Oakdale High School, Maryland –When junior Emma King joined the track and field team at Oakdale High School, her coach Chris Heinze knew what he had immediately in the pole-vaulter.

“The first day I met her, I told the head coaches she could break a state record,” Heinze said. “I knew her brother [Kevin] who was fast. I met with her about five minutes and found out about her gymnastics background. I knew about her attitude and that she trained hard and she was a very bright girl, so I knew she had the smarts. It was obvious to me at the time that she was going to do a good job.” Continue reading →

Competing without a full team, the University of idaho Vandal track and field came out big in the Vandal Collegiate Friday and Saturday in the Kibbie Dome. Twenty career bests were set in a weekend where many athletes needed good times and marks going into the WAC Indoor Championships Feb. 23 to 25 in Boise. It was the first Vandal Collegiate since 2010. One area the Vandals excelled in was men’s pole vault. Senior Jeremy Klas won the event in a jump off with Robbie Haynie from Eastern Oregon, clearing 17-7.75 feet (5.38m). Idaho sophomore Dylan Watts placed third with a 5-inch personal record of 16-06.75 feet.
“I guess I was waiting for a PR (personal record) like this because in practice I had been vaulting really well and then in meets the nerves would get me,” Watts said. “Today it just kind of came together I guess.”
Watts said Vandal pole vaulters could “potentially sweep the top three or four spots in the WAC Championships.”

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Rick Suhr, the husband and coach of the best pole vaulter in the U.S., realizes he may need to raise the roof for his star pupil.

He may simply have no other choice with Jenn Suhr practically leaping through the ceiling.

Inside their custom-built domed practice facility near Rochester, N.Y., Suhr, a college basketball standout turned Olympic silver medalist, almost scrapes the top of the 20-foot structure with her feet each time she vaults.

And while raising the roof is an expensive undertaking, it’s a small price for someone routinely raising the bar to new heights. Continue reading →

Staffordshire, UK –STEVE Lewis’s impressive form in the pole vault has seen him selected for next month’s IAAF World Indoor Championships in Turkey.

Lewis, from Light Oaks, has been named in a 39-strong Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad for the March 9 to March 11 event in Istanbul.

But there is no place for fellow Olympic hopefuls Kate Dennison, the Alsager pole vaulter, or Emma Jackson, the 800m runner, from Newcastle.

Lewis, aged 25, showed why he is still the UK number one in his event after clearing 4.72m at the Finale du Perche Elite Tour meeting in Nevers, France, on Saturday. Continue reading →

Manchester, UK –Sale Harriers Manchester duo Andrew Robertson and Andy Sutcliffe face a race against time to gain selection for next month’s World Indoor Championships.

Both have been named in the Great Britain squad for the three-day meeting in Istanbul, which starts on March 9.

But sprinter Robertson and pole vaulter Sutcliffe have been given until the end of the month to achieve the necessary qualification standard.

However, should they make the grade, the Sale stars can look forward to the biggest event of their careers. Continue reading →

Idaho State University students are already thinking of their summer plans, and most of the plans include vacationing, summer school or spending time with family, but Mike Arnold’s summer plans include competing for a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England.

“That’s my goal,” said Arnold. “I want to go to the Olympics. That’s been my goal since I started pole-vaulting my sophomore year. I remember watching Tim Mack on YouTube, and he [was] an Olympic champion in 2004 and I remember watching that and thinking, ‘I want to have that success; I want to be him.’”

“I’m going to take it one step at a time and set the marks that I need to qualify for the Olympics,” said Arnold. “I have to jump 18 feet, maybe 18′ 4″, and I’ve been at the barrier for some time now.” Continue reading →

GREENSBORO, N.C.- Senior Parker Smith has been named the ACC Indoor Track and Field Men’s Performer of the Week, the ACC announced Tuesday afternoon. Smith, an All-America pole vaulter for UNC, had an outstanding showing at the Gene Anderson Invitational Saturday.

Smith, a native of Highlands Ranch, Colo., cleared a personal-best height of 17-7 3/4 in the event at UNC’s final home indoor meet of the season. That height is No. 1 in the ACC and No. 13 in the NCAA this season.

Virginia Tech freshman Victoria von Eynatten was named the Women’s Performer of the Week after clearing an NCAA-automatic qualifying height of 14-4 in the pole vault Saturday at the Virginia Tech Challenge.

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NAVY MEN’S TRACK: The Navy men’s indoor track and field team (8-2) placed second at the 2012 Patriot League Indoor Championship this weekend with 176.25 team points, just 8.75 points shy of first-place Bucknell (185). Bucknell hosted the three-day meet at Gerhard Fieldhouse. Navy, the 2011 indoor team champions, has now placed first or second in seven of the last nine indoor league championships. Freshman Mark Vetere won the pole vault with an IC4A clear of 15-9 to mark the second straight year that a Navy plebe has won the indoor vaulting title. For his efforts, Vetere was named the Patriot League Indoor Championship Rookie of the Meet.

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