Alex Lomax likes to pole vault because he likes the thrill of going higher and higher into the air, then looking down.

    While he's up there, he's also looking down on the competition.

    Lomax, Maiden's 14-year-old vaulting sensation, finished runner-up at Friday's 2A state track and field championships with a vault of 13 feet — a personal best and a school record. The placement was also the highest finish someone from Maiden has earned in recent memory. "Once you get more advanced into the sport, you get higher and higher," Lomax said. "It's cool looking down and being so high."

    He credits his work ethic and having good coaches — one of those coaches is his father — for his success at such an early age. Alex began pole vaulting when he was 8. His father pole vaulted collegiately at Pembroke State, now UNC-Pembroke. Alex's older sister, Ana, was a standout at Maiden, and holds several county and conference records, and after watching his older sister excel, Alex decided it was something he wanted to be good at, too.

    The pole was originally placed in Alex's hand by his father. But once Alex gave it a shot, he was hooked. "We're kind of a family of vaulters," his father said.

    Not only does Alex excel on the track, he's also a pretty good baseball player and plays football and wrestles as well. Alex hit .450 for the junior varsity team this year, and will play junior legion baseball this summer. Being able to balance time with two sports that compete at the same time can be difficult, but Alex has it figured out. "Mostly I practice baseball during the week and pole vault on the weekends," he said.

    All that practice was to hit a mark Alex had not yet hit — 13 feet. Alex said he had been vaulting to 12 feet, 6 inches for as long as he can remember, but he couldn't hit the 13-foot mark. But a few weeks ago, a coach and good friend, coach Eric Morell of the Vaulthouse pole vault camps, noticed something Alex needed to do at the top of his jump. Alex took his friend's advice, and hit his goal for the first time in his career during the state championships. "It felt great," Alex said.

    For a pole vaulter, according to Alex and his father, it's all about coaching and technique. To be a good vaulter, you have to have someone watching you, picking apart your every move, in order to improve. Alex, with the help of his father, has been able to surround himself with these type of people, to try to make his dream of competing at the Olympics a reality.

    At the 2A West regionals, Alex placed third. On Friday, the two guys who placed in front of him at regionals finished behind him at the state championships. The one who won it was a senior, Josey Weaver, of Madison. He cleared the bar at 13 feet, 6 inches. "I was cheering him on the whole way," Alex said.

    Just a freshman, Alex has a lot left to learn, and he also has a lot of growing left — height-wise — to do, which will help him in the long run. Three years from now, Alex may be setting state records, and reach the 18-foot Olympic qualifier minimum. "That's my goal," he said.

    The 5-foot-9, 14-year-old freshman who's great with a piece of sporting equipment that's more than twice his length, is actually afraid of heights. But as long as the heights he's reaching are sending him to the top, there's no fear to be shown. "It's fun getting off the ground," Alex said.

    And it's fun beating the older competition while doing it.