http://www.kokomotribune.com/story.asp?id=8003
Competition heightens
By JOHN DEMPSEY
Tribune sportswriter
Thursday, May 26, 2005
One of the most competitive events at tonight's IHSAA Kokomo Boys Track and Field Regional should be the pole vault.
Blayne Burkholder and Brad Imbierowicz are two of the reasons. Friendly rivals who respect each other's abilities, the two seniors -- Imbierowicz from Kokomo and Burkholder from Western -- are the latest in a long line of outstanding Howard County vaulters.
The real fun for the two begins tonight. Imbierowicz claimed the Kokomo Sectional title by clearing 15 feet. Burkholder was second at 14-6.
"We have the best regional in state for pole vault," Burkholder said. "There are six known vaulters over 14-0. The defending champion [Zach Rosenberger of Columbia City] is back. There are two who have cleared 14-6 from Penn and Rochester has a 14-footer. It's good for us to get competition before state."
The top three places in every event will advance to the 102nd annual state meet at Indiana University next Friday. And with a field of quality vaulters, many are setting their sights on clearing 13-10 -- the automatic state qualifying standard. Anyone who clears that height will advance no matter where they place.
There's more than one reason both vaulters look forward to the night of the sectional. The obvious one comes from the actual arrival of the state tournament and the opportunity to perform and advance.
Both admit the other reason is to finally get a chance at good competition. Both vaulters have won their conference titles -- Burkholder the Mid-Indiana and Imbierowicz the North Central -- each of the last three years and seldom have either been tested before the sectional.
"Having Blayne there makes the sectional fun," Imbierowicz said. "The NCC, there's no competition there so having Blayne at sectional makes it fun.
"Knowing he's going to be there, it pushes me to go and try to do better and it makes me work harder in practice."
Burkholder agreed.
"Most of the season, we don't have the competition," Burkholder agreed. "You get to the sectional and it's fun. Having each other around, you watch what he jumps during the season."
Both qualified for state as sophomores and Burkholder advanced last year. Imbierowicz, however, passed to 13-0 and didn't make the height.
"The hardest thing is to get that first height," he said. "I moved up and used a pole I'd never used before and I just moved up on the pole a little too fast.
"That was pretty disappointing. I understand now how much each jump counts instead of the highest jump. You can't win if you don't focus on every jump."
Burkholder nearly found himself in the same place last week at the sectional. He passed to 13-6 and cleared on his final attempt.
"That would have been bad, scary," he admitted of the possibility of not clearing his opening height. "I started on a different pole that I shouldn't have used. I wasn't ready to go and should have been more prepared.
"You win or lose the competition on one jump most of the time. That's what kept me from placing at state last year."
Burkholder has pole vaulting in his genes -- his father Bill vaulted at Purdue -- but it was almost an accident that he got started in the event.
"I started vaulting in seventh grade. I wasn't even running track. But, after basketball was over, the middle school was having practice," he said. "I came out and cleared what they were clearing and Coach [Matt] McQuinn asked me to come out for the team.
"Dad never pushed me at all. He's been there to help when I asked him for it."
Imbierowicz didn't get started until his freshman year. Kokomo coach Tom Byrnes was looking for volunteers and asked if he'd like to try it.
"I'd never seen it before. Josh Davis and Zach Bolinger pushed and got me going," he said. "At the beginning we were indoors and I didn't like it, but once we got outside and I saw what pole vault really was, I liked it a lot and I wanted to jump every day."
While trying to interest other team members in the pole vault, Imbierowicz has helped junior Lindsey Preston get the hang of the event. She qualified for the regional.
"Teaching it helps me understand pole vault even more," he said. "It helps my technique."