DUNCAN — Casy Rowell is no stranger to state championship medals. The two-time state title wrestler has become accustomed to having the number ‘1’ below his feet on the podium. Just never in track.

That all changed at this season’s Class 5A state track meet, where Rowell won the pole vault with a personal-record 14-6 height, adding his third gold medal as a Duncan High School student athlete. Rowell credits a stronger work ethic and dedication to the sport for getting better.

“I felt a lot more confident this year because I worked harder,” Rowell said. “Last year, I really don't feel like I deserved it.”

The win helped erase memories of last season’s disappointing third-place finish at state.

“I came into last season's state meet ranked No. 1 and had my pole snap in four places.”

Having a pole break in the middle of a jump can result in injury, and can hang on the memory next time around, but not for Rowell.

“A lot of people asked me if I thought about this year because it hurt really bad when it happened, but I didn’t let that thought affect me,” he said. “If it was going to happen, it was going to happen. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

The thoughts of last season didn’t rattle him, but the expected state championship jitters did.

“I was more nervous than I was at wrestling state,” he said. “I remember going down the run way and not being able to feel my legs because I was so nervous. It was only me and the Shawnee kid (Cameron Kessler), and we just went back-and-forth, touché, touché. Somebody had to miss, and it was him.”

Extra pole runs and weight lifting sessions kicked into high gear for Rowell once the state meet started to creep up.

“At first, I didn’t think much about it (the expectation of winning state),” he said. “I just got out of wrestling and was wanting to chill, but then I realized I have a chance to win this. So I started to pick it up a couple of weeks before regionals. It hit that if I really worked at it, I could win state.”

Rowell’s state title was one of four individual golds for DHS, as Dustin Mettler won the other three. The personal success for Mettler and Rowell reflected the team’s achievements this year.

Duncan took third at state and won a regional title to go along with their Southern Oklahoma Invitational win.

“I was happy for (Todd) Ledford mainly,” Rowell said. “He was making a lot of changes and he helped us get a lot of new stuff. He knew we had potential. It was awesome to be a part of.

“Last season, we would have people come out and get tired of it and end up quitting because school is letting out. This year, everyone was motivated.”

Rowell, who started vaulting in seventh grade, said that his biggest improvement came in his speed.

“I got a lot faster from last year to this year,” he said. “I used to run with my feet real low to the ground, but I learned to keep my knees up and that helped me get faster, which in turn helped me go higher.”

Rowell initially got his training from former DHS pole vaulter Jimmy Dial before Stan Reyes joined the DHS staff as a volunteer.

“I give most of my credit to him (Dial) and Stan,” Rowell said. “Stan was here every day, it was amazing because he was he didn’t get paid to be out here. They deserve a lot of credit.”

With one more year at DHS, Rowell believes he can go at least a foot higher.

“If I work like I did this year, I will keep getting better,” he said. “I think I can hit 16 feet by state next season.”