Track stars and engineering students Mathis Bresko and Lexi Evans are setting pole vault records on the track and earning accolades in the classroom, as they prove the sky is not the limit.
Bresko, a fourth-year student, is Cal Poly’s defending conference champion in the men’s pole vault, currently ranking No. 13 in the West Region, while Evans, a freshman, is having a stellar first season in the women’s pole vault, moving to No. 5 on Cal Poly’s all-time list.
Both are aerospace engineering majors, with a fascination for flying.
“There are many ties between aerospace engineering and pole vaulting,” Bresko said between practice vaults on Cal Poly’s track. “Learning the physics aspect helped me think about pole vaulting and energy conservation, because the goal is to add as much energy as possible into the vault without losing any by perfecting the technique.”
Evans noted the complexity and problem-solving aspect of vaulting appeals to her engineering mind: “There are all these little aspects you can change in jumping.”
Bresko and Evans are aiming high as they post personal bests and work toward careers in the aerospace industry, with one setting his sights on the 2024 Olympics.
Mathis Bresko
Bresko spent his childhood between the United States and France, his mom’s native country.
The bilingual, dual citizen attended schools in Nantes, France, and Bellevue, Washington, where he competed on the cross-country and track teams at Interlake High School.
The mileage took a toll, Bresko said, so he tried pole vaulting his junior year per a friend’s suggestion.
“I was a daredevil, cliff jumping and mountain biking, and pole vaulting was one of those extreme things,” he said. “You fling yourself in the air and hope you land on the pad.”
He jumped 13 feet as a junior, joined the elite Northwest Pole Vault Club in Seattle and found himself on Cal Poly track coach Brad Pickett’s radar.
“I watched as he picked up the sport and showed good technique,” said Pickett, who specializes in pole vault and high jump. “I knew he would continue to develop his senior year, and I knew I wanted him to come to Cal Poly.”
Bresko made giant strides, as Pickett predicted, jumping over 15 feet to place second at the 2019 WIAA 3A State Pole Vault Championship and rank No. 4 across all divisions in the state.
“What if I could compete in college?” Bresko asked himself. “I never thought it was possible. Most people start in early high school and have a family connection to the sport, but no one I know has ever vaulted.”
When Pickett invited him to vault for Cal Poly, Bresko got his chance.
Bresko declared aerospace engineering as his major, which he hopes to use as a test pilot or aircraft structural engineer, and launched into his first track season, which was promptly canceled due to COVID.
He continued to work on his skills, however, and jumped over 16 feet in 2021 to place third at the Big West Conference Championships. In 2022, Bresko won the conference title and finished one place short of qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Competing as a Division I athlete while studying engineering has proved challenging, but Bresko said he’s learning from both his successes and failures on and off the track.
“You’re bound to fail, but you have to take account for what happened, correct what went wrong and do your best the next time,” said Bresko who readily shared advice and encouragement with his teammates at a recent practice.
This season, the defending conference champion posted another personal best (17-7.25) at the recent Beach Invitational and currently ranks No. 13 in the West Region.
He will graduate this spring with another year of eligibility and goal of jumping over 18 feet, which could give him a shot at his Olympic dream of competing on the French team.
“If I can jump high enough, to join the French team, I could compete in 2024,” he said. “It would be a double whammy for me because the Games will be held in Paris.”
Lexi Evans
Evans is already making her mark her first season at Cal Poly, clearing over 13 feet at the recent Conover Classic and moving up on the program’s all-time list.
Like Bresko, Evans ran cross-country, then track her freshman year at Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego but switched to pole vaulting at the urging of a friend.
“I was surprised by the complexity, and I found myself enjoying something that seemed so weird – jumping with a giant stick,” she said. “At first, it was a lot of trial and error and trying to feel comfortable knowing it’s a dangerous sport, but then I started having fun.”
When COVID canceled her sophomore season, she started training with the North County Pole Vault Club, later competing in the club’s twice-weekly mini meets.
“My mindset was, ‘Let’s see how much we can do. Give it everything you’ve got, but have fun,’” she said.
Evans improved each meet and by her senior year, she jumped 14 feet, earning her first place at the CIF San Diego Section Division 2 Championships. The mark was tied for best in the state and seventh in the nation for 2022.
She wanted to keep jumping, so she looked for colleges with both pole vaulting and engineering and narrowed her list to UC Berkeley and Cal Poly.
A visit to Cal Poly, where she met the team, watched practice and visited SLO Farmers Market – chauffeured by Bresko – sealed the deal.
From childhood, Evans had a penchant for math and science and loved building with Legos and wooden building kits, so she knew engineering would be her path. The lure of planes and rockets drew her to aerospace.
“I’m deciding between aircraft and spacecraft,” she said. “I really like planes and flying, but rockets are super cool.”
Pickett saw Evans’ potential in high school and expects here to vie for a conference championship in her first season with the team. She is currently ranked second in the West Region.
The pole vaulters in the program – ranked No. 16 in the country – are a tight bunch, Evans said, bonded by traveling together in their own van, since they must transport several poles, and sharing the same passion for a dangerous and sophisticated sport.
“Every person is supportive of one another, both on good days and bad, which is a support system not everyone has,” she said.
Evans will graduate in 2026 and is open to continue jumping if the opportunity arises.
“I am sure Lexi will be very successful in whatever she chooses to do,” said Kris Hamann, an Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering lecturer who taught Evans’ favorite class, IME 144. “She represents Cal Poly well as a student and will as an alumna too.”
By Emily Slater
