Adam Sarafian is making his mark in the pole vault at ASU

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Adam Sarafian is making his mark in the pole vault at ASU
Jeremy Muck

Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Josh Mitchell
Junior pole vaulter Adam Sarafian is in his first year at ASU. He transferred from the University of Georgia and is a native of Oakhurst, N.J. The 5-foot-8 Sarafian is one of four ASU qualifiers for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
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Before he became one of the best collegiate pole vaulters in the nation, Adam Sarafian was your normal high school wrestler trying to make weight.

Sarafian (pronounced "suh-RAFE-ee-uhn") wrestled in the 112 and 135-pound weight classes at Ocean Township High School in Oakhurst, N.J. But one day, the 5-foot-8 Sarafian had enough of wrestling during his sophomore year of high school.

"I started getting sick from cutting weight, so I just ended that," Sarafian said. "Pole vaulting drew me away, which saved me."

Sarafian enjoyed a stellar career at Ocean Township High School. He still owns the New Jersey state pole-vaulting record of 17 feet, 4.5 inches. His efforts earned him a track scholarship to the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. However, after two seasons, Sarafian decided to leave UGA to transfer to Arkansas State University.

Assistant coach Lon Badeaux helped recruit Sarafian to ASU. In fact, Badeaux tried to get Sarafian to come to ASU out of high school, but he went to UGA instead. Even though Sarafian was not at ASU, Badeaux worked with him at various camps. The two men are friends and have proven to be a good coach-athlete tandem.

"He's just a very good technical vaulter," Badeaux said, regarding Sarafian. "In the pole vault, there's just kids who know how to do it. He's not the best physically, he's not the fastest on the runway or the strongest in the pole vault. He just knows how to pole vault and he's really good at it."

ASU just happens to be located in one of the most famous track cities in the United States. Jonesboro is the home of 1984 Olympic pole-vaulting bronze medalist Earl Bell. Bell has been a great influence on several pole-vaulters, including Sarafian.

The junior pole vaulter has learned valuable knowledge from Bell during his visits to Bell Athletics, as a senior in high school and now as a collegiate athlete.

"The thing that matters the most is being on the right pole, holding it on the right spot," Sarafian recalled what Bell had told him. "Make sure that the steps are on and everything else will take care of itself."

At UGA, Sarafian was named to the All-Southeastern Conference second team last year. He earned the best mark of any SEC vaulter in last year's NCAA Championships as well, jumping 17 feet, 6.5 inches.

Sarafian enjoyed the UGA campus in Athens and tried to go to as many football games at Sanford Stadium as possible. But he said that he really likes ASU. ASU's track program has been one of the more successful programs in the Sun Belt Conference. Although the SBC isn't as strong as the SEC, Sarafian is still competing at a higher-conference level.

The indoor season has been a good one for Sarafian, as he has provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships. The NCAA championships will be held March 9-10 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Sarafian provisionally qualified in the pole vault on Feb. 3 at Indiana when he jumped 17 feet, 3.25 inches. He had jumped 17 feet, 6.5 inches at the National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev. the weekend of Jan. 21. But the Reno mark did not fit NCAA qualifications, as the summit was just for one event, the pole vault. Sarafian has reached 17-6.5 three times in his career.

The New Jersey native credits his success to gymnastics. His mother, Sue, has owned Aerials Gymnastics in Eatontown, N.J. for almost two decades. Sarafian enjoyed the trampoline and the bars. He said that the bars in gymnastics helped prepare him for the pole vault.

While Sarafian has been in the southeastern U.S. since 2004, the New Jersey roots cannot be taken out of the man. Oakhurst is 45 minutes south of New York City and is located near Asbury Park on the Atlantic coast.