Jake Radzevich (UConn) hopes to vault his way to the top

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http://www.eagletribune.com/pusports/lo ... ndarystory

Former Astro hopes to vault his way to the top

Alan Siegel
Elaine Radzevich recently re-told this family vacation tale:

She walked into a hotel room to find furniture out of place. Her young son Jake was bouncing up and down like a super ball.

"Mom, you wouldn't believe the air I got off that mattress," she heard him say. "I smashed off the ceiling!"

Since he could walk, Hampstead's Jake Radzevich could jump.

"He's always been bouncing everywhere," Elaine said. "It used to drive me nuts when he was younger."

Radzevich, 22, regularly flies through the air today | albeit in a slightly more structured environment.

Now a fifth-year senior pole vaulter at the University of Connecticut, he is entering his final outdoor track and field season.

"It's just been a good time doing what I can do," said Radzevich, who opened his outdoor season on March 9 with a second place at the South Florida Invitational, where he vaulted 15-9. "I can't complain."

Five years after setting the New England schoolboy pole vault record (15-8), the Pinkerton Academy alum captured both the Big East and New England indoor titles this winter with vaults of 16-3 and 16-7, respectively. His personal best is 17-0, three inches better than his father Victor, who cleared 16-9 when he was at UConn.

"Jake is way ahead of me," Victor said of his 6-foot-2-inch, 175-pound son, who has put on 20 pounds and grown three inches since graduating from high school in 2002.

To get to where he is, Radzevich has fought off injuries and near tragedy.

Ten years ago, the 12-year-old's day of tubing on Sunset Lake in Hampstead was interrupted by a nasty fall. Radzevich, who was a gymnast at the time, hit the water hard and cracked the L5 lumbar vertebra in his back.

Unable to compete from the time of the injury in June to November, several of his peers told him he'd never be back at full strength. Undaunted, he came back strong and resumed his gymnastics career until he reached high school.

After another setback | a rotator cuff injury | Radzevich discovered pole vaulting. Victor bought Jake an 11-foot Mean Green Skypole. His son caught on immediately.

Victor, who is also a Big East track official, is a vaulting enthusiast. Jake, his father said, has excellent aerokinesthetic senses. In other words:

"You know where your body is when you're in the air," Victor said. "(Jake) understands it, almost intuitively."

After a dominant career at Pinkerton | he vaulted 15-8, nearly seven inches higher than any other New England schoolboy had ever cleared | he brought his skills to UConn. His mother said he struggled to get acclimated with college life.

He could barely sleep, he had trouble breathing, and as a result, he came home for a blood test. The results revealed atypical cells. Doctors, Elaine said, wondered if Jake had leukemia.

A tense sixth-month period followed. More tests, however, came back in Jake's favor. Leukemia was ruled out. And by the end of his freshman year, his chronic fatigue dissipated.

He capped his first outdoor season in impressive fashion, finishing in second place at the New England Championships.

Three more years of good results (see box) later, Jake enters his final outdoor season with much to prove. He is hoping to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career.

Clearing 18-0 would help him make the jump | literally | to the elite level of vaulting.

"He's got some things he's doing with his form right now," Victor said. "If he works on it a little bit, getting over 18 feet will not be a problem."

For all the fine tuning Jake does, in the end, he relies most on instinct.

"Once you start going," explained the UConn co-captain, "it all kind of goes blank."

Most of the world's best pole vaulters, Victor said, are in their late 20s. When he graduates from UConn in June, Jake is planning on moving to Boston, working part-time, training and competing for as long as possible.

"It's been a great run," he said. "I get to do the thing I love (every day)."

Don't expect him to slow down any time soon.

"He's so active," his mother said. "He never sits down. His legs are always moving. He's just an athlete."



Jake Radzevich's resume in brief

Age: 22

Class: fifth-year senior pole vaulter at UConn

Family: Elaine (mother), Victor (father), Amber (sister). Amber, also a Pinkerton grad, was the captain of the soccer team at UNH.

Honors:

n New England indoor champion 2006, 2004

n New England outdoor champion 2004

n Big East indoor champion 2007

n Cleared career-high 17-0 jump to take third at Big East Outdoor Championships in 2006

n Finished second at Big East Indoor Championships in 2006 and 2003

n Eagle-Tribune MVP in 2002, when he vaulted 15-8, which was 6<3/4> inches higher than the previous record for a New England schoolboy.