Never let it be said good decisions aren’t made at the 11th hour.
You certainly won’t hear Liam Vinskovich proclaim as much.
In fact, two decisions he made back in the spring of 2021 find the incoming college junior ready to embark on his first Division I track and field season. Not too bad for someone who wasn’t sure he even wanted to do it just three seasons ago.
Vinskovich waited until the last minute to decide to go out for track his senior year at Union Local. Displaying excellent jumping ability during his basketball career, the coaching staff naturally pointed his lean 6-foot-6 frame toward the high jump pit.
The end result? A seventh-place finish at the state meet.
Time to focus on choosing a college. Life beckoned. But wait. Opportunity again came calling at the last minute. This time, it was the coaching staff for West Liberty’s track team that provided that opportunity.
Care to compete in college? Vinskovich again said yes.
“If I’m being totally honest, I never envisioned myself competing at any level beyond high school,” Vinskovich said, looking back. “I was super excited when West Liberty reached out and made it possible for me to compete at the collegiate level.”
But he didn’t just compete. He excelled.
His freshman year he finished third and fifth, respectively, during the indoor and outdoor MEC championship meets. Last season, he won the indoor championship before coming in a disappointing third at the MEC outdoor meet. Third place is nothing to scoff at, but given Vinskovich failed to clear a height below his previous PR, he knew he could have done more.
Which is just what he did a few meets later at the WVU Last Chance Meet.
Facing no pressure aside from what he put on himself, Vinskovich won the meet with a PR of 2.12 meters. For those not versed on metric heights, that’s a high jump of 6-11½.
That provisional mark qualified Vinskovich for the Division II national meet.
More importantly, it opened some doors for the then-sophomore.
“Competing at nationals was always a goal of mine, but it wasn’t one I had coming into this season,” Vinskovich admitted.
New Opportunity Awaits
Qualifying for the national meet opened some doors for Vinskovich. He started receiving attention above the Division II level.
Naturally, he explored it. Found a potential new home he liked and talked things over with his family.
The result saw Vinskovich hit the transfer portal and quickly decide to head to KSU.
“At the end of the year I talked to my family and we came to the conclusion that it was the best move for me,” Vinskovich said. “I decided that I wanted to be a part of a culture that I have found at Kent State.”
Vinskovich’s collegiate journey is becoming all about change.
New school and a new major, though that change came a year earlier. His educational path started with classes focusing on pre-dentistry but now he’s focusing on computer information systems.
“I wasn’t enjoying my pre-dental classes, which were primarily chemistry and biology, so I decided to switch to computer information systems,” Vinskovich said. “Computers have been something that comes to me pretty naturally my whole life, so I thought it was the best move.”
The high jump, apparently, also comes naturally, though Vinskovich admits his technique required lots of refining. It’s still a work in progress and he credits the staff and his teammates at WLU for helping him get to this point.
“My coaches at West Liberty helped me make changes in my technique along with my teammates playing a big role in any improvements that I saw,” he said. “I hope that my teammates are able to say the same thing about me.”
There will be plenty of new teammates in the jump room at KSU for Vinskovich.
The Golden Flashes had three high jumpers placed in the Top 10 at the MAC Outdoor Championships last spring—all three of which were freshmen.
“I am looking forward to being challenged every day at practice by the returning jumpers,” Vinskovich said. “And to compete against the best athletes in the MAC.”
Potential For More
Vinskovich believes clearing 7 feet eventually is a possibility. His technique can still be refined and he’s eager to see what the KSU coaching staff can teach him.
He certainly has the talent to compete at this level.
While Vinskovich is a ways off from consistently clearing 6-11 and above, his PR jump would have actually won the MAC Championships last spring. So the potential is there.
“I believe that I can clear higher heights with more practice and strength training,” Vinskovich said. “I am excited to see what I will be able to achieve with the coaching staff at Kent State guiding me.”
He knows that every jumper is different and what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for the other.
Vinskovich admits that his most important factor for each jump initially was his biggest problem.
“I’d say the most important part of the high jump is being able to recognize the problems in your jump and work to fix them,” he admitted. “And the biggest factor for me was my approach because it was also my biggest problem.”
Now it’s time to see what the junior can do on an even bigger stage.
