KALAMAZOO, MI - As a freshman, Zach Skinner's only goal was to carve his own path as a Kalamazoo Loy Norrix athlete.
Four years later, the senior's unexpected route has ensured a legacy in the Knights' track program.
Skinner broke his own school record during Friday's Division 1 regional meet at Lansing Waverly by clearing 15 feet on the pole vault, eclipsing his previous-best of 14-6 from May 9, which topped the 23-year-old Loy Norrix mark of 14-4 mark set by James Ford in 1995.
"It was time for someone to break it," said Jim Ford, the father of the previous record holder and Skinner's current pole vault coach at Loy Norrix. "I was really pleased for him.
"He's a good kid, and he's worked hard, so he deserves this."
When he first stepped out on the track, Skinner brought an open mind to any of sport's 17 events, except pole vault.
He watched his older brother, Jeff, compete in the event for four years until his graduation in 2014, and after walking in his brother's footsteps as a freshman member of the cross country team and diver on the swim team, Zach wanted to create his own path.
"When you're young you don't want to be just like your brother and feel like you're in his shadow," Skinner said. "I dove and he dove and we both did cross country, so at first, I didn't want to pole vault like he did."
Skinner tried the 800-meter run, the 3,200-meter relay, the 110-meter hurdles and the long jump in his first year, but when his sophomore track season came around, the young athlete had a change of heart.
"Sophomore year, there were a few more guys out running, and a few weeks into the season, I decide to go out there and try the pole vault," Skinner said. "I was the No. 3 guy on our team and went 11-3 that year."
His personal best shot up to 13 feet early in his junior year, causing his eyes to drift toward the 14-4 mark on the school's record board, but as a three-sport athlete, Skinner's offseason training time was limited by his cross country and swimming schedules.
Skinner's 13-foot vault at the 2017 regional meet qualified for first trip to the Division 1 state finals, but he couldn't climb any higher on the big stage and finished his junior campaign stuck at the same mark for the season's final six weeks.
Unwilling to accept 13 feet as his plateau, Skinner started traveling to Fort Wayne, Ind., during the summer after his junior year to train at Vault High Athletics with coach Paul Babits.
"This year, he's been one of the more stabilizing factors that we can count on," Loy Norrix coach Ted Duckett said. "He's worked very hard and has a tremendous amount of confidence.
"He does a lot of extra work to get ready for meets, and that's a big plus."
The progress he made in Fort Wayne convinced Babits to offer Skinner a spot on his Indiana Tech track and field team, which is currently the No. 1 team in the NAIA rankings.
In the second meet of his senior year, Skinner vaulted 14-0, and three weeks later he set the school record at 14-6, which also qualified him for the Midwest Meet of Champions.
"The school record is something to be proud of, but hopefully someone will come along and break it one of these days, and hopefully I'll be there to see it," Skinner said. "It's a stepping stone for me because I want to keep doing this."
His rapid rise and subsequent offer from Indiana Tech prove Skinner has plenty of potential in the sport, and on June 15, he'll have a chance to compete against the country's top pole vaulters in the New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet, which only accepts vaulters who have cleared 15 feet in competition.
Skinner currently holds the third-best vault in Division 1, with East Kentwood's Trevor Stephenson (16-0) and Saline's Eric Harris (15-9) occupying the top-two spots.
It's not unreasonable for Skinner to capture Loy Norrix's first pole vault state championship on Saturday, June 2 at East Kentwood, and vault coach Brad Schmidt thinks the even-keeled senior has the mindset to get it done.
"I think there's no doubt he thinks first place is possible at the state meet," Schmidt said. "Anything can happen with the pole vault, and he knows that. He's prepared himself to PR, but also to not get flustered if things go wrong."