Eric Tanenbaum Article (CA)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cct ... 965179.htm

Northgate pole vaulter leaves high standard

By Curtis Pashelka

STAFF WRITER

Eric Tanenbaum is going to Seattle in the fall hoping to eventually become "the best pole vaulter at (the University of) Washington."

Certainly a lofty goal. But considering what the recent Northgate High School graduate did this spring, there really isn't much reason to doubt him.

Tanenbaum broke Northgate's boys pole vault record (13 feet, 9 inches) in April and was clearing 16 feet in practice. Then over a three-week period in May, Tanenbaum finished first at the Diablo Foothill Athletic League championships, the North Coast Section Tri-Valley meet and the NCS Meet of Champions.

He entered the California Interscholastic Federation state track and field meet in early June as something of an unknown. His marks were well below those of the state leaders, but he certainly didn't let that affect his performance.

On the first day of the CIF competition at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, Tanenbaum cleared 15-33/4 to qualify for the finals. On the second day, he cleared 15-2 on his second attempt to finish sixth.

Tanenbaum wasn't the only Northgate athlete to do well at the state meet. Michael Wickman finished fifth in the 800 meters with a time of 1 minute, 54.86 seconds.

"I didn't think I could make the state meet at the beginning of the season," Tanenbaum said. "But it felt really good to do that well."

"Pole vault is a really inconsistent sport. Even if you're not ranked on top, anybody can beat anyone on any given day."

Tanenbaum put in a tremendous amount of work in the offseason as well as during the season, keeping up running and weight training programs.

"I usually went to the track every day for practice, then stay late," Tanenbaum said. "It wasn't hard to stay motivated during the season. I really wanted to break the school record and once I did that, it was very encouraging. It was enough to keep going and to keep training hard."

This summer, Tanenbaum is keeping in shape by running every other day and practicing at Acalanes and Castro Valley high school.

He'll also enter a few all-comer meets to help prepare for what's sure to be a challenging collegiate experience. Tanenbaum hopes to walk on at Washington.

"In college, everyone is going to be working just as hard as you are," Tanenbaum said.

"It'll be an adjustment, but I think I'll be ready for it."

[flyingfox21]

Eric is amazing. he was barely jumpin 12' last year and actually was only goin like 11'6 at the begining of this season. he really worked his a** off over the summer. and hes a cool guy.