January 2013 issue
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contents FROM THE EDITOR
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East Clovis High School bringing the pride
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Kat Majester Gives Multitasking a New Meaning
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The Air Force Academy Soars Over Expectations
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Making Sense of Technical Nonsense
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Dan West: Clearing Bars for 48 Years
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Photo by Ray McCoy (Air Force Academy/DenMar Services, Inc.)
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FROM THE EDITOR Happy New Year! We wish a very happy 2013 to all of our readers. We hope you enjoyed your holiday season. If you enjoyed last year’s issues, you will not be disappointed this year. 2013 brings even more exciting stories in the world of pole vaulting and we are very excited to share them with you. Starting off the year, in this first issue of 2013, we are featuring an amazing high school in CaliforniaClovis East High School. This school is located in a community that offers opportunities and leadership to young pole vaulters that are difficult to find. The students at CEHS are having wonderful success and jumping high. You’ll be very touched after reading what this group is up to.
Olga Ziuzina
We also feature Dan West this month- a veteran vaulter who has been in the game for 48 years now. West knows what it means to persevere through frustrating times that all athletes go through. If you have ever felt down about your performance or annoyed with lack of results, you will want to take a look at this dedicated athlete’s advice. He did what it took and found strength to get the height he wanted. His story may just be the boost you need to pull through.
A very bright and motivated young woman is included in this issue as well. Newcomer to the
pole vault Kat Majester recently competed in the 2012 Olympic Trials and has been busy ever since. Not only has she stepped up her vaulting, but she has made huge strides in her education and her professional life. Majester is also living out a dream of hers by joining the Atlanta Falcon’s cheer squad. Not many people can juggle all that she has been taking on recently, but she has a wonderful attitude and shows no signs of stopping. Finally, we are very excited to bring you a story about the United States Air Force Academy. We took a look into their program and what it takes to be a part of it. The individuals who manage to be admitted into the Academy are the best of the best in athletics and character. The service that United States Air Force Academy graduates give to their country is commendable too. You can’t help but be inspired by these hard-working people. So thank you for starting 2013 with us. We hope you enjoy this issue. From those just starting out to those who have been vaulting for years, we have something for athletes at any stage this month. Please keep reading for the scoop on more athletes and pole vaulting history. Thank you Doug Bouma Editor
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Victor Weirich
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East Clovis High School Brings Pride to Vaulting Community By: Michelle Walthall
In the 9 years since Clovis East High School, in Clovis, CA, had its first graduating class, the pole vaulting team has produced some talented vaulters; including both alumni and current team members. The top ten male vaulters
are: male School Record Holder and Central Section Champion Michael Peterson- 16’/2009 (currently competing at UC Davis), two-time Central Section Champion Andrew Pancotti- 15’-6”/2006 (Fresno State-WAC Champion 2007), Brad Beekman- 15’-4”/2012
Left to Right: Mark Rodriques (Father), Chase Rodriques, AJ Blackburn. @ 2012 USATF Junior Olympics in Baltimore, MD. 3rd place finish @ 12-0 for youth boys.
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(senior at Clovis East), Louie Pancotti- 15’-1”/2012 (senior at Clovis East), Jacob Ruiz15’-1”/2012 (Arizona Statefor diving), Central Section Champion Jacob Mersino15’/2007 (Air Force Academy), Ryan Vasquez- 15’/2010, Cody Liles- 15’/2010, Lyle Quillen-
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the vault a try. Mallory picked up the drills quickly, and it wasn’t long before she was on a five stride approach. She absolutely fell in love with the vault. The thought occurred to both of us that this was an event where she could find a great deal of success. Mallory is a deeply convicted Christian, and decided to pursue the vault as her platform to share Christianity with others. Although we knew it was a long shot, we set our sights on London. During our high school season, she trains during my lunch hour and prep period, so that she can coach during our regular practice time. Although she failed to meet the Olympic standard, in her first full year of training, Mallory vaulted 4.10m. In addition to her incredible
athletic ability, Mallory is also a gifted writer, who maintains a blog at www.soarintentionally. com. We plan on being in Rio for 2016.”
Even more impressive, when it comes to the leadership at CEHS, is the fact that the leadership goes beyond coaching a sport. Coach Blackburn tells us, “[We have] anywhere between 16-22 vaulters during any given season. As an educator, my mission is to use the vault as a platform to teach the skills necessary for a successful adulthood. These are the skills that transcend the vault and high school athletics in general. Cooperation, determination, perseverance, goal setting and hard work are but a few of
Mallory Gilbert 2012 @ Mt. Sac, 4.10m
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the skills students learn when participating in high school athletics. The difficult nature of the vault lends itself perfectly to challenge athletes in ways they could not otherwise be challenged. Our philosophy at Clovis East is that life is about relationships, and we seek to develop the group as a whole. What is unique about our group at Clovis East is the camaraderie, and the high level of commitment our athletes have to each other and the event. We truly are a family. This is the experience athletes come away with, and the memories they will have. Given the low probability that the vault will provide a college education, or even smaller probability that an individual will earn a living in the event, the vault must have a
Brad Beekman @ the California State Track Meet 2012
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greater purpose or it’s of no value in high school athletics. Success is measured not by winning championships, but by each individual achieving their maximum potential, and doing it together.”
Including Blackburn and Gilbert, there are 7 track and field coaches all together at CEHS (Jim Farmer is the head coach) so they have a good group of leaders for support. Fortunately this group is not lacking for equipment either.
According to Coach Blackburn they have poles, pits, high bar, weight room, sleds and a lot of slide boxes. “We have two complete pole vault pits,” he says. And the Timberwolves share their good fortune with others in their area. Coach Blackburn tells us, “Our pit is open two days a week during the summer to all those who wish to pole vault. I have vaulters who come from other cities nearby, as well as athletes from Fresno City and Fresno Pacific University. Some evenings, I’ll
Fall Training Clovis East Vaulters 2013: Left to Right: Alex Olivares, Mallory Gilbert, Chase Rodriques, Andrew Garza, Coach AJ Blackburn, Louie Pancotti, Dalton Welch, Brad Beekman, Garrett Welch. Absent: Casey Campos
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as well. “As stated above, we open our pit twice a week for summer practice. During the fall, those athletes who do not play fall sports can join Mallory and me for fall training,” says Coach Blackburn. “This training is periodized and has the same components you would see in a division I college program. It includes Olympic weight lifting, track work outs, hill work, sprint technique and some gymnastic components. This is general and specific conditioning, very little is done with a pole until it’s time to prepare for the Summit in January. When track season comes in January, we reset the training clock and begin a new macro cycle. Our athletes come out better prepared for the rigorous training they will see in college. Fall and summer training is voluntary. However, we have had 14 athletes training through the fall.” It’s no wonder the Clovis East vaulters are having such success. With such a dedicated staff and community they can’t help but follow the example put before them. We hope this group keeps up the good work and that we see many more accomplishments from these talented athletes moving forward.
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Kat Majester Gives Multitasking a New Meaning By: Michelle Walthall
Since nearly making the London Olympics this year, Kat Majester has been far from staying home on the couch. She has been up to quite a bit in recent months. “Since the Olympic Trials my life has gotten extremely busy,” says Majester. “I moved to a new apartment in Atlanta, got a ‘big kid’ job as a business analyst for a healthcare system in Atlanta, have been cheering on the currently undefeated Atlanta Falcons [cheer squad] from the sidelines, training between [being at] work and cheer practice and going back to Athens for vaulting on the weekends. It has been an absolute whirlwind.” We also heard from Majester that, in between everything else, she also finished her master’s degree, at the University of Georgia, in December. This is one motivated woman, and her motivation and confidence are not lacking when it comes to the vault.
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She says it best herself: “I don’t have to actively do anything to motivate or ‘gear myself up’ for vault. I’m just obsessed with it and get really excited whenever I get the opportunity to go out to the track.” “I honestly don’t have any special or unique tricks to increase my confidence as a vaulter. I gain confidence through preparation. The more times I do it right in practice, the more confident I am that I can replicate it when it counts; plain and simple,” Majester says of how she gains enough confidence with pole vault.
It’s hard to believe, with the success she has had, that Majester is fairly new to pole vaulting, but it hasn’t been that long since she got her start. “I got my start pole vaulting almost four years ago at Clemson University,” she says. “Josh Langley, the vault coach there at the time, got
January 2013 issue
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one thing that had the biggest impact was the fact that I had nothing to lose and no one had any expectations of me. I was out there to have fun and do well for myself, my coach and all the teammates that have helped me along the way.”
The coach that Majester works with now is Petros Kyprianou, the multis and jumps coach at the University of Georgia. “I train at the University of Georgia
and the facilities are absolutely gorgeous,” she says. “We don’t have an indoor track, but we’re able to set up a runway indoors when we need to.” While she doesn’t attend any pole vault clubs or camps, Majester says she learns a lot from her teammates. “My biggest influences in pole vault are my teammates. They are the people that I learn from and look up to for vault technique on a day-to-day basis,” she says.
Majester is also fortunate enough to have a terrific family behind her. “My family is a fantastic support system,” she tells us. “My dad, mom and two brothers all came out to Oregon to watch me at Trials. I even shared a hotel suite with my brothers while I was out there, which was a lot of fun. My parents have been coming to all of the gymnastics meets, cheer competitions and football games since I was 4 years old. There is no way I
Left to right: Top - Kiley, Kat, Cecilia, Dana. Bottom - Kristy, Kadija, Sabrina, Alicia, Avis Photo by Art Morrison
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would have gotten where I am today without their help. I owe them big time.”
Her gymnastics background may have helped her succeed in vaulting faster, but how does Majester manage to work up to longer and stiffer poles? Here’s what she tells us: “For me, getting on bigger poles hasn’t been about strength or speed; it’s been mostly about timing and technique. The hardest thing for me to learn, and what I still haven’t gotten down completely, is cutting my last step for an active take off with my hands all the way up. My biggest issue is leaning back and reaching my last step at the take off, especially if I’m tired. Then my hands are late and I practically punch myself in the forehead with my bottom arm. No amount of strength or speed in the world can make up for that.” Of course we must leave you with some sound words of advice from such a motivated athlete. To vaulters just starting out, Majester says, “The biggest advice I have to give is: don’t give up. You can do anything you put your mind to if you work hard enough. Never let anyone tell you, ‘you aren’t good enough’. Take the negative as constructive criticism, and prove them wrong.”
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Kat Majester
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The Air Force Academy Soars Over Expectations By: Michelle Walthall
The Falcons of the United States Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, must certainly prove what they are made of to be a part of the vigorous educational and athletic programs offered there. The USAFA is very unique from standard colleges or universities in many ways and only the most dedicated are admitted and make it through.
The USAFA Pole Vault Coach, Scott Steffan says, “There are a myriad of differences between attending a Service Academy and any other university. In addition to training and competing, like any other NCAA Division I intercollegiate vaulter, they carry 19-22 academic units each semester, and have additional military training responsibilities. They have dozens of traditions and customs unique to Service Academies. They wear a uniform to class every day and, as a freshman, they have intense military training and few breaks or breathers besides coming down to practice and
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incredible benefits. Many continue their Air Force careers well beyond minimum 5 years because of the excellent job opportunities and extra benefits.” While in the program, Air Force Academy vaulters have a wonderful staff to work with and great facilities. Coach Steffan brings much experience to the table. “This is my 6th year as an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy,” he says. “Previously, I spent 6 years as an assistant at the University of Virginia, 3 at Wichita State and 6 at the University of New Mexico.” “We have the NCAA limit of 6 full-time coaches plus 7 volunteer coaches,”
Coach Steffan continues. “I am a full-time pole vault coach, i.e., the pole vault is the only event that I coach. Our head coach, Ralph Lindeman, recognizes the impact success in the pole vault has on our program and empowers me to devote all my time and energy with that event, as well as assisting with the decathletes. Coach Lindeman knows and understands the vault as well and serves as a valuable sounding board for me to bounce ideas about training and technique and coaching philosophy. Greg Hull is also on staff as our NCAA-allowed special volunteer assistant for the vault, and occasionally attends practices and competitions serving as a sort of consultant. The great thing about coaching the pole vault at the Academy is I have all the resources and support needed to develop a great pole vault team.”
According to Coach Steffan, here is how the USAFA pole vault team shapes up: “We usually have 5-6 male vaulters and a similar number of female pole vaulters. We always have a few decathletes who are exceptional vaulters as well,” he says. W h e n it comes to team
Paige Shirley
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Paige Shirley
leaders Steffan tells us, “Our team leader is Cale Simmons— he’s one of our team captains and has a PR of 5.53 as well as being a 2-time All-American and 2-time Mountain West Conference Champion. His twin brother, Rob Simmons, jumped 5.40m last indoor season. Joey Uhle jumped 5.35 as a freshman last spring, earning All-MWC honors and placing 7th in the NCAA Preliminary Rounds at Austin, TX. Senior Chase Cooper has vaulted 5.30; Juniors Cort Rogers 5.11 and Elliott Beski 5.05. Senior decathlete Michael Tibbs has vaulted 5.01, and new freshman Dylan Bell jumped 5.25 last year in high school.” As for the women’s side: “Our women’s group is a young crew- sophomore Wren Bonner has jumped 3.95 and senior Bizzy Mellado has a PR of 3.90m,” says Coach Steffan. “Junior Paige Shirley has jumped 3.70m, and two new newcomers, freshmen Riley Vann and Morgan Horn, both have jumped 3.60m in high school last year.” These talented Falcons have had many athletes go before them to help pave their route to athletic and educational success as well. Coach Steffan has this to say about some of the USAFA alumni:
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is the Mountain West. Over the years it’s been one of the best Conferences in NCAA Division I for the pole vault, with New Mexico men and women, San Diego State on the women’s side and, until last year, BYU’s men and women. Major meets we annually attend include Texas Relays, Mt Sac Relays, Drake Relays and the UCS National Pole Vault Summit, along with meets in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Nebraska. Every 3rd year we compete in the All-Service Academy Championships, which will be this coming March at the Ansin Sports Complex in South Florida.”
So there is much to look forward too, but 2012 has been an interesting year for the Air Force Academy vaulters. Coach Steffan wanted us to know some of the events that have happened this past year for the Falcons. He says, “At the 2012 Mountain West Conference indoor championship meet the Air Force Academy took 12 of the 16 places in the combined Men’s and Women’s pole vault competitions.” Coach Steffan also tells us, “2012 found us practicing and competing on our newlyrenovated outdoor facility, which features 6 box positions in 3 different directions to take advantage of the wind. With an indoor facility which has
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arguably the fastest runway in the country, we have a popular place to vault for both collegians and professionals.”
Even though the USAFA athletes are very hard working and dedicated, don’t mistake them for all work and no play. Coach Steffan tells us they make sure to have fun too. “If you are not having fun then why Pole Vault- then why do it?” he asks. “We are very lucky to have a fun-loving and adventurous
group of athletes. They go rock-climbing at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs as well as frequent sky-diving on the Air Force Academy campus. They have family dinners which the Academy refers to as ‘dining outs’ in the Colorado Springs and Denver-area. This Thanksgiving break about half our pole vault crew went surfing in Southern California. Every now and then they do sneak off and go snowboarding, although I’m really not a big fan
of hitting the slopes-- always worry about somebody taking a jump they shouldn’t.” If all can stay healthy, we can hope to see some good competition from this extraordinary team. What an amazing look at such a hardworking group of men and women. Good luck United States Air Force Academy. Keep up the good work!
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www.thevaultermag.com Jiřina Svobodová Ptáčníková
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Making Sense of Technical Nonsense Problems & Solutions By: Bubba Sparks Nothing blows up coaches faster than getting into to technical discussions. Like Mike Tully, I don’t do it because I don’t feel the need to defend my ideas. If you go to www. polevaultpower.com and read any technical forum you would think they were debating politics or religion as they are very dug in on what works and what doesn’t. Before you go too nuts, consider the following statements from some very reputable coaches: • Roman Botcharnikov, in his 6.40m manifesto says that pulling down hard with your left hand immediately after the take-off can lead to huge jumps.
• Tim McMichael, a tiny man who cleared 5.65m (18’ 6 ½”), who is now the coach at Oklahoma and was the formative coach of NCAA champion Jack Whitt, told us one time that the key to him getting on poles so far over his weight was to pull down really hard with his right hand at take-off while pushing up his left.
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• Vitaly Petrov drew an illustration on the board at Reno in 1994 and suggested that pushing your bottom hand higher than your top hand made the top hand “invisible” for the purpose of physics and thus lowered your grip 20” (40cm) during the jump. As the pole reaches extension you regained that 20” in grip. Conversely, letting that pressure off “raised
the grip during the jump” and slowed it down.
• Anthony Curran, who I believe is one of the best technicians of all time, teaches to release bottom hand pressure briefly by letting the left hand break enough until you are vertical. If you heard these statements you would think they are crazy. Bubba Sparks
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to also execute the one before in a complicated game of “add on”. By the end of the eight weeks he had a whole new command of his vault.
Flash forward a number of yeas when I was at UC Irvine. We created our own eight week program, but we take another step toward accountability. We graded each jump on the field, and then again later when we saw the video. At the beginning you may very well have given yourself an “A” or a “B” on the field and then found out in the video that you suck – BAD! In a very short time, what you felt became what you saw on film; so a “B” on the field now usually meant a “B” on the film. NOW we are able to get somewhere.
My suggestion is to create such an eight week list based on your understanding of the perfect technique as you see it. Put 6-8 detailed tasks under each week and let the grading process begin. You will be shocked at how quickly you become proficient at adjusting and fixing your own technique. But here is still a bigger payoff. Think about it, you come down the runway and you complete a jump and then you go back and try to fix it. Before you hit the pit, something else has been identified as the problem on that jump. This repeats itself over and over. When you use the
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technical checklist, you must ONLY do what is on that list for that one item and nothing else is considered. So you only have to do ONE thing correctly. Now you have a system of planned success instead of the random chaos most of us use to evaluate jumps in practice.
NOW – before every meet I review my week of practice and I make my technical checklist for the meet beginning with my first warm-up jump. You might as well title it, “What I MUST do to TODAY to have success at this meet”. You will be surprised how much only having to focus on ONE thing per jump helps you relax and stay focused. Above all, enjoy the process and empower yourself to experiment. See you all in Reno! Bubba
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Victor Weirich
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Catherine Street
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Gabriella Koppรกny
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Dan West: Clearing Bars for 48 Years “This will be my 48th straight year of clearing a height,” says our featured old-timer, Dan West. “It all started back in 1966 in Powers, Oregon…That spring, when track started, the coach told me that 5th graders could not be on the team so I pestered him so much that he finally told me that if I could jump 6’ he would take me to a track meet…Finally, after about 2 or 3 weeks, I did it and the coach kept his word. We went to a larger city to a big meet and I was very intimidated and scared- can’t even remember my own jumping. All I remember is seeing this older boy sprint down the runway, plant his bamboo pole, bend it and fly what seemed like a mile high and clear the bar. I was immediately hooked for life.” Being mostly self-taught, West became frustrated with a lack of success. He says, “At the end of my junior year I was once again about ready to quit from frustration at only being a 14’ vaulter and having a coach that would only tell me to ‘do my own thing’…During my last meet that year, a vaulter from ISU, by the name of Talley, asked me why I was taking off 2’ under. I said, ‘I didn’t know that I was’, and ‘why was that a bad thing?’ He explained to me why, so that summer…[I] decided that if I could learn to take off correctly under my top hand I would continue to vault; if not I would quit.”
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and he didn’t give up. “My senior season was better,” he tells us. “I finally got an actual track coach, Rob Stark, and, while he was not a vault coach, he understood the sport and I became a much better athlete and a better technician in my run and plant. I managed to clear 14’8”- not what I should have done, but better.”
And the successes kept coming. West has managed to accomplish quite a bit in his vaulting, and eventually coaching career. He says, “My best vaulting accomplishments are a 3rd place finish jumping 14’3-1/4” at 47 years old in 2002 at the Nike World Games. Then in 2005, at 50 years old, I finally won a major meet for the first time in my whole life by jumping 13’5-1/4” at the US Indoor Championships in Boise, IDquite a high for me. And finally, in 2010, goofy footed vaulting at the World Indoor Championships in Kamloops I won the bronze medal jumping 11’7-1/2”. “The best advice I have for young vaulters is to stay with it,” says West. “…and it will give you great benefits for all areas of your life. Find a good coach or club…focus on the basic drills of the vault so you learn how to run with the pole correctly, plant and takeoff correctly, learn how to swing and then how to do the extension-turn motion. Learning each of these different skills correctly through drills is the real secret to learning how to vault higher.”
VAULTER The University of Akron Pole Vault Convention
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“A Trade Show of Pole Vault Ideas and Products” January 4-5, 2013 » Competitions « » Elite Athletes & Coaches « » Classroom Sessions « » Pole Vault Equipment Vendors « » Learn by Doing Sessions «
Register online at GoZips.com/ZipsTFCC
Stile Athletics Field House Registration Fees Athletes: $50 ($60 after December 1st) Coaches: $25 Parents: $10 Tentative Schedule Friday, January 4 Vendors Available 10am-10pm 10am Check In 1pm Opening Meeting 2-5pm Clinics 5-7pm Dinner Break 7pm Competition Saturday, January 5 Vendors Available 9am-6pm 9am-12pm Clinics 12-2pm Lunch Break 2pm Competition A detailed schedule will be provided to convention attendees at check in
Confirmed Vendors Altius Essx Gill MF Athletic UCS More coming soon!
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Hotel Quaker Square Inn 135 S. Broadway Akron, OH 44325 330-253-5970 Ask for the “Pole Vault Convention” Rate!
For more information, contact Andrea Tepe in the UA Track & Field Office at 330-634-6813 or via email at alt39@uakron.edu