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Pole vaulter Ryan Dall joins three teams in Rockland Sports Hall of Fame inductions

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Pole vaulter Ryan Dall joins three teams in Rockland Sports Hall of Fame inductions

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When the Rockland Sports Hall of Fame came calling earlier this year, it knew former North Rockland and University of Miami star pole vaulter Ryan Dall would have bigger things on his mind in mid-April than attending the 2024 induction dinner.

Dall, after all, is the head coach of the Texas A&M-Kingsville track and field team and April was right in the middle of the Javelinas’ spring season.

Organizers decided instead of inducting Dall with eight others on April 12, they’d wait until summer to do so, having him honored during a New York Boulders baseball game. when the hall traditionally inducts top teams.

This will take place in the right field porch at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Clover Stadium in Pomona. The Boulders face Tri-City at 6:30 p.m.

Rockland Hall of Fame game tickets cost $50 each and include a buffet. Tickets may be purchased by either calling Karen McCombs at 845-364-0009 or at https://fevo-enterprise.com/Rocklandcounty4

Some basketball and soccer teams will be honored alongside Dell. Here are the other inductees:

The rest of the field for the Rockland Sports Hall of Fame

  • 1953-54 Tappan Zee boys basketball team: The high-scoring squad went 16-0 and won the Section 9 title.
  • 1999 North Rockland girls soccer team: The state Class A champion (23-0) averaged more than five goals a game, won 17 games by shutout and finished the season ranked No. 2 in the country.
  • 2008-09 Nanuet girls basketball team: Class B public school champion and state Federation champion.

Dall won consistently in his career

All, obviously, did a lot of winning. But Dall did so over a long period of time.

Dall, now 48, spent part of his childhood doing gymnastics, which was a clear plus for pole vault, helping him develop spatial awareness, speed and upper body strength. Dall pole vaulted from seventh grade through his senior year in 1994 for his dad, then-North Rockland coach Gene Dall.

His dad, a member of The Armory Coaches Hall of Fame and Rockland Sports Hall of Fame. left North Rockland after 47 years in 2017 to serve as an assistant coach to his son with the Javelinas. With both Dalls coaching, Texas A&M-Kingsville won the 2018 men’s NCAA outdoor Division II team championship.

The younger Dall, whose dad constructed a pole vault jumping area for him in their Tomkins Cove yard, once held both the state high school indoor pole vault record at 15-9 and outdoor record at 16-4.75.

He won one indoor and one outdoor state title and was both a Penn Relays and National Scholastic outdoor champion. His 16-4.75 mark also got him an unexpected silver medal at the U.S. Junior Nationals. That was a more than seven-inch personal best and he went on from there to compete for the U.S. in Canada at the U20 Pan Am Games.

Dall pointed to his Junior Nationals performance and to the first time he won the Rockland County outdoor pole vaulting title, as a freshman, as the highlights of his high school career.

“It probably wasn’t expected as much. As I got older, everyone expected me to win, including myself,” he explained, noting the county title also had special meaning since track had been such a huge part of his life and while Rockland was small, the level of competition was high.

“It meant a lot to be a county champion,” Dall said.

Dall later received a full athletic scholarship to the University of Miami, where, he’d top 17 feet and was twice Big East champion.

After college, he went right into coaching on the collegiate level.

A multiple-time Lone Star Conference coach of the year (his team has won the conference twice), he received national coach of the year honors after his team’s 2018 championship.

Track: Ryan and Gene Dall’s Texas A&M-Kingsville men’s team wins NCAA D-II crown

But, while the Rockland Hall of Fame induction may be smaller in terms of scope, Dall indicated its significance to him is large.

“It’s definitely a big honor. There have been so many great athletes from Rockland County over time who’ve been inducted from so many sports,” he said.

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, girls basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at both @HaggertyNancy and at @LoHudHockey. 

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