Owner and Coach Eric Morell

Scott Houston

Hometown: Greensboro, NC

Personal Best: 19’1.5” also known as 5.83m

Accolades: 2018 Indoor National Champion & 2018 NACAC Champion

Instagram: @scottyhous

 

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Born in Florida and moved to Oak Ridge, North Carolina in 2003, Scott found a love for pole vaulting his freshman year. With the help and guidance of Vaulthouse and Eric Morell, Scott vaulted his way through the North Carolina state record books, setting all qualification records his junior and senior year. He still holds both the Indoor State meet record at 16’6, and is tied for the outdoor state meet record at 16’. Houston also holds the highest all time NC high school record at 16’10.75” and Vaulthouse holds the high mark in NC state history.

 

Signing with the instate power, Houston went down the road to compete at University of North Carolina. After a semester of getting adjusted at Carolina, Coach Spencer Frame helped Houston to the best freshman mark in the country indoors with a vault of 5.34m 17’6.5” the 15th best mark in NCAA Indoors. During his freshman year outdoor campaign he earned a bronze medal at the Outdoor ACC Championship in 2009 and another Bronze at the USA Junior Championships to earn an alternate spot on the USA Junior Team.  Struggling with injuries and coaching changes, 17’6.5 would be his highest mark at Carolina and remains top 10 in school history. He completed his degree in Exercise Science and Sport Administration in 2012 and went on to continue his education and NCAA competition in graduate school.

 

Houston attended Indiana University for his last year of NCAA competition where he regained his form winning the Big 10 Championships Indoors and breaking the long 4 year dry spell with a PR of 17’8.5” or 5.40m. Outdoors he did not finish as well at Conference but earned his first ticket to any NCAA National Championship as a Hoosier being his last opportunity to do so. He did so with the NCAA qualifying meet held in Greensboro, NC.

 

After completing a two Master’s program at Indiana University in the summer of 2013, Scott continued on with Indiana’s track and Field Program as a volunteer coach while training for further athletic success. Through trials and tribulations, as well as a few, “you just have to figure it out and work harder,” He finally eclipsed the 18 foot barrier in 2015 and this jump started his professional career with a 4th place finish at USATF Indoor National Championships in Boston, MA. He later cleared 18’5 the outdoor season and accepted the coaching position back in his home town area at High Point University where he could continue training and coaching with Vaulthouse and High Point University.

 

Houston has had much success coaching college and coaching and competing professionally. Beginning with coaching the Big South Conference Champions and now both school and conference meet record holders on the men’s and women’s side while beginning his international competitions. Scott is an Olympic trials finalist in 2016 and has many top 5 finishes at USATF Indoor and Outdoor Championships.

In 2017 Scott vaulted the World Championship standard of 5.78m or 18’11.75” in July prepping him with motivation to finally earn the USA jersey to represent his country on the world stage in 2018. In 2018 Houston found the most success both Domestic and Internationally winning World Challenge meets in Japan and a variety of meetings in Europe. The highlights of his competitive year, while coaching High Point University athletes and Vaulthouse Elite to PR’s, conference championships, and national championship births, were better than any year prior.

 

Scott went in to the USATF Indoor Championships with the goal to earn his first USA Team member spot, and did so while eclipsing the 19 foot barrier with a triple indoor PR performance clearing 5.73m (18’9.25), 5.78m (18’11.75”) and 5.83 or 19’1.5 all on first attempts and securing the victory to become the US Indoor National Champion. Houston finished top 14 at the tightly contested World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England. Scott capped off a long and adventurous season with another championship in Toronto, Canada for team USA. Houston earned his spot with a good performance at Outdoor Nationals and a matter of circumstance and good timing, but he capitalized on the opportunity winning the NACAC Championship over fellow American Cole Walsh coming off a recent outdoor season best of 18’10.5” and Shawn Barber, the 2015 World Champion for Canada.

 

Houston has been building and overseeing the Vaulthouse Elite training and vaulting since returning back to NC in 2015. His focus is to ensure the environment for “training to compete successfully and the right way” thrives amongst the elites. He believes the elite athletes set the standard and provide examples for Vaulthouse members in what you can achieve with the support of a place like Vaulthouse. The Vaulthouse Elite also help coach alongside Coach Eric Morell and provide concrete and valuable examples for all athletes to learn from while training at the highest indoor vaulting club along the east coast.  

 

On Vaulthouse: “The support and genuine kindness I have experienced from Eric Morell and Vaulthouse has been one of a kind” After years of traveling via college or experience, nothing has been better in providing me the opportunities of a life time to both succeed myself and grow a successful elite environment like Vaulthouse. Vaulthouse is more than a training facility. “It is a home.”