LAKEWOOD — Thompson Valley senior Becker Ell took his final pole vault practice steps staring down a record height. He closed his eyes. Then asked a fallen classmate for an extra push.
Ell is convinced that Ethan Fisher — a Thompson Valley student who lost a yearslong cancer battle — answered his high-flying prayer on Thursday afternoon inside Jeffco Stadium.
“He obviously kind of helped me,” said Ell, in tears after clearing 16 feet, and breaking the previous Class 4A state meet record by four inches. “I was really close to him. This was kind of for him.”
In 2017, Fisher was a freshman on the school’s basketball and golf teams when he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer). He underwent surgery and received chemotherapy treatments almost weekly for six months. Fisher was declared cancer-free in 2019, however, the disease later returned. He died on July 13 less than one month before his 18th birthday.
Ell leaned on the Thompson Valley athletics community for support after losing his friend. He said that “all of these guys are pretty much family. Coaches and teammates just helping you through every practice.” Ell went on to eclipse 15 feet, 7 inches at regionals this year with even higher goals to finish his senior season.
“There are nerves at the state meet, your last year, it’s always kind of iffy,” Ell said. “I just went out there and wanted to have some fun.”
Thompson Valley’s pole vaulting coach Kevin Ell, Becker’s father, said that his son overcame back issues for a career-best performance. You certainly couldn’t tell by the final standings. The second-place 4A finisher, Kyle Varra (Centaurus), cleared the bar at a respectable 13-9 — more than 2 feet below Ell’s championship mark.
“The main goal was to make the opening height because that’s the hardest,” Kevin Ell said. “After that it was like, OK, let’s see what we can do. It went awesome. That’s what our goal was the whole season, so it worked out pretty dang good. I can’t complain.”
Becker Ell will compete for Colorado Mesa’s track and field team next year. But he took a moment on Thursday to honor Fisher and bask in state title glory.
“It just feels unreal,” Ell said. “I’m so stoked.”
