Kyle, Shawn Francis have sibling rivalry 15 feet in air (MN)

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http://www.twincities.com/ci_12143704?nclick_check=1

Pole vaulters Kyle, Shawn Francis conduct their sibling rivalry 15 feet in the air
Hastings pole vaulter Kyle Francis chases his brother's record — and a chance to become Minnesota's best brother combo in the event.
By Brian Murphy
brianmurphy@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 04/15/2009 12:49:06 AM CDT


Hastings pole vaulter Kyle Francis faces a tall order trying to break older brother Shawn's school record of 15 feet, but he clearly sees the big picture.

The Francis boys are 1-2 on the Raiders' all-time list, and there is an opportunity for the younger brother to jump in front or at least strengthen his position.

Moreover, if the Hastings senior can clear 14 feet, 8 inches this season, the Francises would become the best brother combination in Minnesota high school vaulting history.

"I want to blow away his record just because he's my brother and that's always nice," Kyle Francis said last week. "But I just want to have my name and his name next to each other to prove we're the best two vaulters."

Kyle needs to vault 1 1/2 feet higher than his 2008 personal best of 13-6 to match Shawn's 2004 mark.

"If he crushes it, if he can go 15-plus, that would be awesome," said Shawn Francis, a senior pole vaulter at North Dakota State University.

The older Francis also is pursuing history.

In February, he vaulted 17 feet and 3/4 inches to win the Summit League Indoor Track & Field Championships in Illinois, qualifying him for the NCAA Regional.

"The school record is 17-3, and I hit 17 indoors. I'm thinking three inches wouldn't be much more," Shawn Francis said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Fargo.

His next shot is this weekend at the Mount San Antonio College Relays near Los Angeles, where conditions should be ideal to post strong numbers.
"Fargo weather and winds are goofy. California's always been good to me," he said.

Kyle Francis wants to follow his older brother to North Dakota State and refine techniques he learned from Shawn, the 2004 Minnesota high school pole-vaulting champion, and their father, Dennis, a volunteer assistant coach at Hastings.

The daredevil sport continues to mesmerize Kyle. He started vaulting in seventh grade when Shawn was a senior.

There is something incomparably liberating, he explains, about running full speed down a runway, planting a fiberglass pole in a plastic box, hoisting yourself into the air, twisting over a bar and flopping backward onto a pile of foam cushions.

Kyle Francis has practiced jumping off 15-foot ladders just to experience his older brother's vaults.

"It's like getting the game-winning goal in double overtime," said Kyle Francis, who played hockey for the Raiders. "It's you by yourself, especially if you win a meet with that one vault. It's one of the best feelings in the world."

Kyle Francis peaked at 13-6 last year before spraining both ankles running the 300-meter hurdles. That ended his season before he could qualify for the state track and field meet.

This year, he is only running the 110-meter hurdles in addition to vaulting.

"I think he's got a good shot to be a 14-plus vaulter and finish top five in (Class) AA," Hastings pole vault coach Mark Haesly said.

"I've been blessed to coach them both. Shawn, when he was a senior, was the No. 1 vaulter in the state. Just a phenomenal kid. Kyle's been a little more of a challenge in terms of listening, but he's got great heart and dedication."

Does he have enough to bypass Shawn?

"It's going to be tough," Haesly said. "The record was 13 feet for about 15 years. Fifteen feet, I don't think it will ever be broken."

Haesly's mantra, which he drills into his squad during practice and competition, is mind over matter. No small feat in a sport that demands fearlessness.

Kyle Francis acknowledged having to overcome jitters about botching a vault and landing his wonky ankles in the pole box.

Now he can visualize popping off one more vault for the ages.

"The free fall, I just love that," Kyle Francis explained. "Just coming down and watching that crossbar bounce a little bit — 'You're not coming down, are you?'

"You just lie there for a couple seconds, take off your helmet and throw it to the ground — 'I did it!' "