Austin Peay pole vaulters make it look easy

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Pole vaulters make it look easy
By JAMES D. HORNE
The Leaf-Chronicle

There are a few requirements to be a pole vaulter says Austin Peay's Carrie Burggraf.

"If you have a fast run, if you can jump and if you can control your body at the top (of the vault), then you can pole vault," the freshman vaulter said.

And you definitely have to be part daredevil.

"Yes you do," freshman Molly Bartkiewicz said. "A lot of people don't realize how hard it is, because they think, 'How hard is it to run and hold a pole.' But it takes a lot of strength to run and use the pole, and have enough trust in the pole to get you over."

There's no doubt the pole vault is one of the more difficult disciplines to master in track and field.

"It is definitely the most technical, that's for sure," Austin Peay head track and field and cross country coach Doug Molnar said. "It takes a bit of an acrobat, a bit of courage, a lot of speed and a ton of strength. It's a combination of everything."

Burggraf and Bartkiewicz make up the Lady Govs pole vaulting squad.

And the pair have already made impressions in the first year.

Bartkiewicz is the outdoor record holder with a vault of 11-feet-6 and is ranked third in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Burggraf is the school's indoor record holder with a vault of 11 feet and is ranked sixth in the conference.

But neither set out to pole vault and came to competing in the event in different ways.

Burggraf was a gymnast for 13 years, and also competed in the long jump and sprints in high school.

"I didn't get started until a little later, because I was a gymnast," she said. "In gymnastics, when you're on top of a pole like that you just have to know how to move your body, get into the right positions and have a lot of muscle memory. I did the long jumps and sprints, which also goes into pole vaulting. They (my coaches in high school) put me in it in one meet and it was fun."

Bartkiewicz's brother is the reason she's been jumping for five years.

"Originally, I didn't want to pole vault, to be quite honest," she said. "I had just gotten out of gymnastics after being injured. I just wanted to cool it a little bit and not get into anything too competitive. But my brother talked me into it and that's how I got hooked."

The fact both have a gymnastics background is a not an unusual, and actually it's an important skill to have.

"It helps tremendously," Molnar said. "Most of the good vaulters in the college ranks have a background in gymnastics or diving. It plays a pivotal role in the discipline. It's very vital."

The actions and preparation for a good vault are crucial.

But the most important part of the jump are the run and the plant, when the fiberglass pole goes into the ground.

"I always do a little routine at the beginning, where I bend the pole and that helps get my mindset for the vault," Burggraf said. "Then I just run. I don't count my steps like some people do. I go as hard as I can. I do a straight plant, get my feet up as high as I can and then get over it. Some times I don't even look at the bar when I go over. You don't want to let it freak you out. You just want to do what you can do to get over."

"Usually, I think drive, because I swing up to early," Bartkiewicz said about the plant. "So I just focus on pushing the poll out of the way, so I can get past it.

The vaulter then swings into the air, flips, goes over top of the bar, releases the pole and lands in the pit.

It takes seconds to get over and clear the bar.

"It really doesn't last that long, but is a pretty cool view" Bartkiewicz said. "All you're really thinking about is what you're going to do next in the vault. When you make it over, it's really cool. But it happens so fast you really can't think of anything."

And it's the best feeling a vaulter can have.

"It's cool when you make it over, when you're getting ready to release the bar and you know you're going to make it. It's like, 'Yes!'" Burggraf said. "I mean you can go around, measure the jump, compare it to buildings and say, 'I can pole vault that!' Molly and I are always going around and looking at things like drive-through or hotel entrances and say we can get over that."

Thanks to pole vaulting, Burggraf and Bartkiewicz have become the best of friends.

And in the long run, that friendship will make them both better vaulters.

"We didn't know each other until we came here and we have a bond that is great," Bartkiewicz said. "I consider her my best friend, because I go to her for everything. She's always there for me. And it's really nice because we're in the same sport, and she'll give me her opinion. She can tell me I'm not working hard enough and I know that's true."

Said Burggraf: "Molly is my roommate, my teammate and we're both from Ohio so of course we love the Buckeyes. We pretty much do everything together. We watch out for each other when we're vaulting. We coach each other, and coach Molnar helps, and in pole vaulting you really need two people watching. You need someone to watch the plant and the step, and you need someone to watch the top. So having two people is great. Especially, when you're having a frustrating day, they'll pick you up. Or you can pick them up if they're having a bad day. It's just a good common bond."