the event when she first tried it with her dad and cleared 6 feet.

Townsend has also shined in other events, including the high jump, 300 hurdles and 100 hurdles.

This season, she’s No. 2 overall in the state in the 100 hurdles, with a time of 14.26. She’s also among the top 10 in the state in the 400, after clocking 58.56 at the Direct.com Invitational at Idaho State this weekend.

Townsend was focused on hurdles and thought that would be her specialty going forward. But the pole vault continued to be her calling.

The bond with her dad, who was a pole vaulter at Idaho State, continued to fuel her passion. Once she hit 13 feet, she knew she was hooked.

“Time’s gone by so fast. I can remember, from Day 1, loving this,” she said.

“It gets me excited; you know it’s going to be amazing,” she said of competing in pole vault. “You have this exhilaration. Your soul is happy. It’s honesty the best event ever.”

After clearing 13-8 at Arcadia, Townsend attempted 14 feet but just missed. She said she has some things to clean up, but 14 is the next goal.

Coincidentally, 14 feet is her dad’s top high school mark. “That 14-foot barrier is sitting there, kind of egging me on,” she said.

Clearing 13-8 at Arcadia sparked plenty of emotions, Lydia said.

“I took off, and everything is kind of a blur,” she said. “I remember turning and going over the bar. I’m so excited. I did get emotional thinking about last year and what I put myself through. How hard it was on me mentally to get to the point of almost quitting the sport I have so much love and passion for.”

She said she cried. So did her dad.

“It was good tears,” she said.

In addition to record-breaking vaults, Townsend has also added to her magical senior season by signing with Brigham Young University.

“At this point in time, I’m very confident in myself,” she said Friday. “I know that it’s not just track that defines me, but me being a good person, me striving to have as much faith in God as I can. … It’s completely different. I’m so proud of myself for growing.”