PREP SPORTS:

Vaulting over the competition

BC senior has habit of stepping up in crucial moments

Richard Brian

Three-sport star athlete Alex Dillon hopes to help Boulder City capture another track and field state championship.

Thursday, April 30, 2009 | midnight

Boulder City High track athlete Alex Dillon, who specializes in the pole vault, also played football and basketball for the Eagles.

High school sports section

Alex Dillon stole the ball at mid-court during a home game basketball against the Southeast Career and Technical Academy this winter.

The Boulder City High senior immediately darted toward the basket and noticed he was in the clear for an uncontested basket.

It turned out to be a basket Dillon will remember forever.

The 6-foot-1 forward soared toward the rim and dunked — the first and only dunk of his career.

“It was fantastic. I was so excited,” Dillon said. “I remember jumping and seeing the rim. I thought, ‘I am going to dunk.’”

Dillon is using his leaping ability to be one of the top performers on the Boulder City High track team this spring.

He specializes in the pole vault, an event he placed second in at state last spring to help the Eagles win the championship, and also scores points in the high jump and triple jump. In most meets, Dillon scores roughly 20 percent of Boulder City’s points.

Dillon had a similar impact on the football team in the fall and the state championship-winning basketball team in the winter.

“He’s an athlete,” Boulder City track coach Joe Ringen said. “He can do a lot of things out there.”

Dillon picked up where he left off last spring in track, regularly posting vaults of more than 12 feet. He vaulted 13 feet, 6 inches April 21 to beat rival Colton Jensen (13 feet) of Virgin Valley during a league meet.

Jensen beat Dillon at state last year and they are on course to square off again for the title. Dillon knows besting Jensen will help Boulder City with its ultimate goal — defending the state title.

“The big thing for me is helping out my team,” Dillon said. “When you know something is on the line, you have to push to get it.”

Dillon takes helping his team the another level.

During the football season, he volunteered to play on the line despite only weighing 170 pounds.

“I didn’t care how big the people were I was going up against,” Dillon said. “We needed linemen, so I stepped up for my team.”

Dillon hopes to step up for his team one more time.

He regularly wins or places high in all three events — he was victorious in the high jump at Virgin Valley invite two weeks ago at 5-8 — and plans on continuing that trend in the league and state championship meets.

“It hasn’t been easy, but he is the type of athlete that understands you have to be persistent,” Ringen said.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@lasvegassun.com.