Fans of Mountain State high school track have been fortunate of late.
There have been standout distance runners like University High's Millie Paladino, now at WVU, and Cabell Midland's Jacob Burcham, now at Oklahoma.
This year's star, however, isn't on the track. He's soaring above it.
His name is Tristan Slater of Capital High. If you don't know the name yet, well, you're not a track junkie.
Slater won the state pole vault competition as a freshman. And as a sophomore. And as a junior.
Was he highly recruited?
"From which country?" laughed Cougars coach Willie Ruffin. "I'm serious. Canada? United States? You name it. He got offers from everywhere."
Slater decided on Tennessee and these days he's honing his craft for Southeastern Conference, national and, eventually he hopes, international competition.
On Friday he took first place in the Class AAA boys pole vault, clearing 14 feet at the 81st Gazette-Mail/Friends of Coal Relays at University of Charleston Stadium.
Now it's on to the last possible goals: winning a fourth state championship in the pole vault and, perhaps more importantly, setting the record in the upcoming state meet. Through all of Slater's accomplishments, he still hasn't surpassed the 17-foot mark in the state meet set in 1995 by Casey Freed of Parkersburg.
"That's definitely a record I'm looking forward to breaking," Slater said. "If not, though, it's just on to the next step. I try to leave it in the back of my head."
So far, it's been quite the ride for the Cougar. One he sought.
"Tristan came to me in middle school and asked to borrow some poles," Ruffin remembered. "That's very rare, but we try to take care of our kids."
"By the time I was in the eighth grade, I was at 11 feet," said Slater. "I thought, 'This is going well.' I told my family I wanted to be the best. My mom said, 'OK, we'll find you a coach.' "
They found Tim Mack, who won a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics for the United States.
"If it wasn't for him," Slater said, "I wouldn't be where I'm at."
Where he's at is very high within his age group. Slater won the AAU Junior Olympics at Eastern Michigan University when he was a rising sophomore, clearing 15 feet, 6 inches. More recently, he placed fourth for Team Canada in the Pan American Junior Championships in Edmonton, Alberta.
Slater was born in North Bay, Ontario, Canada.
"Ultimately, my goal is the Olympics in 2020," said the vaulter. "I'm making sure I'm right. I'm training. I'm staying healthy. And I'm not doing anything dumb like dirt bike racing."
Yes, he used to enjoy a dirt bike. But give Slater credit for being smart. As in very. He's been a National Honor Society student at Capital with a 3.8 grade-point average. He wants to study biomechanics at Tennessee and go into human and health sciences or social work.
But back to his sport. Undoubtedly part of the reason he chose UT was to be close to Mack. There is a problem, though.
"I can't train with him except when school is not in session," Slater said. "It's against NCAA rules."
If you missed Slater on Friday, by the way, you can catch him at UC Stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday in the long jump. He was also running in a relay or two.
"In the GW Classic, he went 21 feet in the long jump," Ruffin said. "Usually I hold him back until this time of year like a race horse. You can't hide him this year, though. Everyone is watching."
"I have no idea why he does that," Slater laughed. "But he's the coach."
"He still has a long way to go as a sprinter," Ruffin countered with a chuckle. "I think he should stick to pole vaulting."
He will. On Friday, he put on a show. Before, he jumped higher than anyone else in state history at 17 feet, 1 inch. The exclamation point would be a state meet record.
"That's what he wants," said Slater's stepfather, Greg Bailey. "He has the state record for highest jump, but [the state meet record] is what everyone else is enamored with. He just wants to fly high."
Soaring above the track.