On Thursday, May 19, 2016, Quakertown senior Ron Cubbage was recognized for committing to continue his track and field career at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. To view photos of the event, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Ron Cubbage – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (Track & Field)
Major: Landscape Architecture
Final list of colleges: North Carolina A&T, Colorado State, Mississippi State, University of Georgia
Reasons for choosing North Carolina A&T: “I was honored enough to receive a full ride scholarship, and additionally, the college didn’t have a pole vaulter on the roster. After visiting, I loved the friendly campus atmosphere, and it looked as if I would be able to be academically challenged, pole vault, and sing.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in track and field at the collegiate level? “I have wanted to pole vault in college since sophomore year, and because I applied out of state, the colleges I was accepted to weren’t recruiting me. Instead, I was checking rosters and emailing coaches about pole vaulting.”
Coach Sean Stetler says: “Ron Jon Cubbage is by far the most relentlessly optimistic and cheerful athlete I have ever coached. Showing up every day for four years all winter and all spring with a smile on his face, and even more so it shows through in his pretty epic post-vaulting celebrations. He does some sort of little jig or he sings some song with his angelic voice after he has a big vault. He’s very entertaining to watch.
“Pole vault is an intense event. He takes a 10-15 foot fiberglass pole, holds it in his hands and sprints as fast as he can, jams it into a box, inverts himself and launches 13 feet in the air and hope that he lands on the mat, which he normally does. To be a good vaulter, you have to be fearless, and that definitely defines Ron Jon. He’s pretty fearless when it comes to pole vault.
“Something I’m even more impressed with than his fearlessness is his ability to be a real student of the sport. It’s not something you can pick up in just a season or one whole year. It takes four years of hard work and really understanding the technique to be excellent at it, and he is the best. Even more impressive than his technique is his ability to coach it to others. You can be a really great athlete when you can transcend the individual role and become a coach. He comes in later in the competition, and for the first hour, he’s always helping the more developmental athletes reaching their heights and reaching their full potential, both on his team and the competition, which is really impressive. It’s probably something he gets from his coach, John Farrell. He’s the reason Ron Jon is a great vaulter. We’re going to miss him next year.”
About Ron:
Favorite food: Chinese Food
Favorite movie: Iron Man
Favorite music: No preference.
- Log in to post comments
