november 2013 vaulter magazine

November 2013 issuewww.thevaultermag.com

2013 the vaulter magaziNe 1

VAULTERMAGAZINE

ThE VAULTER mAgAzinE 20132

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contents

FRoM tHe eDItoR 4

tHe tRue stoRy oF a college Walk-on VaulteR 6

WHen youR teaMMates aRe youRbIggest coMpetItIon

10

tHe luck oF tHe IRIsH coMes tHRougH FoR toRI pena 16

top 10 VaulteRs 28

tecHnIcal DIFFIcultIes? 36

10

28

16

36

Photo by Vaulter Magazine

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Friendly competition is always a healthy motivator in athletics. Not only can competition against rival teams keep you on your toes and at your best, but competition among teammates can also push an athlete to go even further. While competition with teammates can be a good thing, it is not always easy. Kayla Coffee shares with us this month about her experience with competition amongst her own team. While she knows the experience did make her a better vaulter, she also struggled with her emotions. Most athletes can relate to these emotions, and we know you will find Coffee’s words helpful.

And speaking of competition, we have compiled a list of the top 10 NCAA men’s & women’s pole vaulters for the 2014 season. Look to see who may be on top for this season- and see some great stats and information on how the list has changed.

In addition, as has become the custom, we have yet another great article from Bubba Sparks with more vaulting advice. This time he talks more about vault technique and how to set up for efficient practice and evaluation. His advice is always wise, and we know this time will be no different. Do not miss it.

Penny Hanson, our “College Connection” writer, has also come through again with a great story about Ethan Rinchik- a walk-on college vaulter. She shows us how it can be possible to live the dream of vaulting in college. Rinchik is now a freshman at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri and his story is inspiring. We know you will enjoy reading his story and hope

FRoM tHe eDItoRit will show those of you with college vaulting aspirations that it is possible.

Last, but not least, we have our cover story on European vaulter, Tori Pena. Pena started out with Irish dancing and found her way to pole vaulting, as well as finding her way to the Irish vaulting team. She has a unique story we can all enjoy, and she openly shares her experience- the good and the bad.

Thank you, as always, for reading. We wish you a great start to the holiday season. See you in December with more great stories and information.

Editor Doug [email protected]

75 SC STATE CHAMPIONS, 10 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, AND 3 “TEAM USA” (WORLD TEAM) SINCE 1998.

www.ShealyAthletics.com [email protected] 803-315-5998

Mark Mula © John Nash,Sports Editor at The Norwalk Hour



75 SC STATE CHAMPIONS, 10 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, AND 3 “TEAM USA” (WORLD TEAM) SINCE 1998.

www.ShealyAthletics.com [email protected] 803-315-5998

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It can Happen:the true story of a college Walk-on Vaulter

Penny Hanson

This past month I had the pleasure of interviewing Ethan Rinchik, a college pole vaulter. Ethan is a freshman at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. He is study-ing Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology with an emphasis in Cognitive Neuroscience. He also is a walk on vaulter for the Wash U Track team.

Ethan vaulted at Dana Hills High School where he met Bubba Sparks his junior year. Ethan says that “Bubba was clearly bitten by some sort of “vault bug” and he has passed the addiction to us”. Although Ethan considers himself an “average vaulter” he has se-cured a spot for himself on a DIII team and will compete as a college athlete this spring. So how did an “average high school vaulter” earn a spot on a college track team?

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When your teammates are your bIggest competition By Kayla Coffee

When I came in to college as a freshman, I was the top vaulter at the University of Sioux Falls. Granted, we had a pretty small team at the time – four guys and only two girls – but I was the best. I had worked hard in high school to be on top, and now I was the number one vaulter at my college. During my first year of collegiate vaulting, I even placed fourth at the national meet to be an All-American. Life was good.

Things were bound to change, though. My success that year helped to bring in two new recruits who had vaulted just as high or higher than I had in high school. I was more than a little threatened when fall track started my sophomore year. But I was a hard worker, and there was no way I was letting girls who were younger than me vault higher than me. I pushed myself in practice everyday, making sure that I was always working harder than these new girls on my team. If they did 50 push-ups, I did 55. If they held a plank for a minute, I held mine for 1:30. I pushed myself to be faster and stronger in practice so that I could vault higher than my teammates at meets.

Over the next four years, the three of us constantly battled it out meet after meet. I came away with a lot of wins, but there were also many days when my teammates came out ahead. It was tough when my teammates did well and I didn’t, because I wanted to be happy about their success, but it was hard when I was so disappointed in my own performance. It was equally hard to be the one who had a Kayla Coffee, Brigitte Gross, Kristin Majerus

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Chad Aurich (pole vault coach at USF), Kristin Majerus, Kayla Coffee, Brigitte Gross,

Reid Ehrisman (head coach)

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Kristin Majerus, Kayla Coffee, Brigitte Gross

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the luck of the Irish comes through for european athlete

tori pena By: Michelle Walthall

Our cover story this month features Tori Pena, who is no stranger to athletics. She tells us, “I grew up as an active kid and I have always been involved in sports. My main activities were soccer, Irish dancing and track. Irish dancing was something I did for almost 10 years. It was a great way to connect to my Irish roots and was also a serious competitive outlet. I think, even though it’s so different from the vault, I really learned a lot about dedication and work ethic for an individual event. The highlight of my Irish dancing career was when I was 15 and had the chance to compete with my team at World Championships in Killarney, Ireland. It was my first trip to Ireland and my grandma was there to experience it with me. It was a really great



opportunity and experience to have as a young athlete. I continued dancing into high school, but ultimately gave it up after my sophomore year of high school. At that time I was getting serious about pole vault and my after school schedule was getting a bit too hectic to keep everything up.”

“I was introduced to the vault by my older brother Brendan,” says Pena of her start in vaulting. “I had always been involved in track and my brother suggested I try it when I got into high school. He thought it would be a good fit for me. I already loved the jumps and it just made sense

that I would love it as much as he already did. I think what got me initially was how much fun the pole vault crew was. No surprise there; I think the fun factor is really what sets this event apart. I was hooked from my first practice and I’m so happy I’ve stuck with it.”

Sticking with it has not always been easy for Pena either. She tells us this about her obstacles:

“Every vaulter has to overcome difficulties along the way, whether it’s physical injury, mental obstacles, or finding a way to continue to do what you love. Having

vaulted for 11 years now, I can say I have encountered all of the above and continue to deal with them every season. It’s an integral part of sports and what helps us evolve as athletes and as people. Looking back I wouldn’t change any experience because they have made me who I am today. When I think of some of my defining difficulties as an athlete, the standout was probably entering college as a freshman at UCLA. I was recruited to be on the team after jumping 13’1” my junior and senior seasons in high school. This was my dream school and I was so thrilled to be a part of such a historic program. But

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still struggle with to this day, but I think I grow in confidence every season, and every practice; it’s a work in progress and I’m thrilled by how far I’ve been able to make it.”

The opportunity to pole vault for Ireland came to Pena as a teenager. She says, “I realized I could pole vault for Ireland when I was in high school. I was approached by the Mexican National coach who asked me if I was interested in competing for Mexico because of my last name, Peña. My dad’s side of the family is of Mexican decent while my mother’s side is Irish. The opportunity to travel and compete got the gears turning in my head and it sounded like fun. Then I realized I could not compete for Mexico as I could not obtain Mexican citizenship; my grandparents were born in the US not Mexico. That’s when I realized that because my maternal grandmother was born in Ireland I could probably obtain Irish citizenship. That realization planted the seed for me. It was sort of a pipe dream, something that seemed like such a great opportunity, but not that realistic. I started the paperwork process of filing for citizenship, but eventually forgot about it.”

Amazingly, the idea of joining Ireland’s team was not completely forgotten. “It wasn’t until my senior year of college that I revisited the idea of competing for Ireland,” says Pena. “After some ups and downs with the sport throughout college, my senior year was going really well. As I saw the end of my college season approaching I realized I needed to do something to make this dream a reality. I was at a good level for college vaulting, but I knew I would need to make a break through

if I wanted to make it outside of college. The idea of competing for Ireland seemed like that opportunity and experience I wanted to continue to pole vault. I reached out to the Irish team in the spring of my senior year and just keep them updated with my progress along the way. They expressed their interest in having me join their team and we finished the necessary steps for me to get my Irish citizenship and passport in order to compete that summer in the European Championships. A couple weeks after competing at

Tori Pena

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Tori Pena

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NCAA’s I was in Ireland meeting a whole crew of people who I have now had the pleasure of working with for the past couple of years. I was able to compete that summer in the European Championships in Barcelona, and the whole experience has been one amazing ride after another.”

And Pena’s European ride has continued until recently. She tells us, “Over the past couple of years I have had the opportunity to compete at 2 Outdoor European Cham-pionships, 2 Indoor Europe-an Championships, 2 World Championships, and the Olym-pics. I can say there are a lot of factors that have helped along the way, but competing for Ireland really has opened so many doors for me that I never even realized were pos-sible. I have a passionate love for vaulting and traveling, and it seems fitting that I get to en-joy these two dreams together. I feel lucky to be a part of the Irish team and value and cher-ish the friendships and expe-riences I’ve made along the way!”

“Lots of people ask about how big Ireland’s team is and, for obvious reasons, it’s definitely on the smaller side,” Pena continues about the Irish team. “For example, we brought 17 track athletes

Tori Pena and Mike Woepse

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“I take a lot of time off in the off season; I took about 6 weeks this year. I try not to stress about getting out of shape because I know at the end of a long year, my body needs a break. I take that time to rehab injuries and decompress from the stress of competing. I don’t even visit a track when I’m on a break; I go to yoga and ride my bike along the beach for exercise. I know the feeling of getting back from a European season and thinking I just want to get right into training again, but I know my body would break down. Instead I really

relish in my time off and take time to see all the friends and family I’ve missed while being out of the county for so long! By the time it comes to training I’m so excited and pumped to start training again that it’s easy to get back into it all again.”

As for the future, Pena is taking things as they come. However, she does have big plans. She says, “Right now I’m in my second week of training so everything is so new and fresh. I’m really excited thinking about the upcoming

season ahead. For the majority of the year I will probably train at home in Southern California where I do most my vaulting with Greg Woepse, a really fabulous vault coach in Orange County. When I get opportunities I drive out to Phoenix to spend as much time as I can vaulting there with Greg Hull. There’s something great for me about training in Phoenix that I can’t really explain, but I always seem to get in great sessions there. This season I’m looking towards Outdoor European Championships in Zurich. As a European athlete we have great opportunities for championship meets every year. I would love to break into the final and this is the next major championships on my horizon. Beyond that it’s hard to say. There’s a lot of me that wants to do another Olympics so I very well may keep competing through till Rio, 2016, but I try to take things one year at a time.

Tori Pena

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top 10 VaulteRs By: Stuart Kantor

Top 10 lists are a cultural staple. Just Google “Top 10 Lists” and 673,000,000 results appear in 0.27 seconds, so let’s add one more: Top 10 NCAA Men’s & Women’s Pole Vaulters for the 2014 season.

This means we must bid adieu to the towering jumps of Cal-Poly’s John Prader, Oral Roberts’ Jack Whitt, Air Forces’ Cale Simmons, and BYU’s Victor Weirich, while on the women’s side, we shall miss the high-flying exploits of Alabama’s Alexis Paine, Ashland’s Katie Nageotte, and Cincinnati’s MacKenzie Fields. So while seniors graduate and move on, youth replaces. Hakuna Matata.

Of the top returning men, 8 set their 2013 PRs at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays; the same can be said for 2 of the top returning women, thus ½ of the Top 20 returning vaulters at all levels of collegiate competition enjoy

and excel at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Of our Top 10 Men, 4 are seniors, 4 are juniors and 2 are sophomores. Of our Top 10 Women, 5 are seniors, 4 are juniors and 1 is a sophomore. Of course, we’ll thicken the plot with additional names to keep an eye on, including a few incoming freshmen.

Top 10 Women: #10: Emily Grove, Junior, South Dakota

The former two-time Illinois state champion earned her second-consecutive first-team All-America honor with a 7th-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships (14-01.25). In 2012, she qualified for the US Olympic Trials, and in 2013, she won the vault competition at 5 meets. She closed the 2013 season ranked 15th among NCAA vaulters.

#9: Morgann LeLeux, Junior, University of Georgia

A plethora of accolades preceded LeLeux to Athens, including Track & Field News 2011 National High School Girls Athlete of the Year honors and a personal-best of 14-2.75, the national high school record. After finishing as the runner-up at the 2012 NCAA Championships (14-05.25), she soared to 14-09.00 indoors at the Arkansas Invite. A detached retina set her back, but she managed to finish 13th at the 2013 NCAA Outdoors with a jump of 13-07.25. “I am setting my ‘eyes’ on new heights! I am not done yet! I’m ready for a strong comeback year!”

#8: Katrine Haarklau, Junior, University of Missouri

A phenomenal athlete out of Norway, Haarklau finished the 2013 campaign with two Mizzou records: javelin (162-07) and 14-03.25, good enough for a 5th place finish at the

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school record indoors with a vault of 13-11.25 at the NCAA Indoors. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, she soared even higher - 14:03.25 for a 4th-place finish. On March 29, 2013, at the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Invitational, she set her personal best, good for the third-best jump in the nation at 14-07.25, earning her All-American honors. With an indoor season left, Paine figures to play a prominent role

in the national championship picture.

#2: Natalia Bartnovskaya, Senior, University of Kansas

Bartnovskaya’s first year at Kansas helped earn the Lady Jayhawks an NCAA Outdoor Championship. The transfer from Vincennes (IN) University (and NJCAA record holder at 14-01.50) jumped a personal best of 14-07.25 on May 11th and 14-05.25 to finish 2nd at

the NCAAs. “Natalia’s focus in big meets is as good as anyone I’ve coached! I expect her to contend for another NCAA title.” – Coach Tom Hays

#1: Bethany Buell, Senior, South Dakota

In 2011, Buell (now Firsick) “became the first Coyote to qualify for NCAA National Championships.” In 2013, the runway led her to the top of the podium at the NCAA



Outdoors with a winning vault of 14-07.25, tying the NCAA Outdoor record. In the process, she became South Dakota’s first D-I national champion. In addition to being a newlywed, multiple honors from Capital One, the USTFCCCA and the Summit League graced the close of her junior season. “My hopes for the 2014 season are that I stay consistent in jumping upper 14’s and have good attempts at 15ft. My lofty goal is to jump 4.60, and I would love to end my collegiate career having that mark under my belt.”

Keep an eye on:

• Kristen Brown, Junior, Uni-versity of San Diego – cleared 14-0 on March 9, 2013

• Kristen Hixson, Senior, Grand Valley State – cleared 13-11. 25 on May 10, 2013

• Kiley Tobel, Senior, University of Michigan – cleared 13-11.25 on June 5, 2013

• Brigitte Gross, Senior, Sioux Falls – cleared 13-05.75 on May 13, 2013

• Annie Rhodes, Freshman, Baylor University – cleared 13-11.50 for Waco Midway (TX) HS

• Lakan Taylor, Freshman, University of Alabama – cleared 13-10 indoors (Fort Worth Boswell HS)

Top 10 men:#10: Chase Brannon, Senior, University of Tennessee

Adding to the line of great Tennessee vaulters, Brannon missed equaling his 2012 personal best by ¼”; still, he climbed to 17-09 for a season’s best and a 14th-place showing at the NCAA Outdoors with a clearance of 17-08.50. He’s also thrown the javelin 196-01.

#9: Chris Pillow, Junior, Rice University

Pillow tied for 15th in the nation with a clearance of 17-09, but what separates Pillow is the improvement shown in just one year. In 2012, Pillow PR’d at 16-02.75, thus he bettered his mark by 1 ½ feet! Pillow won the Conference USA Outdoor meet (5.28m), but no-heighted at the NCAA D-I West Prelimi-nary Round, thus he should be focused for a dynamite season into the Top 10.

#8: Michael Woepse, Senior, UCLA

Woepse, a senior Bruin, captured the Pac-12 Track &

Field Championships with a vault of 17’11, yet failed to make it out of the NCAA D-I West Regionals. This should impetus enough to provide the 14th-ranked vaulter of 2013 motivation for a stellar 2014.

#7: Kyle Wait, Senior, Kansas State

From an overall PR of 16-00.75 in 2011 (Tyson Invitational) to surpassing the 18-foot barrier (18-01; Texas Relays), Kyle has been worth the wait. He soared to back-to-back Big 12 Conference Outdoor championships, and earned USTFCCCA Outdoor All-America First Team honors. He tied for 7th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, vaulting 17-08.50.

#6: Joey Uhle, Junior, Air Force

Uhle showed his flight ca-pabilities with an 18’01 PR, ty-ing both Wait and Ross for the 7th-highest jump of 2013. Uhle captured the Mountain West in-door title and the West Region-al title; he earned All-America second-time accolades and is a two-time all-conference hon-oree. During the 2013 season, Uhle became just the “13th vaulter in Academy history to clear the 17-foot mark.”

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Though I coach the physics and nuances of technique in detail, I rarely write or post about them because many vaulters and coaches have such rigid beliefs. Since I first started vaulting at 12 years old (I’m now 60), I have been fascinated with efficiencies that can make you jump higher and more consistent. At my age, it becomes even more important as I try to cheat the decline of my body with better technique.

This is not a discussion of the Bubka Petrov

model vs. tuck and shoot though it could certainly be included. My view of technique goes into the smallest minutiae of movement. I›m quite certain that I don›t know everything but I can promise you I have tried virtually everything my mind can think of over these 47 years and I can tell you what will likely work and not. However, I›m not going to try and argue technique with someone. The great Mike Tully once told me that he doesn›t discuss technique because he knows others will disagree yet he knows he›s right. His vault and results indicate he is correct. Personally, I just don›t have the energy, interest or ego for such

technical Difficulties?By: Buba Sparks

debates. Besides, everything I know came from others anyway. ;-)

I was first introduced to detailed training technique by former WR holder and Olympic medalist Dave Roberts. He told me he broke down his vault into eight factors and spent one week on each one. Each factor had 5-7 items. Therefore, if you take an average of six, then Dave had 48 specific parts of his jump that he would set out to refine over an eight-week period.

To this day I can sit down and make such a

list based on a combination of what I already do well and things I know I will have to accomplish to get better. Then I assess my physical ability to accomplish these goals. As Alan Launder says, “What is technically desirable must be physically possible”.

The reason such an approach to practice and

meets works so well is that there is a singular focus on each vault. Most of us come down the runway trying to correct what we did wrong on the previous jump. By the time we land, we have a new goal for the next jump, without much regard for the goal of that previous jump. I call

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november 2013 vaulter magazine

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