Jessica Pizzini is on top of her game (MI)

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http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 7/SPORTS09

Macomb Dakota star pole vaulter is on top of her game
She also swims, runs relays
BY PERRY A. FARRELL • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • APRIL 20, 2008

Jessica Pizzini is 5-feet-5 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds, but when she hurls her small frame into the air, the Macomb Dakota junior stands head and shoulders above most of her competition.



Pole vaulter Pizzini recently won the Macomb Invitational with a vault of 10 feet to tie the meet record.

She went 10-feet, 4-inches at the Division 1 state meet last season, which wasn't good enough to win the event as a sophomore, but motivated her this season.

"She qualified for the state finals as a sophomore and set a school record for us at 10 feet, 4 inches," Coach Mike Timpa said.

"Our regional was at Warren Mott, and she took second place there. She also qualified for the state indoor meet at Central Michigan this year, but she didn't do well because we were in a terrible snowstorm and by the time we got there she didn't have much time to warm up.

"She also runs the 200 (meters) for us; and we use her in the 4x200-meter relay sometimes. She's a pretty versatile athlete. She's also on the swim team. She's a fairly good swimmer. I don't know how good she is, but she definitely takes points for their team. I think pole vault is her favorite."

Pizzini also has the benefit of having two teammates who push her during practice and meets -- junior Kelsey Hinz, who has vaulted 10 feet, and Gwen Scruggs, who has gone 9-6. All three qualified for the state meet last year.

"We push each other," Pizzini said. "On the runway you need the speed to be able to jump up, and you need the upper body strength to pull yourself up on the pole and get over. I've been vaulting since I was a freshman. I had seen vaulting on TV, so when I was a freshman, I heard someone talking about it, and I saw the other girls practicing and that's when I started doing it."

Pizzini admitted that when she hurls her body through the air "there is a rush."

"It's nerve-wracking, but it's also fun. It's different," she said.

She said swimming helps develop her upper body strength for pole vaulting, while running the 200 helps her speed on the runway. Pizzini's best time in the 200 is about 28 seconds.

"I think, more than anything, our pole vaulters are probably the most dedicated kids in the sense that they are still the ones that are at practice at 5 o'clock or 5:30," Timpa said.

"They are here late. They also come here on Saturdays and Sundays if we don't have competitions and practice. They put in more time than anybody because of the technicality of it."

Timpa said it was easy to envision a pole in Pizzini's hands.

"We looked at Jessica as an athlete and said 'hey, you have good speed, you have good upper body strength; you could be a pole vaulter' and it went pretty quickly from there," Timpa said. "Now she just loves it. It's her favorite thing to do in track. She just kind of ate it up.

"It's a combination of upper body strength and ground speed. If a kid has good upper body strength and is slow, they'll struggle. If you have good speed and no upper body strength, you'll also struggle, so you need both."

Clearing 10 feet was a major hurdle for Pizzini, but she said she really doesn't worry about the height. She said she just concentrates on remembering technique.

"That's how I motivate myself," she said. "I'm more motivated to pole vault. It's more exciting to me than running."

In the pool she swims the 100-yard freestyle, the 100 breaststroke and the 200 relay. She's gone 59 seconds in the 100 freestyle and 1:15 in the breaststroke.

"I don't prefer swimming over pole vaulting; I enjoy both of them," Pizzini said. "I'll do both my senior year. Swimming is more grueling for me because it takes a lot more energy."

Pizzini is shooting to clear anywhere from 10-6 to11-0 in the pole vault this season.

"I think it's possible," she said.