Prep track: Anderson went sky-high

Joseph Sbuttoni, who just

graduated from St. Augustine,

warms up in the pole vault

at the All-Comers Meet

Wed., July 16, at CCA.

He vaulted 15'0".

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Kai Anderson, the 16-foot-plus pole vaulter, was an exciting story and personage to cover over the past year and a half.

The likeable mini-tank, a former gymnast (eight years) who could run down the approach and launch himself to dangerous heights, winning the 2024 CIF state title in the boys' pole vault, steadily inched his way up the charts.

The UCHS graduate, May 2025, who I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with during a workout a year ago--his coach, Mike Hogan, who goes by "Hogan" with the kids, supplying the context--approached the recent state competition as one of the returning favorites.

The reason I bring this up now is that Joseph Sbuttoni IV, a recent St. Augustine grad, and I chatted at the USATF All-Comers Meet July 16. "Sbutt" described the San Diego Section finals and the state meet to me:

Joseph placed sixth at Mt. Carmel High in the San Diego finals May 24, vaulting 15'2". Anderson, above him, finished second though he and junior Dylan Yarbrough of San Dieguito Academy both went 16'2". The placement was decided on number of attempts.

Then, a week later, at boiling Buchanan High School in Clovis, Sbuttoni rose to sixth among state finishers--quite an accomplishment--at 16-feet even.

Anderson, who is strong but also quick--his coach, "Hogan", said the remarkable thing about him is that he is comfortable "being upside down" as he pushes off the pole toward the bar--fell to a tie for ninth place, vaulting 15'8". Not too shabby for the conditions of extreme heat, the same for all competitors.

Out of nowhere (to a non-track person like myself), Khaliq Muhammad of Pittsburg (Bay Area, next to  Walnut Creek--I used to jog near there with my ex-brother-in-law) launched to 17'10.5" to win the event. "He's a really nice guys," allowed Sbuttoni, whose gracious manner speaks well for himself.

Muhammad's margin of victory was over a foot and a half from the second, third, fourth, and fifth-place finishers' mark of 16'4". Remarkable.

Khaliq placed third in the USATF U-20 Nationals June 19 with a vault of 17'5".

Earlier, before his victory in the CIF state meet, he won the North Coast Section title with 17'1".

"Sbu" informed me that he is going to enroll at CSU San Marcos. Kyle Brown, a track coach who attended La Costa Canyon, told me at the All-Comers Meet that Anderson, my lead-in to this whole journey, is going to vault for Cal as a student-athlete in the fall.

Joseph won the Eastern League finals in the vault May 8 at 15'9".