In the aftermath of being eliminated from the Class 5A pole-vault competition during the state track & field championships last Friday in Wichita, Chris Burley of Great Bend High School had an unexpected visitor.
It planted a seed in his mind in regards to heading to college next fall.
Burley, who set a school record with a vault of 15 feet, six inches during a regional meet, finished in third place after clearing 14-6 at Wichita State University’s Cessna Stadium.
But it didn’t deter Wichita State pole-vault coach Pat Wilson from making a recruiting pitch to Burley, who plans to enroll at Kansas State and its widely-known engineering program.
“I’m going to take a visit there (at WSU), and we’ll just see what happens,” Burley said on Friday. “I might walk-on at Kansas State or just go to school.
“I’m not totally sure yet. We’ll just to see what happens.”
Although he fell short of the ultimate hardware in the pole vault, Burley was a two-time state champion in wrestling.
“It’s been really fun and I’ve had a lot of good coaches in wrestling, who have made me who I am,” he said. “My pole-vault coach (Brett Middleton) helped me out a lot.
“Coach Middleton came in and started helping us out when I was a freshman. He became our coach my sophomore year, and I’ve just excelled from there. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I’d be where I am today.”
Middleton lauded Burley for his work ethic.
“Chris works hard, and he’s worked hard every year and gotten better every year,” Middleton said of Burley breaking his school record four times in the event.