3 16-footers in San Diego! Yea!

[DaRuk]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib ... reptu.html


Friends aim for pole position

Trio shares bond, drive, equipment

By Steve Brand
STAFF WRITER

April 12, 2005

Imagine Barry Bonds sharing his favorite bat with Sammy Sosa. How about Tiger Woods loaning his 5-iron to Vijay Singh?

Not a chance.

Yet three of the county's all-time best high school pole vaulters have one thing in common while setting San Diego Section and school records: the seniors share the tools of their trade.

Not the same make, not the same length, not the same weight grade – sometimes it's the same pole.

At dual meets, the athletes are on their own, but sharing implements at weekend invitationals is just one part of an unusual bond among El Camino's Derek Scott, Granite Hills' Scott Finley and La Jolla's Jeff Coover – friends on and off the runway.


"We coach each other," Finley said of the vaulters, who've become the section's first trio to top 16 feet in the same season, led by Scott's section-record 16 feet, 8 inches.

"It would be great if we all had the record. We're not just competitors, we're friends, we like each other, we help each other. When one of us succeeds, we're right there to celebrate."

So it was no surprise that when Coover cleared 16 feet for the first time at the Mt. Carmel Invitational, Scott and Finley were offering high-fives. And Coover and Finley were right there with handshakes and hugs when Scott twice set the section record.

Early in the event, Coover was pulling hardest for Scott when he struggled to clear 15-6 even though Coover had taken the lead in the event. Somehow it's difficult to imagine Jimmie Johnson pulling for a struggling Kurt Busch, but this is different.

"When I took the lead and Derek missed, I was concerned," said Coover, bound for Indiana University with a 3.68 grade-point average. "I didn't want to be all alone trying 16. It's so much easier to clear a height when you're not the only vaulter.

"I asked (Derek) Scott if I could borrow his pole to try 16. He never hesitated. It felt a little different, but I had a good vibe and I could tell I had a lot more at the top."

Sharing isn't limited to poles.

The athletes provide tips that only another pole vaulter would appreciate: ride the pole a little longer, watch your top hand on the plant, set the standards back a little.

The three athletes also share some common barriers: gravity, crossbars and two good pole vaulters from the Sacramento area.

"Winning state means more than setting the record," Scott said after taking down the previous section best of 16-4, set by Torrey Pines' Mike Brown in 1995 en route to a state title.

"There is pressure at state you don't have when attempting a record. It means a lot. You go into the state record book forever. They can't take that away. But there's a couple of guys from Granite Bay who've already been there."

That would be last year's state titlist, Scott Roth (16-4) and 2003 champion Ryan Shuler (16-0). Both are juniors with the same advantage of training and pushing each other that the three vaulters from San Diego have enjoyed.

Roth already has cleared 16-6 this year, and he and Shuler finished first and second last weekend at the Arcadia Invitational.

The three San Diego vaulters also have their differences.

Scott, whose father was a pole vaulter, has been jumping over hedges and fences using broomsticks, curtain rods and whatever else was available since he can remember. He said there's a thrill to clearing any barrier.

"It doesn't matter if it's five feet or 17, it's an adrenaline rush and it's fun," said Scott, who doesn't back away from the belief that pole vaulters are, well, a little crazy.

"Yes, I'm crazy, at least my friends think I am," said Scott, who carries a 4.6 GPA and has scored higher than 1,300 on the SAT, showing he hasn't landed on his head too often.

Scott said that while there is danger in riding a carbon fiber pole and hanging upside down trying to clear a bar 16 feet above the ground, the clearance of any height is so intoxicating he can't get enough.

Besides, how much worse can that be than playing quarterback for the Wildcats and meeting oversized linebackers up close and personal?

The 6-4 Finley is considerably taller than the 5-11 Scott or the 6-0½ Coover and his pole needs are different. Since each pole costs between $400 and $600, it didn't appear Finley would be getting one soon as he approached 16 feet. He needed help.

Up stepped Lyle Barton of nearby Cuyamaca College, who loaned him one of his personal poles.

"He said I could use it as long as I need it," said Finley, who because of his height should be able to get on a longer pole and because of his speed should be able to control it.

"Although the pole may feel stiffer at first, you get more pop at the top with a heavier pole."

The pole itself isn't actually heavier. Each pole has a weight grade. Although vaulters can use poles that are graded heavier than they weigh – say jumping on a 200-pound grade pole when you weigh 180 – for safety reasons rules prevent going the other way – using a 160-pound grade when you weigh 180.

But it's clear poles make a difference and Coover has brought a new weapon to the game.

"I got a new pole last week that is a little stiffer, which would be perfect for Scott," Coover said. "If he wants to use it any time, he's welcome."

Figures.

[jcoover121]

San Diego Section hell yea! what other section has 3 16 footers? thats right, none... too bad granite bay has two from one school . oh well at least they're cool, unlike those two other guys, derek scott and scott finley... the article says were friends, but i hate those guys
peace,
jeff
p.s. just kidding dont worry fellas

[ECVaulter]

hey at least you only have to deal with derek at invitationals. I have to deal with him everyday at practice.

ps:im just kidding too.