Con Ed Scholar-Athlete award: Irvington's DiCesare twins

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Con Ed Scholar-Athlete award: Irvington's DiCesare twins
By MATTHEW NG
THE JOURNAL NEWS

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(Original publication: January 7, 2006)

For Casey and Scott DiCesare, pole-vaulting is a family affair.

The identical twins from Irvington are currently ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in the state. Casey's mark of 16 feet, 5 inches is best in the nation.

Their younger brother, Dean, a sophomore, is an up-and-coming vaulter at Irvington High. Their father, Paul DiCesare, coaches them using his experience as a high school pole-vaulter for Dobbs Ferry and in college for a year at Carnegie Mellon.

The UCLA-bound DiCesare twins are the Con Edison Athletes of the Week.

"I like getting recognition. Getting good press for Irvington High School and track is great," Scott said.

Casey said his father never pressured them to pole-vault. It came naturally to them.

"He might have shown us a scrapbook, but he took a hands-off approach and it was our choice to vault," Casey said. "I guess we realized that we really weren't that good at baseball."

"Around the dinner table, we'll talk about pole-vaulting," Paul said. "I guess the only one in the family that doesn't vault is my wife."

Irvington coach Peter Oley said the key to the DiCesare twins' success is they feed off each other.

"Scott and Casey are both great students of the sport, and what they have done to continue a great tradition at Irvington is phenomenal," he said.

Both started vaulting in the seventh grade, training, going to camps and always challenging each other. According to Casey, Scott was much better early on, from seventh grade to 10th.

"At the bigger meets, when the team component gets drowned out, we get more competitive," Casey said.

"It's a really friendly competition between us," Scott said. "I want to win no matter what, but we've never fought."

The DiCesare twins will compete in the decathlon and pole vault at UCLA.

"The big reason why we chose UCLA was because it had a perfect balance, great academics and a good pole-vault coach," said Scott, who wants to major in business/economics.

Casey used his pole-vaulting knowledge for a science research project at Irvington.

"It was on biomechanics and physics, with a focus on how a pole-vault pole bends," said Casey, who plans to major in engineering.

Casey and Scott are outstanding students. Scott has a 3.6 grade-point average and Casey a 3.5, both taking advanced-placement and honors classes.

Their father said a big reason why they chose to go to UCLA together is that if Casey and Scott were separated, each would be losing his best training partner.

"What makes Casey and Scott so great is that they have a special bond that twin brothers have with each other," Paul DiCesare said.

Name: Scott DiCesare

School: Irvington

Year: Senior

Birthdate: Sept. 8, 1988

Sport: Track and field

Other sport: Soccer

Likes: Grandma's home cooking, warm weather

Dislikes: Waiting in line, losing

Future plans: Going to UCLA to pole-vault and compete in the decathlon; wants to major in business/economics

Name: Casey DiCesare

School: Irvington

Year: Senior

Birthdate: Sept. 8, 1988

Sport: Track and field

Other sport: Soccer

Likes: Eating candy, bowling

Dislikes: Shopping, cold weather

Future plans: Going to UCLA to pole-vault and compete in the decathlon; wants to major in engineering