Karissa Mace is the sole survivor from the Wisconsin Dells High School varsity track and field team making the final step to the WIAA Division 2 State Track and Fieldchampionship at UW-La Crosse next weekend.Once again, the jump from Regionals at Wisconsin Dells High School to the Sectionals three days later at Boscobel was massive and nerves might have played a part as most were making their first appearance at this event.For junior Karissa Mace who has made the trip to state as a relay team member in the past, her primary focus was on the pole vault this season and she did what she had to do to make the cut at Sectionals, clearing the bar at 10 feet even to finish as the evnet runner up.The effort was six inches better than her Regional championship mark, but also six inches off of her personal best mark of 10’6” made twice this season – both times at Westfield. Mikayla Laue won the event clearing the bar at 11 feet even. more
Daily Archives: May 25, 2012
Michigan: McNicholas leads Saugatuck boys
Saugatuck —Kyle McNicholas wins with speed, and he wins with height.The Saugatuck senior has become a force in the 100 meters and the pole vault.McNicholas won Southwestern Athletic Conference championship the pole vault Wednesday, clearing 12 feet. He also took third in the 100 meters in 11.58 seconds.McNicholas, however, is not satisfied heading into the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association meet Saturday at Gobles.He holds the school record in pole vault at 13 feet, 2 inches but is aiming to soar higher at the MITCA and Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 4 state meet. moreOlympian drops by to hand out medals
MURFREESBORO — Tim Mack, who set an Olympic pole vaulting record at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, presented medals to pole vault winners on Thursday at the state track and field championships at Middle Tennessee State.Mack’s Olympic record, later broken in 2008, was 19 feet, 6¼ inches. He is also a former NCAA indoor pole vault champ for Tennessee.Mack, who grew up in Ohio, still lives in the Knoxville area and does private coaching and clinics and said he has seen growth in pole vaulting in Tennessee in recent years.“There are a lot of good quality coaches. I’m trying to do my part,” Mack said. “We’ve got to get some people who are jumping higher in the state of Tennessee. It’s starting to catch on now.” more
One of the top 50 Olympic Moments
Women’s pole vault was added to the Olympic menu in 2000, and Stacy Dragila was the first one to order it up. Dragila missed her first two attempts at 14 feet, 9 inches, but cleared on the third before moving on to win the event with a vault of 15’1″. After that, she almost broke her own world record with an attempt at 15’2″.Soon after her triumph in Sydney, she found herself on the Wheaties box. more
Ohio: Brenneman earns first state berth
A 12-6 helped Brenneman win his first district title last week in Salem.
“I had an awful meet at districts,” Brenneman said. “I thought ‘Wow. If I got that on a bad day, I definitely could get it on a good day.’ ”
Brenneman topped his previous best at the district meet by nine inches this week.
“I knew there were four distinct people ahead of me,” Brenneman said. “I knew I was going to have to PR to (qualify).” Continue reading
Lees-McRae Pole Vaulter Named Conference Carolinas Men’s Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year
Lees-McRae College junior Kevin Dever (Leesburg, N.J.) has been named the Conference Carolinas Men’s Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year, announced league officials Wednesday. Dever enjoyed a tremendous junior season with the Bobcats, capping the year winning the pole vault at the Conference Carolinas Championships. His finals jump of 4.40 meters vaulted him to the top of the podium, earning him a spot on the all-Conference Carolinas First team. “We are proud of Kevin and his accomplishments both in and out of the classroom,” said Bobcat Director of Athletics Craig McPhail. “Being a conference champion in the pole vault, but also holding himself to a high standard academically is what we at Lees-McRae College strive for daily.” The Leesburg, N.J. native posted a 3.80 grade point average last fall, was named to the Conference Carolinas All-Academic Team, and was recently inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National Collegiate Athlete Honor Society. more
Conn. pole vaulters thriving in spotlight
WESTPORT — Dean Hefnawy admits he still doesn’t have it down. Fellow senior Lexie Schachne is the same way.
“Right now my form is not very good to be honest,” Schachne said.
But for two of the 13 Staples High School track and field pole vaulters, imperfection in the high-flying sport is just fine for coach Andrew Lawrence.
“You got to try to win,” Lawrence said. “Pole vault is not an easy thing to master. It takes three or four years to learn everything. It’s all about how you approach it; all about how you connect.”
So far this outdoor season, the Wreckers have made quite the connection with the lesser-known sport. Accoridng to http://www.casciac.org, the team touts the top girl (Schachne, 12-0) in the state, Hefnaway (13-6) sits in third in state wide rankings, and as of May 14, six vaulters have already qualified for the state meet. And at the 2012 LL Indoor Championships, five jumpers placed in the top 10 for the Wreckers to help lead the boys to the team title. Continue reading
Breuer Earns All-America Honors In Pole Vault
MARION, Ind. — Mount Marty College senior Katie Breuer earned All-American honors in the women’s pole vault, finishing eighth in that event at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University.
Breuer cleared 11-1 3/4 to finish eighth. Siena Heights’ Lenzey Stidham won the event, clearing 12-7 1/2 more
New York: Uckermark vaults to another crown
MIDDLETOWN — Todd Uckermark was one of the Warwick track faithful who was disappointed when he learned head coach Tim St. Lawrence was set to retire three years ago. When Uckermark’s mother informed her son that St. Lawrence would still be coaching pole vault in a local club, Uckermark was quick to sign up.”It just clicked,” Uckermark said of his new sport. “I really like the event. When I train, when I practice, when I go to meets, it’s not work, it’s just fun.”The sophomore Uckermark has a lot to be happy about of late. At last week’s Orange County league meet, he soared 10 inches beyond his personal best and was only the second pole vaulter in the last 25 years to reach 15 feet in those championships. At Thursday’s Section 9 Class A championships, Uckermark battled Pine Bush’s Anthony Galazzo into the darkness at Faller Field — both jumpers cleared 14 feet, but Uckermark won the title based on fewer misses.”It was absolutely great,” Uckermark said. “I had a good time and good competition. I was jumping with my good friend, Anthony Galazzo. It was fun.” Uckermark said jumping a foot lower than last week is not a setback since every day and every meet is different. Continue reading
South Dakota: Volunteer helping vaulters
PARKSTON — Wes Dvorak and Henry Wegehaupt have their work cut out for them at the state track meet this year. Dvorak and Wegehaupt are Ethan/Parkston’s top pole vaulters and are competing in the event today in Spearfish. Wes Dvorak and Henry Wegehaupt have their work cut out for them at the state track meet this year.Dvorak and Wegehaupt are Ethan/Parkston’s top pole vaulters and are competing in the event today in Spearfish.Dvorak is the No. 3 seed in Class A with a seed mark of 11 feet, 9 inches and Wegehaupt is the No. 4 seed with a jump of 11-feet-6.“The competition is so close, hopefully they both will be able to place,” Ethan/Parkston track coach Craig Bruening said. “I think it’s going to come down to whoever misses first. It’s going to be a battle of the wills.”Last year, Wegehaupt, now a junior, took sixth place at state with a jump of 11-feet-6. Dvorak, a freshman, did not place.“My goal is to try and place third,” Dvorak said. “I’m nervous, but kind of excited because it’s my first time going to the state meet.” Continue reading
Hunter Wilkes
Chandler Hamilton, Sr.
She won the D.I title in the pole vault at 12 feet, but a few days later posted the state’s best mark of the season at 12-6 at the Meet of Champions. Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/articles/2012/05/19/20120519arizona-high-school-girls-track-top-10-athletes-2012.html?page=11#ixzz1vtkZKdc5
Garrett Starkey
Chandler Basha, Sr.
He won his second straight D.I state title in the pole vault at 16 feet, 6 inches. A week earlier, Starkey cleared 17 feet for the first time, causing people to think he may have a shot at Olympic gold medalist Nick Hysong’s state record (17-4 3/4) set in 1990
AIA could alter schedule system
The Arizona Interscholastic Association’s scheduling committee unveiled a set of proposals Wednesday that would dramatically alter high school sports’ competition structure, answering the concerns about changes implemented in the past year.
The proposals would aim to address many of the problems created by computer scheduling and the loss of region play and true region champions.
If approved by the AIA’s executive board, the changes would take place for the two-year scheduling block beginning with the 2013-2014 school year
“I think this is our best attempt to reduce travel and maintain the integrity of competition,” AIA Executive Director Harold Slemmer said.
The AIA had introduced sweeping changes for this two-year scheduling block that reduced the number of divisions, eliminated regions within the division in favor of large sections and employed a computer scheduling model that was to reduce travel for schools.
According to Slemmer, the computer scheduling model did what it was designed to do — reduce travel costs by 35 percent. But it also created mismatches in every sport. One example: Wickenburg, a Division IV school in football, played four Division III teams and two Division II clubs. Continue reading
Track and field coaches still not happy with Arizona Interscholastic Association’s system
The athletes are getting faster and stronger, moving Arizona up the charts among top track and field states in the country.But some high school coaches feel the Arizona Interscholastic Association needs to make more strides to keep up.More than a year after the AIA made changes, reducing state meets from seven to four, there still is grumbling among coachesSome of the concerns
:-Limiting each school to no more than four participants in an event at the state meet.
-Elimination of regional meets to automatically qualify athletes to state.
-Inputting state-qualified times that had one Tucson-area athlete arriving to Mesa Community College with a court injunction to compete at state, because his coach missed a deadline to enter his name.
-Cramming all four division state meet finals into one site on the same day. Continue reading
All-Arizona high school track and field team – 2012
Pole vault: Garrett Starkey, Chandler Basha, Sr., 17-0, state best, D.I champion; Cole Walsh, Brophy Prep, Jr., 16-5; Nathan Hiett, Basha, Jr., 16-0; Grant Sisserson, Phoenix Horizon, Jr., 16-0
Pole vault: Hunter Wilkes, Hamilton, Sr., 12-6, state best; Chandler Fraley, Chandler Valley Christian, Sr., 12-3, D.IV champion.
