Carrying On After Death Heals Spirits

BURBANK — For Hart High’s pole vaulters, a return to competition brought small, emotional victories.

Nader Adawiya finished fourth but cleared 11 feet, a personal best.

Mark Whalen vaulted only nine feet, then competed in the high jump and finished third with a personal best of six feet.

“I’m getting great lift,” he said excitedly. “I’ve never jumped so well.”

Hart lost to Burroughs, 84-52, in a crucial Foothill League boys’ track and field meet at Burroughs on Thursday, but the small victories were important, coming only two days after junior pole vaulter Heath Taylor died in practice.

On a routine vault, the 17-year-old junior came down near the edge of the landing mat and slid off, striking the back of his head on asphalt. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office said he died from severe head trauma to the left rear portion of his skull and ruled the death an accident.

The California Interscholastic Federation is investigating the incident.

In the meantime, Hart athletes approached the coaches and insisted that Thursday’s meet proceed as scheduled.

“We told the kids to go out and compete and do their best,” said Robert Gapper, a Hart assistant principal. “We felt it was good for them to start getting back to a routine. This is part of the healing process.”

There was no pretending this was a normal meet as television crews and newspaper reporters descended on the stadium. Hart coaches and athletes declined to comment on Taylor’s death.

Before the meet, the team gathered in clusters on the infield, members drawing small memorials on each other. Some wrote a simple “HT.” Others sketched hearts on their arms or spelled the words, “In Memory of HT” across their chests.

One vaulter put on Taylor’s jersey and had everyone sign it. Then the members bowed their heads for a moment of silence. There were tears and hugs.

“The grief that these young people are experiencing is traumatic,” said Brian Hurst, a Burroughs assistant principal who watched from the press box.

Burroughs pole vault coach Mike McHorney didn’t know how to comfort the visiting team.

“What do you say to somebody?” McHorney asked. “It’s hard to walk up to them.”

Burroughs athletes decided to show their support by wearing red ribbons on their jerseys.

“We had a meeting on Wednesday and they told us what happened,” said Amber Moore, a 15-year-old sprinter. “We were shocked. So we all wore little ribbons in remembrance.”

Most of the Hart vaulters had been using the same pole all season, the same one that Taylor used for his fatal practice attempt. But CIF investigators had confiscated that pole, a meet official said. So the Hart vaulters had to borrow from the home team and it showed as Matthew Restler failed to clear a height.

Burroughs’ Geoff Burton, who won at 12-6, did his best to concentrate.

“It’s a bad thing that happened, but I’m not going to let it stop my life,” Burton said. “[Pole vaulting] is kind of dangerous. I mean, anything can be dangerous.”

As the day wore on, the meet grew more boisterous, the athletes yelling encouragement to each other more often, more loudly.

As chance would have it, the last event was the junior varsity pole vault. A normally unnoticed event, it drew dozens of spectators as members from both teams stood close to console each miss and cheer each successful attempt.

“They’re back,” Gapper said, smiling. “They’re competing.”