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By Jed Nelson

Brede Nelsen has broken not one, but two of his own pole-vaulting records with the GMLOKS track and field team. Nelsen, a junior at Southland, has developed into an athlete that is “fun to watch,” according to coach TJ McBryde.

“His freshman year he was vaulting pretty well,” McBryde said. “His first three meets he was vaulting either seven, eight, nine or eight, nine, 10 feet – he was PR’ing by a foot every meet.”

To McBryde and the rest of the coaching staff, that was a good indication that he was going to be successful.

“To be standing there and see the 11-6 and the 12 foot, it was just really cool,” McBryde added.

In 2024, Nelsen set a program record of an 11-foot pole vault. Earlier this month, Nelsen broke that record, jumping 11-6. Then in the same week broke that record by vaulting 12 feet.

“I was really excited,” Nelsen said. “There was a lot going on and I didn’t think I was going to quite get there. And then breaking it a second time was a total shock.”

“I was pumped up,” McBryde said. “I sometimes get reactive on the side watching them vault – I was jumping up and down.”

Nelsen broke both the 11’6” and 12-foot marks on his first attempt. McBryde stated how uncommon it is for vaulters to clear a new PR on their first attempt.

“I was kind of shocked, but overall, very excited,” McBryde added.

As a younger member of the GMLOKS track team, it was seeing his teammates pole vault that got him interested in doing it himself.

“Avery Stroup pole vaulted her seventh and eighth grade year,” Nelsen said. “I always thought it was interesting, so I decided to try it out.”

Now a junior, coaches and teammates look to Nelsen as one of the leaders on the team.

“His teammates see him vault every day and see him do well” McBryde said. “They know he’s good.”

McBryde added that when Nelsen speaks to his teammates and offers advice, they listen. “The proof is in that he’s clearing bars,” McBryde added.

“I’m just trying to help my teammates out by doing what Coach says so they can see what he’s saying is helpful” Nelsen said.

With track and field being an outdoor spring sport in Minnesota, battling the conditions causes athletes and coaches to build a mindset that allows them to compete and persevere through it.

“Going into the season my mindset was to improve,” Nelsen said. “I wanted to work on my mechanics and form and to hopefully see my height go up.”

Nelsen added that the help of his coaches and teammates is the reason for the success he’s been having.

“They’ve helped me a lot. Especially making sure my form is good and moving up the pole just to make sure I can get that extra height,” Nelsen said.

With sections just around the corner, Nelsen and the GMLOKS team are looking to further their season.

“It will be important that I find and work on little kinks in my form,” Nelsen said.

“Getting some good quality reps is very important moving forward,” McBryde added. “We don’t want him to do 12 run-throughs in one practice. But we want him to be prepared, so finding that fine line is the goal. We just have to take it day by day, meet by meet.”

Boys track and field Sub-Sections begin on May 21, with Sections running from May 27-29, and Minnesota State High School League Track and Field Meet taking place on June 10-11.