Lane Maestretti grew up in a small town in rural, Northern Nevada. His first experience with the pole vault was in fifth grade, when his friend’s older brother was pole vaulting and allowed him to try. Instantly hooked, Lane competed in a junior high meet that same year and cleared 7’6” (2.29m) as a 10 year old. He continued to pole vault throughout high school, earning two state titles and a personal record of 15’1”(4.60m).
After High School, Lane went on to compete for the University of Nevada, Reno as a decathlete. Lane earned a runner up finish in the decathlon and two conference titles in the open vault during his time at UNR. Lane continued to compete after college qualifying for three USA National Teams, two Olympic Trials, in addition to holding the American Record in the Decathlon Pole Vault at 17’3” (5.29m). Lane’s best decathlon was a notable 7891.
In the Summer of 1981, Lane was first introduced to pole vault pole manufacturing when he was offered a summer job by George Moore at AMF Pacer in Carson City, NV. It was there, alongside composites expert, Herb Jenks, and the rest of the Pacer team, that Lane learned the in’s and out’s of pole production and the sporting goods manufacturing business. By 1984, Lane had become an integral part of the company. When Pacer was sold and moved to Illinois, Lane decided to stay in Nevada; and together with Steve Chappell, and the help of UCS Inc., they founded UCS/Spirit.