December 1 – David Thorneycroft, a security manager based on the Olympic Park in Stratford, has been accused of trying to meet a child for sex following an undercover police operation.

The 50-year-old father-of-two from Essex, who works G4S Secure Solutions, the official security services provider for the London 2012 Games, was arrested following an online sting operation in which he was allegedly lured by an officer posing as a child on the internet.

Metropolitan Police’s specialist Paedophile Unit confronted Thorneycroft at Buckingham Palace after allegedly going there thinking he would meet a young girl he had been “grooming”.

Following the arrest, police searched Thorneycroft’s home in Colchester and seized his laptop, while he was remanded in custody by Westminster magistrates on November 3.

The G4S manager is yet to enter a plea and will appear in court at a date yet to be fixed.

“He has been suspended as is normal procedure until the end of the legal process,” said a spokesman for G4S.

“He didn’t come into contact with anyone under 18 during his work.”

G4S, which celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, employs 50,000 people in the UK and is widely heralded as one of the world’s biggest security firms.

The firm became the 23rd domestic tier three sponsor of London 2012 in March this year and will provide training and management for the 10,000-strong security workforce that will work closely with police and local authorities, ensuring the Games remains a safe event for competitors and spectators alike.

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from Stackhouse

TULSA, Okla.-the Golden Eagles Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field team were selected to finish fourth in the Summit League pre-season coaches poll.

ORU received 32 points and one first place vote for the Men’s team, and 43 points for the women.

Three individual champions from 2011 will be returning for the Golden Eagles-junior pole vault champion and 2011 Field Athlete of the Year Jack Whitt, along with senior Jeffery Gibson (400 meters) and senior Clive Chafausipo (long jump). 

Whitt is the only returnee who competed at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships last year where he placed third.

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While Friday’s Pac-12 championship football game is one of the outgrowths of league expansion, the conference’s dramatic makeover will really take shape next season.

That’s when the Pac-12’s $3 billion television deal takes off. Because of equal revenue sharing, each of the league’s schools will eventually reap more than $20 million annually from the 12-year contract with Fox and ESPN.

The influx means that the conference’s athletic departments that depend on financial help from their universities should someday soon be able to pay their own bills.

But for programs with smaller budgets, like Oregon State, Washington State and Utah, it also means a more level playing field with schools like Oregon, which has a generous booster in Nike co-founder Phil Knight, and USC, which has lots of national TV exposure.

Oregon State’s athletic budget is currently at $56 million, about $4 million of which comes from the university. Like most of the other programs in the league, the Beavers will get about $16 million in television revenue next season and the amount will increase over the length of the contract.

Oregon State will first pay off debt, according to Steve Fenk, the Beavers’ associate athletic director for communications. The department borrowed for projects that included the expansion of Reser Stadium.

“We also are the smallest, by far, athletic department in the conference; the additional funds will help build our infrastructure in terms of personnel — such as athletic trainers, compliance officers, etc.,” Fenk outlined in an email. “Also, the cost of tuition continues to rise, thus the increased television dollars will help offset that.”

There is speculation in track-crazy Oregon that the Beavers may be able to revive a full track and field program with the additional funds. Dick Fosbury, the high jumper who created the “Fosbury Flop,” is an alum. But the school dropped track in 1988.

Oregon State has already brought back a women’s team and is building a new track. Some football players have competed in meets. But the reinstatement of a full track program won’t happen until the sport can be fully endowed, Fenk said. Still, proponents are hopeful it will happen by 2014.

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Eastern pole vault coach Kyle Ellis has set out to change the culture of Eastern pole vaulting. A 2009 graduate of Eastern, Ellis was a stand out in his two-year career as a Panther. Ellis held the indoor record until last year, when one of his own, red-shirt sophomore Mick Viken, took it down.

It was Ellis’s coaching ability that brought Viken to Eastern from Madison Wis., and he has now pulled in another recruit, red-shirt sophomore Jade Riebold, a nationally ranked transfer from the University of Georgia. Riebold came to Eastern after he saw the results Ellis had with junior Abbie Schmitz.

“(Schmitz) improved like two feet with him and that was really good, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to come here,” Riebold said. “Just basically, he’s a really good coach.”

Schmitz came to the Panthers as a walk-on who had not seen much success at the high school level.

Schmitz held a personal record of just 9 feet. Not exactly college pole vaulting material.

“Her PR in high school was only 9 feet, which wasn’t very good,” Ellis said. “That doesn’t even get you close to sectionals or state or anything like that.”

Throughout her workouts, Ellis saw that Schmitz was a hard worker with a dedicated attitude. So when it came down to make the final decision, Ellis stuck up for Schmitz.

“So, we were talking about it, it actually came down to her and a high jump girl making the team, so (the head coach) almost didn’t let her be on the team to begin with,” Ellis said. “I kind of stuck up for her, I was like, ‘You know, I think she could be pretty decent, you might let her have a chance,’ so he ended up letting her be on the team, and her first year she improved two feet.”

In her first season, Schmitz jumped 11 feet, finishing toward the bottom end of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Then, in what would be her sophomore season, Schmitz would finish just 1 inch short of breaking the Eastern indoor record and would break the school’s outdoor record in the following spring. Schmitz would also go on to win both the indoor and outdoor OVC championships.

Schmitz said her big improvement was a result of Ellis’ coaching.

“It was pretty much all coaching,” she said. “(Ellis) pretty much reinvented my vault and changed everything I do, correctly though. It all kind of came together to improve my numbers.”

Now, Ellis has big expectations for his pole vaulters.

“On the guys side, I think we have five pole vaulters that can make it to regionals,” he said.

With the success Viken had last season, Ellis is now expecting even bigger things out of red-shirt senior Joe Noonan and junior Scott Mammoser.

For both the men’s and women’s teams, Ellis said that the team’s biggest competition is going to be themselves.

“(Schmitz’s) best competition is going to be (Riebold), same thing on the guys’ side,” Ellis said. “It’s going to be a competition between themselves.”

In off-season practice runs, Riebold has jumped 13 feet and was close to 13 feet, 6 inches. Well above the school’s indoor record.

The Panthers open the indoor season on Dec. 9 with the Early Bird at Lantz Fieldhouse. Schmitz says with the way she has been progressing, the Panthers are in for a good season full of broken records.

“I think I can (break the school record), but I have Jade right behind me to take it down right after, so I think it will just be a big year of breaking records for the both of us.”

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Coming off a successful cross country season that featured a berth at the NCAA championship meet, Irish coach Joe Piane and Notre Dame will rejoin the full complement of track and field athletes when they begin their indoor campaign Friday by hosting the Blue and Gold Meet.

The Irish enter the year with what may be their deepest team in a while, but that’s not the only thing that has Piane feeling warm about the upcoming season.

“It’s wonderful indoors because the weather’s always perfect in here,” he said. “We have the biggest indoor track in the country and, boy, we have some pretty good athletes.”

Those returning athletes are some of the nation’s best performers from last year, including several All-Americans and Big East champions. Three-quarters of last year’s All-American distance medley relay team return in senior John Shawel, junior Jeremy Rae and sophomore Patrick Feeney. Senior pole vaulter Kevin Schipper won the Big East last season. With these types of athletes, Notre Dame hopes to turn in strong performances at its two biggest meets of the season.

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Jim Brewer was the first high school vaulter to clear 14′ and the first high school vaulter to clear 15′. Emma George was the first woman to clear 14′ and the first woman to clear 15′. This is what I meant by “rare dual achievement.”

It is rare to break two consecutive “barriers” in the same event. I can’t think of very many examples unless you define barriers at very close intervals. (In which case I don’t think the notion of a “barrier” would be very meaningful.)

Jim Brewer and Emma George achieved this rare feat in the high school pole vault and women’s pole vault respectively. No man has done it at the world record level. John Pennel was the first over 17′ and nearly the first over 18′ (Christos Papanicolau was the first). He was also one of the early sixteen footers. His first world record was at 16′ 3″ and his final world record was 17′ 10 1/4″. Sergey Bubka was one of the first nineteen footers (Thierry Vigneron was the first) and, of course, the first and still only twenty footer. Bubka was the first 6 meter vaulter as well as the first 20′ vaulter — two significant barriers, but they are less than four inches apart.

In other events, the most notable example of a double barrier breaker that I can think of is Bob Beamon who became the first long jumper to go 28′ and 29′ (on the same jump!). Relative to the overall distance, this is a smaller interval than between 14′ and 15′ in the vault, but still a remarkable achievement.

Parry O’Brien was the first shotputter to throw 59′, 60′, 61′, 62′, and 63′. Along with two Olympic gold medals, this all adds up to his being the SP GOAT.

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 10. State University of New York–Fredonia

Fredonia, N.Y.

Enrollment: 5,774

On-campus drug arrests: 24

Drug-safety grade: C

Regular drug use, age 18-25, statewide: 26.01 percent

9. Bates College

Lewiston, Maine

Enrollment: 1,738

On-campus drug arrests: 2

Drug-safety grade: C-

Regular drug use, age 18-25, statewide: 28.63 percent

8. State University of New York–Purchase

Purchase, N.Y.

Enrollment: 4,192

On-campus drug arrests: 25

Drug-safety grade: C

Regular drug use, age 18-25, statewide: 26.01 percent

7. University of Oregon

Eugene, Ore.

Enrollment: 22,335

On-campus drug arrests: 128

Drug-safety grade: C

Regular drug use, age 18-25, statewide: 27.85 percent

6. Illinois State University

Normal, Ill.

Enrollment: 21,184

On-campus drug arrests: 146

Drug-safety grade: C-

Regular drug use, age 18-25, statewide: 18.94 percent

5. Kenyon College

Gambier, Ohio

Enrollment: 1,633

On-campus drug arrests: 8

Drug-safety grade: C-

Regular drug use, age 18-25, statewide: 19.91 percent

4. Bryant University

Smithfield, R.I.

Enrollment: 3,632

On-campus drug arrests: 34

Drug-safety grade: C

Regular drug use, age 18-25, statewide: 30.09 percent

3. Dartmouth College

Hanover, N.H.

Enrollment: 5,987

On-campus drug arrests: 12

Drug-safety grade: C-

Regular drug use, age 18-25, statewide: 30.32 percent

2. Denison University

Granville, Ohio

Enrollment: 2,267

On-campus drug arrests: 14

Drug-safety grade: C-

Regular drug use, age 18-25, statewide: 19.91 percent

1. University of Colorado–Boulder

Boulder, Colo.

Enrollment: 33,010

On-campus drug arrests: 801

Drug-safety grade: C-

Regular drug use, age 18-25, statewide: 27.29 percent

For 11 through 30

Location: Joshua, TX

Our goal is to teach Athletes the techniques and knowledge needed to become a Top Pole Vaulter. 
Club Altius has been the home of Elite Vaulters such as Shade Weygandt, Jordan Oddo and Nick Frawley.

We are a non-profit organization and depend primarily on our parents for help in the Seasons Greeter meet each year and  help in keeping the practice runway and pit  in top condition for our vaulters.

We welcome serious athletes looking to excel in their chosen sport of Pole Vaulting and their Parents to encourage and support their child and the Club.

Alumni include

Shade Weygandt
20 years old
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
Junior
PR-14′ 7 1/2″

Nick Frawley
21 years old
Air Force Academy
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Senior
PR-18’0.5″

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Location: Keller Texas

PRACTICE TIMES:
Sunday: 2:30-4:00 and 4:00-5:30
Mon.-Wed.: 4:15-dark

Dress WARM for the cold weather!!!
BOYS

GIRLS

JESSIE JOHNSON ARGYLE HIGH (SR) 13′ 3″
HALEY COOK COPPELL HIGH (SR) 11’9″
ELLY MOSS KELLER HIGH (SR) 10′ 7
RACHEL TOWNSEND ARGYLE HIGH (SO) 9′
JENNI WILLIAMSON BYRON NELSON (SO) 9′
SAVANNAH MARTIN TIMBER CREEK (FR) 9′
JORDAN FRIZ KELLER CENTRAL (SO) 9′
MADDIE MARSH SPRINGTOWN (JR) 9′
SARA MEINZ SOUTHLAKE (JR) 8′ 6″
McKENZIE MARCIANTE KELLER CENTRAL (SO) 8′ 6″
AMANDA WETZEL KELLER HIGH (FR) 8′ 6″
ALYSSA WESTERN KELLER HIGH (FR) 8′ 6″
CALLIE PEARSON BIRDVILLE HIGH (FR) 8’6″
JACKIE KLEIN SOUTHLAKE (SO) 8′
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