Chris Chappell Article

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/200 ... 4/-1/rss03

Chris Chappell wants to soar higher


Dave Price, dprice@nevadaappeal.com
January 19, 2005

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Chris Chappell has set some pretty high goals for his senior year as a pole vaulter at the University of Arizona.

Among those, the 2000 Douglas High graduate wants to reach the 18-foot barrier and qualify for the NCAA outdoor championships in June.

He did compete at the indoor nationals in 2004, but left with a no-height, and then came up one jump shy of earning a trip to the outdoor finals. Chappell's expectations are higher for his senior year - while his indoor eligibility has been used up, he still has an outdoor season remaining - and he is even looking further down the road.

"I just want to try and progress as the season goes along," said Chappell, who is at home to compete at the National Pole Vault Summit this weekend in Reno. "Last year, I jumped high early in the season, but I didn't feel I had the same energy level at the end. I had a very good indoor season, but I felt I could have done better outdoors. It's such a long season, so this year I'm trying to distribute my energy a little more evenly."

Chappell is entered in the Pole Vault Summit's collegiate competition Saturday at the Hilton in what amounts to his 2005 season opener.

Chappell finished seventh at the NCAA West Regionals in Northridge, Calif., and actually tied for fourth-place, which would have qualified for nationals, but he slipped to seventh because his final clearance of 17-3 came on his second attempt. Earlier, Chappell placed third at the Pac-10 Conference Championships and logged a season best of 17-9-3/4.

One of his goals is to get to 18 feet.

"That's one of my goals. I usually don't like to fix numbers, but I think that would be a stepping stone toward reaching my goals for this season, and for later in my career."

Chappell won back-to-back Nevada 4A state titles as a junior and senior at Douglas High and is still one of only five preps to jump 16 feet. Many athletes get to the end of their high school or college careers and are too burned out to continue. Chappell's seen it happen. But he isn't ready to cash in just yet.

"I feel like I'm just getting started, to be honest," Chappell said. "I've obviously had some pretty good success, I feel like I'm learning more and more about jumping. Every time I go out on the track, I learn something new. I feel I'm starting to develop and mature, both as an athlete and as a person.

"There is a lot of preparation that goes into becoming good at the pole vault, really, and I feel that if you don't give yourself enough time for the preparation, you're only cutting yourself off short of reaching your goals. It's a long-term goal and you need to take the time to prepare for that goal."

Generally speaking, the life of a postgraduate athlete is not easy. Without a college team to compete for, the athletes usually are left on their own to find coaching and training facilities, and then there's a matter of full-time employment. But Chappell, who celebrated his 23rd birthday last month, said there is a good source of motivation - Tim Mack, 32, who won the Olympic gold medal in Athens last year.

"Tim Mack is a good example of someone who jumped well in college and then continued his career after that, and it's been in the last three years that everything has come together for him," Chappell said.

As for the 2005 season, Chappell's key meets will be the Pac-10 Championships on May 14-15 at UCLA, the West Regional on May 27-28 in Eugene, Ore., and, if all goes according to plan, the NCAA Championships on June 8-11 in Sacramento.

"It's always been my dream to compete at the NCAA national meet, and a further dream is to go to the Olympics," Chappell said. "That's the level I want to compete at. So I want to keep going four more years, at least. It all depends on how I grow as an athlete and how I grow with the event.

"To me, pole vaulting is so much fun. It's one of the things I love to do. It makes no sense to do something if you don't enjoy it and I just can't see myself getting tired of it right now."

[OAKPV2004]

He was practicing here in houston for a couple weeks at my school,with tom tellez,. He is a good vaulter, I can see 18 feet happening this year.

[wacky274]

Chris is a great guy, and vaulter, I wish him the best this season (even though he is a wildcat).