2025 Inductee Matt Rowland, 2013
A 2013 graduate of Bellevue High School (BHS), Matt Rowland earned four varsity letters in track and field while rewriting dozens of pole vault records along the way. For three consecutive years, he cemented his legacy as the top pole vaulter in the state of Ohio.
During his freshman season, Matt was the Northern Ohio League (NOL) champion, District runner-up, and placed fifth overall at Regionals in the vault. The following season, he began breaking records, starting with the Bellevue Elks Invite record (15'1"). He repeated as NOL champion and was both District and Regional champion before heading to Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University, where he cleared 14'9" to claim the State title.
The 2012 track season saw Matt continue his dominance. He was the Huron Invite champion, reset the Elks Invite stadium record at 16'0", and was NOL champion with a mark of 16'1". He also won the 110-meter hurdles and was a member of the NOL-winning 4x200 meter relay team. He helped lead the Redmen to the NOL team title, then went on to win both District and Regional competitions before clearing 16'1" to secure his second consecutive State title.
As a senior, Matt continued to crush pole vault records at Seneca East, Perkins, and Bellevue (16'6"), and claimed the NOL title for the fourth straight year. He won the 110 hurdles at the NOL meet, set a District record in the pole vault, was runner-up in the 110 hurdles, won the Regional title in the vault, and finished second in the hurdles. At the State meet, he cleared 15'9" to win his third consecutive pole vault title and also placed third overall in the hurdles. Prior to his senior season, Matt finished third at the New Balance Indoor Championships and earned New Balance All-American honors with a sixth-place finish at the outdoor meet. His vault of 16'6" also became an OHSAA Division II State record.
Matt currently holds the Bellevue High School record in the pole vault at 16'6", is second all-time in the 110 hurdles at 14.44 seconds, and eighth in the 300 hurdles at 40.47 seconds. He holds the all-time career points record at BHS with 1,020 points and was All-Ohio for three straight years. He is the only male athlete in school history to score more than 400 team points in a single season.
He attended the University of Akron, where he competed in the pole vault for four seasons. Matt was a four-time All-MAC honoree, won both the indoor and outdoor MAC championships in 2016, and was a Division I national qualifier and All-American honorable mention that same year. He currently ranks fifth all-time at Akron with a vault of 5.36 meters (17'7").
Matt and his wife, Bailey, reside in Bellevue with their son, Mac. He is employed at Rowland Farms in Bellevue.