Third-Generation Vaulter Benefits From Family's Work Ethic And Passion For Event 

By David Woods for DyeStat

HOBART, Ind. – To understand how Cody Johnston became arguably the nation’s top high school pole vaulter, you must understand what local residents call the Region. You must understand Northwest Indiana’s heritage of industry, labor, family . . . and track and field champions.

The Calumet Region, encompassing the southern shore of Lake Michigan, features ecological and ethnic diversity. Johnston represents the Hobart Brickies, whose nickname comes from the brickyards once manufactured here. The Region was a center of steelmaking, and that’s where Johnston’s grandfather comes in.

The 19-year-old is steeped in family lore, but Cody first picked up a pole because he wanted to be like Riley, his older brother. Riley and Cody are state champions, as were Cody’s grandfather, Uncle Robb and cousin Kyle.

Cody, a two-time national indoor champion, raised his outdoor best to a US#2 of 17 feet, 6 inches last week. He aims at the state meet record of 17-6.25 Friday at Bloomington.

“I’ve liked listening, hearing and watching it all growing up,” Cody said.  “Now it doesn’t really play a part in my jumping any more. It’s just kind of trying to be the best in the family.”

Before Cody, that was Grandpa.

Jim Johnston Sr., born in Gary, Ind., in 1934, started college at Idaho on a basketball scholarship. He returned to Hobart after his father had a heart attack to help support a family of seven children, working as a welder in the steel mills.

Johnston Sr. finished 14th in the 1956 Olympic decathlon trials at Crawfordsville, Ind. Team USA spots went to three of the biggest names in the sport’s history:  Rafer Johnson, Milt Campbell, Bob Richards. One of the athletic trainers there, Purdue’s Pinky Newell, asked Johnston Sr. where he competed in college.

“They got him to come back to college and go to Purdue,” said son Jim Johnston Jr., father of Cody.

In NCAA meets, Johnston Sr. tied for the title at 14-4 in 1958 and finished second at 14-10 in 1959. He was twice Big Ten champion. He went to the Olympic Trials again in 1960, this time in the vault, and was 10th at 14-4. Don Bragg, one of the last great vaulters to use an aluminum pole, set a world record of 15-9.25 and won gold in Rome.

Johnston Sr. went on to become a Hobart teacher and coach for 40 years. He died in 2020 at age 85. There is a shrine in his son’s backyard on Tenth Street with a photo of Johnston Sr. in a Purdue singlet, carrying a pole, with foot-high letters at the base spelling “HOBART.” His son vaulted for Purdue and also became a Big Ten champion.

Another feature of the backyard: a vault runway. It was built by Jim Jr., who coaches his sons. So there is nature and nurture involved. Beneath Cody’s loft bedroom is a climbing wall, and he can be out the door holding a pole within seconds.

But he can also train as Grandpa did, splitting and hauling logs in the backyard. Vaulting is a lifestyle.

Cody jumped at bars for the first time in summer after fifth grade, and he cleared 9 feet. The family traveled to street vault competitions in Midwest festivals, including the Indiana State Fair. Rather than ship poles, father and son last year drove to Eugene, Ore., for the USATF U20 Championships and slept in a Chevy Tahoe.

“It’s different from every other sport. It’s different from every other event in track,” Cody said. “Nobody really understands it. I feel it’s a very underrated sport. Everybody asks me: ‘Is it scary? How do you do this? How are you good at it?’ Blah, blah, blah. It’s different.”

Johnston, 6 feet and 152 pounds, was not always a vaulter. He played football and basketball, and he was winning triathlons at age 8.

“You name it,” his father said, “and he can do it athletically.”

Cody said he loves the team component of football, in which he was an all-conference wide receiver. He caught a long touchdown pass in Hobart’s 17-7 loss to No. 1-ranked Merrillville, and he caught five passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-25 win over Highland.

Football didn’t reciprocate the love. Johnston twice broke his collarbone, and last fall he broke his thumb.

Not that vaulting is risk-free. Two years ago, he shot straight up, landed in the box and injured his back and neck. He came away with a concussion.

“I got lucky,” he said.

There has been no luck involved during a consistent senior year. He has cleared 17 feet or higher in nine meets – five indoors, four outdoors – and capped by 17-6 at the Valparaiso Regional.

A crowd gathered along the runway and in the corner of the bleachers, erupting at Johnston’s clearance. He bounded out of the pit, ran down the track and waved his arms in exultation. It was entirely unexpected because of the 50ish temperatures and swirling winds.

“It was horrible. His thumbs were numb,” his father said.

The best part? Cody claimed the family record, previously held by his father at 17-4.50.

Cody is not following Riley, a 17-foot vaulter, to Indiana University, or his father to Purdue or uncle to Wisconsin. However, Cody is staying in the Big Ten as an Illinois signee. In doing so, he will transition to another tradition.

The Fighting Illini honor roll features six NCAA pole vault champions, including Richards and Don Laz, who won gold and silver at the 1952 Olympics, and Dean Starkey, who in 1997 became the first U.S. vaulter to medal at the World Championships.

Jim Johnston Jr. was a longtime coach at Merrillville, where his teams included David Neville, who won bronze in the 400 meters and gold in the 4x400 relay at the 2008 Olympics. Northwest Indiana boasts 49 state track team championships -- led by Gary Roosevelt’s 20 – but only one since 1991.

Even if Cody Johnston cannot carry a team, he can carry a pole. And he is raising the Region’s bar.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.