A Graham Junior High School seventh grader is recovering from a fractured skull sustained during the district track meet Saturday at Brownwood.
Clark Miracle was injured while competing in the pole vault at the meet. According to witnesses at the meet, Miracle was warming up when he fell backwards, missing the pit and landing on his head. Graham ISD Superintendent Beau Rees said several Graham coaches were on the scene when Miracle was hurt.
“He was injured warming up for the pole vault,” Rees said. “Our Athletic Director Kenny Davidson was there with coach (Robert) Sides and coach (Todd) Vinson from the junior high. They were in contact with our trainer. The trainer said he should go to the hospital.”
Rees said Miracle was taken by his parents to Brownwood Regional Medical Center, and the Miracles were accompanied by Davidson.
At the hospital, a CT scan revealed a fractured skull, a concussion and bleeding on the brain.
Miracle was later transported by ambulance to Cook Children’s Center in Fort Worth.
Within minutes of Miracle’s accident, word began to spread through Graham, and many churches called on their members to pray for the Graham teen.
A second CT scan at Cook on Sunday revealed a second small fracture and a second area of bleeding.
Despite the injuries, Miracle remained in stable condition in the intensive care unit. A report from his family Sunday night showed that Miracle was awake and alert with no neurological problems other than a headache.
On Monday morning, Miracle was removed from the intensive care unit and moved to a private room. Several hours later, Miracle was released from Cook and allowed to return to Graham with his family.
Rees said Graham Independent School District does not have a specific rule requiring athletes to wear helmets when participating in the pole vault, but he said the track coaches typically do require Graham students to take the extra precaution.
“To my knowledge, all of our kids are required to wear the helmets,” Rees said. “There is no UIL requirement. From the meets I’ve been to, our athletes are in the minority. Most schools do not have their athletes wear helmets.”
Davidson said track coaches at Graham Junior High and Graham High School do require helmets to be worn during the pole vault.
“We make our kids wear helmets,” he said. “It was just a little warmup. It was kind of a freak deal.”
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