Stuczynski Proud to be a Hillbilly

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http://www.observertoday.com/page/conte ... l?nav=5047

Proud to be a Hillbilly
Stuczynski visits Fredonia as part of ‘Olympic Review’

By THOMAS SCHWARTZ
POSTED: September 28, 2008 S
Article Photos


For Jenn Stuczynski, being world renowned as an Olympic pole vaulter is something that's not to be taken for granted.

"You have to work hard during the Olympics. It's one of those things you don't really know about until it's over and it's not to be taken for granted," said Stuczynski Saturday during her visit to Fredonia Saturday, as part of "The Olympic Review."

If you watched Stuczynski vault in Beijing this summer, you know the finesse and grace that it takes to pole vault. The Stuczynski precision was just as clear as she took questions from the media on Saturday afternoon.

She credits her small town pride to growing up in Fredonia. "Coming from a small town you can still have big dreams and be a small-town girl. You don't have to come from a huge setting to do huge things."

She was asked about how she responded to the stiff competition she faced in Beijing, China this summer. "It's more about concentration than competition. It's like when you golf; if you swing really hard you end up slicing the ball, pole vaulting is like this."

The day of free events was scheduled by Fredonia Olympic Celebration Committee. It began with free hot dogs, pop and chips, and continued with a video and skits, commentated by Shawna Shakala of 96 KIX and Mike Ferguson. Members of the Olympic Committee had been working on the multimedia event complete with video, dancing and some stunning choreography.

From a podium on the stage of the high school auditorium, Shakala welcomed Jenn Stuczynski. "We welcome all of you as well. Jenn was so busy in Beijing that she probably didn't get a chance to catch up on the other Olympians."

The video, which featured an actor portraying Michael Phelps and gymnasts from the American team and girls from the Chinese team, was "not meant to portray actual events."

"We're proud to be Americans from this region. It's an excellent place to raise children," said Rosemary and Larry Tibbetts at the showing of the video.

"It's a small town. Everybody knows each other and we wanted everyone to have a stake in the Olympic celebration," said Fredonia Mayor Michael Sullivan. "We made the shirts and the signs so everyone could support."

Ann Bartkowiak is a friend of her parents, Mark and Sue Stuczynski. "You think of her as your own, I'm happy we were able to do this for her," she said.

Everyone who came along was asked to wear their T-shirts in support of Jenn and after the presentation, a photo was taken of all the people wearing the shorts.

Stuczynski showed a lot of hometown pride. "We're proud to be Hillbillies. We always will be," she exclaimed at the end of her press conference in the Fredonia High School Library.

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http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/449968.html

Fredonia celebrates the return of Olympic medalist Jenn Stuczynski

Hometown welcomes silver medalist in pole vault

By Phil Fairbanks - News Staff Reporter
Updated: 09/28/08 9:33 AM


FREDONIA — Jenn Stuczynski’s meteoric rise from dream-fueled novice to certified Olympic hero came full circle Saturday in the same Chautauqua County village where it first started.

It was here, in her hometown, where America’s best pole vaulter, the daughter of grocery store owners Mark and Sue Stuczynski, came to bask in the glory of her astonishing athletic success.

And she did it surrounded by the same people, many of them wearing “Pride Of Fredonia, New York” T-shirts, who were there when the state high school track and field champion turned college basketball star was first plucked from their midst.

“We’re proud to be hillbillies,” Stuczynski said with a big smile and a nod to her alma mater, Fredonia High School. “Coming from a small town doesn’t mean anything. You can have big dreams being a small-town girl.”

On Saturday, hundreds of Stuczynski’s longest fans gathered at Fredonia High for a welcome home that ran the gamut from hoots and hollers to standing ovations to dozens of people waving miniature American flags.

“When you come from a small town and something big happens, good or bad, people band together,” said Mayor Michael Sullivan. “We all wanted to have a little stake in this.”

Four years ago, Stuczynski was a tall, lanky small-college athlete best known for her prowess on the basketball court. She averaged 24 points and nearly seven rebounds a game at tiny Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester.

Four weeks ago, that same small-town player stood atop the Olympic medal podium in Beijing and might as well have been standing on top of the world.

“The amount of support you’ve showed me is phenomenal,” she said at the end of the homecoming celebration. “I’m speechless right now.”

For a lot of these folks, Stuczynski is still the young Jenn who helped out at the family store, the Fredonia Food Mart, and excelled at virtually every sport she played.

For others, she’s so much more. She’s proof positive that a small-town kid can make it on the world stage.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” said Jill Schwertfeger, a family friend and former classmate. “It shows our younger kids that if you put your mind to something, you can do anything you want in life.”

If you question the ties that forever bind Stuczynski and Fredonia, talk to her coach, Rick Suhr.

There was a time, not long ago, when Suhr was Public Enemy No. 1 around here. It happened when Suhr’s harsh reaction to Stuczynski’s final, unsuccessful pole vault attempt at Beijing was caught on videotape.

On Saturday, all was forgiven. Even the mayor issued an “official apology” for questioning Suhr’s judgment.

“I’m not much on public speaking,” Suhr told the crowd Saturday. “And as you probably know, I’m not very good with a microphone.”

For Stuczynski, it’s down time, a time to relax and have some fun before preparing for the next year, and ultimately, the 2012 Olympics.

Does she still think she can surpass her Russian rivals and win gold?

“The day I stop thinking that and its not my goal to be the best, what’s the sense of pole vaulting?” she told reporters.

On this day, however, she was home, surrounded by family, old friends and a community with its chest puffed out in pride, full aware that its favorite daughter was back in the fold.

It was a day when everyone was a friend of the Stuczynskis or at least knew someone else who was.

“You don’t hear much about Fredonia. We’re a small town,” said Kristen Rizzo, her 2-year-old daughter, Devan, in her arms. “It was important to be part of this, to be part of something that is so important to this community.”

As a final tribute, the village is installing a flagpole in the center of town, and atop the flag pole will be a bright silver ball.

“Just a little incentive,” Sullivan told Stuczynski. “That ball can be replaced with some other color.”