Jerry Randolph Hughes  (2017)

Wilmot High School and UA, Fayetteville

Wilmot High School:

• Self-taught pole vaulter using a bamboo pole and sawdust pit
• Won state pole vault in 1956 at 11'8 3/4"
• Won state high jump, broad jump, and pole vault in 1957
• Set state pole vault record of 11'11" in 1957 as a junior
• Won the Meet of Champions pole vault, setting the first record of 12' in 1958

University of Arkansas:

• Set the UA pole vault record in 1959 as a freshman with a vault of 13'4"
• Set a new pole vault record of 14' in 1960
• Held the UA pole vault record until 1965

Post-Collegiate:

• Continued to vault after college and became the first Arkansan to clear 15'
• Vaulted in the 1967 Pan-Am games in Winnipeg, Canada, finishing 4th
• Became an airline pilot and was killed in a crash while spraying crops in 1972