Tony Fontanini article (UW-Platteville)

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http://www.uwplatt.edu/athletics/weeken ... anini.HTML

Weekender Profile: Tony Fontanini

Tony Fontanini is a junior pole vaulter on the UW-Platteville track and field team who comes from Onalaska, Wis. He is majoring in machanical engineering and with a 15-3 3/4 vault, Tony took the title at the UW-Whitewater Invitational, then vaulted a career-best 16 feet at UW-Oshkosh. The Pioneer track and field team will host the UWP Open Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

You won the pole vault at the UW-Whitewater Invitational. What was that like?

"It was kind of cool because it was my first college win, it was different from high school."

How is your season going and what goals do you have set for yourself?

"Right now it's going really well. My previous goal was 16 in the vault but I cleared that last weekend at Oshkosh so I am raising it to 16-6, which is automatic qualifying for nationals. It would be my first time there and this year is looking good, I'm currently in 8th place right now."

What is it like to pole vault? Can anyone pick up a pole and vault?

"Anyone can pick up a pole and do it; it's a lot of fun. It takes some time, and I've been jumping for seven years. It takes a while to get the muscle memory down. It takes some technique too, anything from holding the pole when you take off to holding it while you're running. When you are in the air things happen really quickley so you have to get the muscle memory down. It can be scary up there, especially when you fall short."

Do you need to improve on anything yet this season?

"I need to run faster. If you run fast you can use bigger poles which means higher heights."

Why did you choose to come to UWP?

"It gave me the opportunity to try out for the track team, and also being an enginering school, it kind of fit in my plans."