Johnson/Janson article from Sacramento Bee

[TreyDECA]

about chelsea and lacy... becca, find it?

[rainbowgirl28]

Great pictures

http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/st ... 6894c.html

Can you top this?
Two of the best female pole vaulters will battle at Sac State
By John Schumacher -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Monday, June 5, 2006
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C1

Florida State senior Lacy Janson held the collegiate pole vault record for a few weeks until Chelsea Johnson of UCLA took it back. Sacramento Bee file, 2003/José Luis Villegas


The funny thing about the only two women in NCAA history to clear 15 feet in the pole vault, the ones who keep lifting the collegiate record skyward?
Neither left any clues last year, when their combined confidence level was, oh, barely off the ground.

UCLA's Chelsea Johnson, the 2004 NCAA outdoor champion, never felt quite right while battling hamstring and knee problems and failed to reach the NCAA outdoor final.

Florida State's Lacy Janson didn't believe she was ready to jump high, so she redshirted during the outdoor season after finishing 14th at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships.

But look at them now. Johnson and Janson come to town expecting to fly at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships beginning Wednesday at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium.

The two seniors have spent 2006 playing "top this." Johnson entered the outdoor season with the women's collegiate record of 15 feet, which Janson broke with a 15- 1/4 effort at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on April 20.

Johnson took back the record by clearing 15-1 at the Pacific-10 Conference meet on May 14.

In their only head-to-head meeting this year, both cleared 14-9 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, but Johnson won on fewer misses.

Both sound confident they can go higher this week.

"I think I can jump 15-6," Janson said.

Johnson, the daughter of Jan Johnson, the 1972 Olympic men's pole vault bronze medalist, said Janson's presence has helped push her higher.

"It's been nice having her out there this year," Johnson said. "My sophomore year there really wasn't that much competition out there. This year, going into nationals, I know I'll have to jump my best to win."

Johnson, 22, said she loves jumping in Sacramento, but she's had her share of disappointment here. She finished fourth in the Olympic Trials in 2004, just missing a trip to Athens, and failed to reach the pole vault final in the NCAA Championships last year.

"I went to the Olympic Trials feeling fresh, and whatever happened, happened," said Johnson, a 5-foot-9 blonde from Atascadero.

"As the meet went on, I started doing better. The thought of making the team came into play. Finishing fourth was disappointing."

Last year's trip north brought more frustration. Johnson came into the meet less than 100 percent, and left knowing a first- or second-place finish would have given the Bruins the team title. Instead, Texas won by seven points over UCLA and South Carolina.

"It never feels good going into a meet not feeling prepared and confident," said Johnson, who didn't begin vaulting until her senior year of high school.

"I put a lot of blame on myself. I made a promise to myself to never let that happen again. It's one thing to let yourself down. It's another to let your team down."

The NCAA letdown came after a season when nothing seemed to go right. If it wasn't a hamstring or a knee problem, it was hearing too much advice from too many people.

So Johnson chAnged tactics this season. If anyone wants to offer some pole-vaulting wisdom, they have to tell it to her coach, Anthony Curran. That includes her once high-flying father.

"If he has any advice, he tells Anthony, and Anthony tells me," Johnson said. "Last year I was kind of getting advice all over the place. It didn't work out."

Johnson has been bothered by a bone spur on her heel, which has irritated the Achilles' tendon on her takeoff foot. She stopped jumping after clearing 13-11 3/4 in the West Regional last weekend in Provo, Utah, as a precaution.

But Curran said she had a good jumping session earlier this week. And Johnson indicated she'll be ready to jump with Janson, as high as it takes.

"I want to see her do well and jump the higher bars," Johnson said. "I have no doubt I'll rise to the occasion."

Janson likes her chances, too. The 23-year-old, 5-11 brunette from Sarasota, Fla., has come a long way since watching pole vaulters in high school -- she'd gone out for the track team to get in shape for volleyball -- and thinking there was no way she'd ever do that event.

But curiosity got the best of her one day, so she walked over to look at the box where vaulters plant their poles for takeoff. Her coach spotted her and suggested she give it a try.

"I fell in love with it," said Janson, who has two pole-vaulting sisters -- junior Kristin and freshman Brittany -- on the FSU team.

Janson, who enjoys beach volleyball, mountain biking and tubing down rivers, said she sometimes escapes from track through pottery.

"It's awesome," she said. "You don't have to think about anything."

In the pole vault, it's easy to think about too much. Janson believes 75-80 percent of the event is mental.

After clearing 14-7 1/4 indoors and 14-4 outdoors in 2003, her best effort outdoors last season was 14-1 1/4.

"Last year I had all the physical tools to jump well," she said. "I just didn't have the confidence. As soon as I got that back things started rolling.

"If you just don't have the confidence, if you're not in the right mental state, nothing's going to work."

But if you feel pretty good about things, everything clicks.

[bvpv07]

http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/st ... 6894c.html

"Last year I had all the physical tools to jump well," she said. "I just didn't have the confidence. As soon as I got that back things started rolling.

"If you just don't have the confidence, if you're not in the right mental state, nothing's going to work."

But if you feel pretty good about things, everything clicks.

I loved this part...it's so true.

[pelle3]

Johnson determined not to let another injury hold her back

UCLA star pole vaulter Chelsea Johnson of Atascadero High wants to avenge falling out of championships last year
By Brian Milne
bmilne@thetribunenews.com

Source

As far as Chelsea Johnson is concerned, this Achilles’ tendon trouble she’s been battling of late (she’d rather you call it a minor predicament if you must) is no longer an issue.

UCLA’s high-flying senior has been hindered by injuries prior to NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the past, and the last thing she needs is another one on her mind while trying to defend her ranking as the nation’s

No. 1 collegiate pole vaulter.

Johnson, a former three-sport star at Atascadero High, was also the top-ranked vaulter heading into the 2005 championships when she was slowed by knee and ankle problems and the defending champion failed to advance out of the qualifying round. The 5-foot-9 Johnson passed on her first two heights and then missed all three of attempts at 13-11⁄2, ensuring the Bruins women’s team would not repeat as NCAA champions.

This week, Johnson is out to avenge that forgettable finish at the NCAA championships in Sacramento.

"Injuries are the worst," Johnson said in a phone interview last weekend. "Because of the injuries last year, I really didn’t do enough training. I felt like I rushed back into it and it kind of escalated the problem."

Now the problem, make that the predicament, is a batch of bone spurs in her heel, which has been wrapped in a protective boot for the better part of the past three weeks.

Johnson ditched the boot for the West Regional on May 27 and showed no signs of wear when she easily cleared 13-113⁄4 to win the event in Provo, Utah. Johnson beat runner-up Tamara Diles of Washington State by 4 inches.

"I’ve been wearing a boot, but it’s not that big a deal," said Johnson, who was fourth at the 2004 Olympic Trials and just missed a spot on Team USA. "It’s something I’m really trying not to think about. I’m trying to keep it all positive going into this meet."

Aside from Johnson, only one vaulter has cleared the 14-foot barrier this season. Florida State’s Lacy Janson broke Johnson’s two-year-old national record (15-0) with a mark of 151⁄4 on April 20, but Johnson took it right back with a 15-1 at the Pac-10 Championships on May 13.

The next-best mark is a

14-51⁄4 put up by third-ranked Breanna Eveland of Kansas State.

UCLA pole vault coach Anthony Curran said he expects this year’s championships to be won at or above 15 feet and he is confident Johnson’s injury won’t be a limiting factor.

"She’s going to let it all go out there," he said. "I don’t put any limits on her at all. She could clear 15-6 right now if it was the right time and the right situation. She’s got the record back, and she’s battling through this Achilles’ tendon thing, but she’s not done yet."

Of note

For the first time since 1982, the meet will be televised live by CBS from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday.

15-1: Chelsea Johnson’s national record mark at the PAC 10 Championships on May 13.

No. 1: The national ranking that the former Atascadero High standout will be defending this week.

4th: The place this UCLA senior finished in the 2004 Olympic Trials.

On TV: For the first time since 1982, the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be televised Saturday on CBS from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

Meet information NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

When: Today through Saturday

Where: Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium

Tickets: Ticket packages cost $55 (general admission) and

$70 (reserved) and are available by calling (916) 566-2400.