Dana Webb Article (IN)

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http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/ ... 7aa5cb.txt

Flight plans

Valpo vaulters enjoying successful first season

BY JIM PETERS
jpeters@nwitimes.com
219.462.5151
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Tuesday, May 10, 2005 12:54 AM CDT


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The rush Dana Webb gets from pole vaulting is somewhat surreal.

"When you're up in the air, you're kind of just floating," the Valpo sophomore said. "You're 10 feet off the ground, you look down, and it's like, 'Wow!' It's just amazing."

The Region's leading pole vaulter (10 feet, 6 inches), Webb and freshman Abbey Sutton (9-6) form the top tandem of flyers in the area.

"We're a good team," said Sutton. "We get along well and help each other out with what we're doing wrong."

The event isn't all the Vikings' duo have in common. Sutton has been a gymnast since she was 2, while Webb, a member of Valpo's state finalist squad, started tumbling as a kindergartener.

"Pound for pound, gymnasts are probably the toughest athletes around," Valpo head coach Jim McCall said. "There's really a nice translation from gymnastics to pole vaulting. And it's not only the physical nature of it, the upper body strength; it's the fearlessness of being upside down in the air."

Sutton's fear factor is much greater for gymnastics. She sports a knee brace for a dislocated knee cap suffered in January.

"Pole vaulting kind of comes easy to me," Sutton said. "I think I'm a pretty quick learner, which has something to do with gymnastics. They're a lot alike. I like heights. I'm usually not afraid of anything up in the air, like hanging from a bar. It's fun."

Webb has a similar mentality.

"You can't hold back. That's when it starts messing with your head," she said. "I have to think, 'Hey, I can do this in gymnastics, why can't I do it here?' Most of the pole vault techniques are things we've learned in gymnastics. When you think about it as something you already know, it makes it a lot easier."

Contested as an exhibition event in the state tournament series the last two seasons, the pole vault counts in team scoring this year. It's also the first time Valpo has a vaulter.

"We practiced it last season," McCall said. "It's such a technical event with such high risk for injury. We wanted to take it slowly and make sure our kids were ready for competition before just putting them in there and telling them to go for it."

The girls carried last spring's training over into the summer, laying the groundwork for their first-year success. Webb's 10-6 would position her for a state medal.

"She's taken all the tools she has and rolled with it," McCall said. "Every day, she comes ready to work hard with a big smile. She loves what she does, and when you have that, you're going to have success. And it's the same thing with Abbey. They're two great athletes."