Dragila and Owen Reach for Beijing

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http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/story/431107.html

Though they are at different stages of their careers, Idaho pole vaulters Stacy Dragila and Melinda Owen have a common goal — reaching Beijing.



BY JESSE ZENTZ - jzentz@idahostatesman.com
Edition Date: 07/02/08

Pole vaulters Stacy Dragila and Melinda Owen are on opposite ends of their respective careers, but both have something to prove at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Dragila and Owen begin their quest to qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games when they compete in the pole vault preliminaries at 8:10 p.m. Thursday. The finals are scheduled for 4:40 p.m. Sunday and the top three advance.

Dragila, a 37-year-old and 1995 Idaho State graduate, hopes to prove she rediscovered the magic that made her an icon in the sport before injuries derailed her career in 2006 and 2007.

Recent evidence suggests she has. The 2000 Olympic gold medalist cleared 15 feet, 5 inches on June 22, her best mark since 2004.

“I got really excited after that,” she said. “It’s going to take a lot more to shake (favorite and American record-holder) Jen Stuczynski at the trials, but it was a great confidence boost to get up that high. It made me feel young again.”

Owen, the 23-year-old and 2008 University of Idaho graduate, hopes to prove she can perform at the highest level on the biggest stage. The Polson, Mont., native entered the NCAA West Regional championships in May with the best vault in the NCAA this season, but no-heighted and missed out of her final chance to compete for a national title.

“I’m still the same vaulter,” said Owen, who enters the trials with a best of 14-5€. “It doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good college career. I know I have the ability, but it’s just a matter of whether it all comes together at the right time.”

Dragila, whose road back to the top has been long and arduous, enters the trials with the third-best vault by an American this season, behind Stuczynski (16-fl) and Chelsea Johnson (15-6 €).

The Pocatello resident and Idaho State volunteer assistant coach was the gold-medal favorite for the 2004 Athens Olympics, but failed to qualify for the finals when Achilles’ tendonitis in both heels grounded her. It happened again at the 2005 world championships in Finland.

Dragila didn’t throw in the towel, and in the summer of 2006, had surgery on her right Achilles’ tendon.

But after a strong comeback season last spring, she again struggled with injuries and couldn’t compete at the U.S. outdoor championships.

In June 2007, she had surgery on her left Achilles’ tendon and spent the summer and fall rehabbing the injury.

In January, she moved back to Pocatello from Phoenix and began her second comeback.

“My body is holding together really well,” she said. “… After 2004, I thought maybe I would compete another year. With the injuries at the time, I was so mentally worn down, I started thinking about age.”

But as others told her to think about hanging up her spikes, Dragila forged ahead.

“People were telling me I should retire but I started to feel good again,” she said. “I want to go out on my terms.”

Dragila is engaged to 1995 Post Falls High graduate and 2004 Olympian Ian Waltz, who throws the discus at 9:30 p.m. Thursday.

She’ll put off planning a wedding, however, for at least a couple more months.

While Dragila is approaching the end of her career, Owen is in the infancy of hers.

She enters the trials ranked 11th in the U.S. and will likely have many more opportunities to emulate Dragila, her longtime idol.

“This is just the beginning of my career,” Owen said. “If it happens it happens. I think (Dragila) has proven that you can do this for a long time. I aspired and still aspire to achieve some of the things she has.”