Bret Meier had a lot to think about Monday.
Standing about 80 feet from his intended target, the Oshkosh North junior hoisted a pole approximately 13 feet long and zeroed in on a small stationary box sunk a foot into the ground.
That's only half of what the Spartan pole vaulter was contemplating. Tack on actually vaulting with the pole, and you have the makings of the most technically challenging track-and-field event.
"When I go for a run, the first thing I do is I try to do it consistently and pretty fast," Meier said at Monday's WIAA Division 1 regional at Titan Stadium. "Then, you have to make sure you got your plant up. That'll take you into the pit. Then, from there, you have to use a lot of your abs and swing yourself over."
Meier's description may sound easy, but coach Chris Kujawa insists pole vaulting is a four-year sport that requires endless practice and repetition.
"There are a lot of phases to this event," Kujawa said. "But, if the first one isn't on, it doesn't matter what the other ones are. You've got to hit everything in order."
For Meier, who was tied with teammate Grant Kalmerton at a height of 12 feet, the phases come fast, with the average attempt lasting 4 or 5 seconds. However, the phase Meier enjoys the most comes once he clears the bar and descends to the mat.
"You get a little bit of a rush, and I love that," he said. "You just throw it back and go into a little bit of a free fall for a second or two. That's my favorite part of vaulting."
However, one slip and an attempt can go from a record-breaker to dismal in a blink of an eye.
"You know immediately if your jump is good or off," Meier said. "As soon as you've got your plant up and you lift from the ground, you know you're going to have a chance and be in, or you are shaky and not getting in."
The sport has also dealt with some catastrophic results. Two high schoolers and a Penn State University athlete were killed during attempts this spring.
The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research has said pole vaulting, with only 25,000 participants nationwide, is more dangerous than any other school sport, including football.
This has led to some schools not wanting to take the liability and risk that come with including pole vaulters on their tack teams. Kujawa noted that Ripon, Berlin and fellow Fox Valley Association school Menasha do not have any pole vaulters.
"It's really become a expensive event to run, to the point where there are some schools that have chosen to drop it," Kujawa said. "They just choose to take the liability and expense."
Wisconsin has taken the lead in enforcing strict safety guidelines and is one of four states to require all pole vaulters to use a helmet at all events, the others being Minnesota, Maine and North Dakota.
Even the poles used must meet stringent specifications. According to the WIAA and the National Federation Track and Field Rules Book, "the competitor's weight shall be at or below the manufacturer's pole rating. A competitor shall not use a variable weight pole, a pole which is improperly marked or a pole rated below his/her weight during warm-up or competition."
Said Kujawa: "The bottom line is I won't put a kid in a meet unless I feel comfortable that they can do the event with adequate efficiency. If they can't demonstrate a god run and plant, I won't put a kid in a meet."
Kujawa, who has worked with Meier and Kalmerton since coming to North, knows the sport very well. As a former pole vaulter himself, he has been around the event since his days at Whitnall High School, where he boasted a vault of 14-feet to take second place at the WIAA state meet in La Crosse.
"I don't think this is something you can really master as a freshman," Kujawa said. "You've got to go through it for four years, and typically this is a senior-dominated event. Not many kids will get lucky early. When you go to the state meet, you're gong to see a lot of seniors doing Division 1 pole vault."
While Kujawa's height is very impressive, it is still short of the boys state record of 15-7, set by Scott Synold of Wauwatosa East in 1994.
"It takes a special kid to run near full speed, holding a pole 13 feet up, and then plant it in a stationary box," Kujawa said. "There's not a lot of kids that want to do it."
Jesse Horne: (920) 426-6657 or jhorne@thenorthwestern.com
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