Katella Vaulter Song Yang Improves by Leaps, Bounds

When Song Yang began his freshman year at Katella High 18 months ago, he didn’t speak a word of English, much less understand the instruction that comes with learning to pole vault.

“When I first met him, we couldn’t communicate at all,” said John Clemmons, the pole vault coach at Katella the last four years. “Luckily, I found a guy on the tennis courts who could translate.”

Yang absorbed that first conversation and has continued to be a sponge ever since, reading books, watching videos and spending countless after-school hours perfecting his technique.

He cleared 10 feet during his freshman season, then 12 feet during summer camp. Yang became so enamored with the sport that he signed up for cross-country last fall, just so he could spent more time practicing the pole vault and conditioning.

“It was the first time I was good at something from sports,” said Yang, who has a 4.1 grade-point average. “I tried soccer, baseball and basketball in Korea, but I wasn’t good at it. The pole vault was for me.”

Yang raised his ceiling once more Thursday, clearing 14-4 in an Empire League dual meet at Loara. It was the sixth-best mark among county vaulters this season and a foot higher than his previous outdoor best.

“On average, a boy vaulter should increase about a foot a year,” Clemmons said. “To improve four feet in one year is almost unheard of.”

Yang’s development has given Katella the deepest corps of vaulters in the county this season. In addition to Yang, sophomore David Giang (14-6) and senior David Morris (14-1) give the Knights the only threesome in the county to go over 14-0.

“Song pushes me a lot because he works so hard,” Giang said. “Sometimes I think he works harder than I do.”

But Giang is more worried he may never know how high they can push each other for the next two years. Yang said his family is 90% certain it will move this summer to San Bernardino County, where his father is a pastor.

Shortly after Yang cleared 13-6 at the San Diego Indoor Games in January, his family announced their plans to relocate.

“After that, my parents said don’t [participate in pole vaulting] anymore because they wanted to move and they say it takes too much time,” Yang said. “I get home at 5 from pole vault practice and they think that is too late.”

Clemmons would like Yang to stay at Katella, not only for his vaulting skills, but also because he feels Yang has a better opportunity for a scholarship at the school.

Giang said he’d like Yang to stay at the school for the friendship more than anything.

“I told him today, ‘I don’t know, Song, I’m getting emotional here. I don’t want you to go, you’ve gotten me through this season,’ ” Giang said. “I want him to stay. He can even stay in the pole vault shed if he wants.”

A COUNTY RECORD

Marina senior Logan Odden broke the 22-year-old Orange County record in the pole vault Saturday, clearing 16-7 on his first attempt at the Mt. Carmel Invitational.

Odden broke the previous record of 16-6 set by Greg Ernst of El Dorado in 1978. The mark also extended Odden’s state-leading mark by two inches. Odden began the competition at 14-8 and didn’t miss until reaching 16-2. After securing the county record, Odden went for a nation-leading 17-2, but missed on three tries.

Travis Offner of Mt. Carmel cleared 16-2 to finish second.

Marina senior Caroline Rebello won the girls’ pole vault with a mark of 11-2. Odden and Rebello will be competing in the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia this weekend.

Travis Pendleton of Esperanza was the other county winner, finishing first in the discus with a throw of 191-6.

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