One scratch away from elimination, pole vaulter Logan Cunningham managed to clear the opening height of the pole vault final July 5 at the U.S. Olympic trial in Eugene, Ore.

“Being in that situation where it’s coming down to the wire and I have to make this bar to advance, that can be really stressful,” Cunningham said. “At the end of the day it is what it is. I was there and competed to the best of my ability on that day.”

On Sept. 16, while stands at Ranger Stadium packed for the opening district football game against Steele, alum Logan Cunningham was honored for representing his country at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Cunningham donated his opening ceremony jacket, track uniform, and shoes to his alma mater.

Two days before the trial finals, he was one of three competitors in the qualifying event to advance to the final without a scratch.

“Going out there and doing everything I can to be successful,” Cunningham said, “and just letting the rest be in God’s hands. That was my outlook on it.”

He kept his Olympic dream alive by clearing the 5.4m opening height.

Just making the finals was not enough for Cunningham. In 2012, he competed at the Olympic trials and failed to qualify for the final.

“That changed my life in multiple ways,” Cunningham said. “It really advanced my position to be able to go forth towards the next one.”

This time, he was in the middle of a tight contest, fighting for a chance to represent his country.

Cunningham cleared the next two heights on his first attempts, but could not make it over the 5.65m mark after three attempts.

“At any meet you have to be able to accept the outcome and I just really wanted to do my best,” Cunningham said. “I’ve worked for the past four years to be in a peak condition and to be entirely ready for this meet.”

Tray Oates, another Olympic hopeful at the event, was on the wrong side of a tiebreaker with Cunningham. This led Oates to skip the 5.65m mark and go to 5.7m.

“That was stressful because he could have got it,” Cunningham said.“He was looking really good that day.”

Had Oates attempted the 5.65m jump and missed all three, Cunningham would have advanced because he made the previous jump in one attempt, while it took Oates two.

“He had some really good attempts at it,” Cunningham said. “I thought he was going to make it.”

After three missed jumps from Oates, Cunningham was Rio-bound.

“That was fun and I enjoyed it because it made it all real,” Cunningham said.“It showed me that it’s not entirely up to me. I put forth my best effort and the rest was up to God.”

On July 5, Cunningham was officially announced as a member of the U.S. Olympic team. The team arrived in Rio on Aug. 3. Two days later, the games began with the opening ceremony.

“There’s no better feeling than walking out on that track in front of millions of fans with USA on my chest,” Cunningham said. “Just knowing that the greatest nation in the world has got my back and I get to represent them to the best of my ability.”

As tough as the competition to get to Rio was, once there the competition was even greater. Although unable to advance to the finals, Cunningham was incredibly grateful for the experience.

“I feel like I represented my country well through my sport,” Cunningham said, “and that’s my avenue to give back to this great nation.”

Cunningham says he will take a little time off before getting back to training. Soon, he will get back to preparing for the 2017 World Championships in London.

As for competing at the U.S. trials in 2020 for a chance to go to Tokyo, Cunningham said he is not committing to anything.

“I’m just taking this year by year after this,” he said. “If I get there we’ll see. Right now, I’m not making long term plans, but it may happen.”