Andrew Nuyen couldn’t believe what he had just done.

His jaw had dropped. His arms and hands were raised toward a crowd of cheering fans. Standing at the base of the pole vault pit, the Rochelle senior collected himself after setting a new Class 2A record of 5.30 meters (17 feet 4 ½ inches) during the finals of the IHSA state boys track and field meet at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston on Saturday.

“I knew I had it in me,” Nuyen said. “With the amount of work I put in throughout the last four years, especially leading up to this season, I knew I had it in me the entire time. I just had to do it under the right circumstances and on the right poles and put everything together.”

Nuyen didn’t have much time to celebrate. In a head-to-head competition against Bloomington Central Catholic’s Isaiah Whitaker for the Class 2A state title, the Rochelle senior was back on the approach seeking another record. This time, Nuyen was attempting to clear 5.35 meters (17 feet 6 ½ inches), which would tie the state mark for all classes.

He delivered. In a nearly identical vault, Nuyen curled his body over the bar, just grazing its surface as he successfully landed back on the pit. It was also a nearly identical reaction, as Nuyen raised his hands and arms toward a crowd of cheering fans from the near bleachers.

“I didn’t celebrate as much after jumping 5.30 because I knew that I needed to conserve a little energy,” Nuyen said. “I used the adrenaline from jumping that bar to jump the next. I kind of blanked out a little on the runway. I just had to do what I needed to do and it happened.”

While Nuyen ultimately finished second to Whitaker (5.40 meters, 17 feet 8 ½ inches), a Kentucky recruit and a four-time state champion, he ended his high school career as a three-time medalist, a two-time runner-up and Rochelle’s all-time record holder. Nuyen, who trains at RISE Pole Vault in Joliet, will continue his career with South Florida.

“I couldn’t ask for more,” Nuyen said. “It was really special and even though I got second, I’d rather get second jumping 17 feet than get first jumping 15 feet. I was on a really big pole, gripping it pretty high and just running fast, jumping up into the takeoff and hitting it as hard as I could. Transferring that energy efficiently on a huge pole allowed me to get even more height out of it. ... It was really cool.”

A Creston native who owns a pole vault pit in his backyard, Nuyen has dominated the event throughout his high school career. He earned 10 meet victories as a junior, winning the Interstate 8 title and soaring to his second IHSA sectional title. He also surpassed 17 feet for the first time, doing it at the Hub Relays and the Northern Illinois Invite.

This season, Nuyen won all but two of his pole vault competitions and consistently cleared heights in the 16-to-17 foot range. He won the Ogle County title, defending his victory at the Northern Illinois Invite and brought home his third sectional title. He also overcame a bout of mononucleosis that slowed him down for two months in the winter.

“I lost about 35 pounds,” Nuyen said. “It was the worst time of my life. I came into the season knowing I would have to improve my run, be more efficient with that and do as much as I could in the weight room. I ate a lot of food during that time to rebuild the strength that I lost and it panned out. It was a blessing in disguise, I believe.”

Nuyen has come a long way since his freshman year. His indoor best was just 2.30 meters (7 feet 6 ½ inches) and while that number rose to 2.74 meters (8 feet 11 ¾ inches) outside, Nuyen was still several feet from even reaching the state-qualifying standard. By investing in himself, Nuyen became an example for future Hub athletes to follow.

“He’s an example for any Rochelle athlete,” coach Dale Bergeson said. “He put thousands of hours in. He poured his life into it and it paid off. He bought a pole vault pit for his house, he went to a pole vault facility twice a week year round, he changed his diet and his workout regimen. He practiced and gained so much knowledge in pole vault.”

Pole vault wasn’t the only event Nuyen qualified for state in this season. The senior also participated in the long jump, leaping 6.46 meters (21 feet 2 ¼ inches) to finish in 16th. Nuyen, who won I-8 and IHSA sectional long jump titles this year, had minimal experience prior to this season. But a talk with his coaches provided motivation.

“He loves to compete,” Bergeson said. “It’s pretty remarkable that he was open to it because some of these guys want to be so specific and they’re concerned about every little thing affecting them. [Andrew] realized that he could do other things and still PR, so that helped him out mentally. He was really clear about finishing the season off well.”

With his high school career over, Nuyen will prepare for his collegiate career at South Florida. He first contacted the program in December and committed to competing there in March. This summer, Nuyen will head to North Dakota and participate in The Ark, a downtown street vault competition in Grand Forks, against other top national vaulters.

“I’m excited for all of the competition and being thrown into an ocean of sharks,” Nuyen said. “It’ll really push me and I’m going to make a lot of friends and connections there. That’s what I’m excited about.”

Rochelle qualified five individual events and two relays for this year’s state meet. Hunter Bivins (40.21 seconds) placed 12th in the 300 hurdles, while Tyler Johnson (1:59.84) placed 18th in the 800 and Justin DeClerck (1.82 meters) tied for 31st place in the high jump.

The Hubs finished 23rd in the 4x100 (Jaden Martina, Reece Harris, Nathaniel Rosas, Hunter Bivins, 43.26) and 32nd in the 4x200 (Jaden Martina, Aaron DeClerck, Nathaniel Rosas, Reece Harris, 1:32.30).