Blayne Burkholder and Brad Imbierowicz Article (IN)

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http://www.kokomotribune.com/story.asp?id=8743

Pole vaulters highlight all-county squad
By JOHN DEMPSEY
Tribune sportswriter
Wednesday, July 27, 2005


Blayne Burkholder and Brad Imbierowicz will always be known as pole vaulters. There's a good reason, both graduated owning their respective high school records and both qualified at least twice for the state meet.

Yet, what both their coaches will remember is their unselfishness.

"Brad's a total team athlete. You'd love to have 20 like him on the team," Kokomo coach Tom Byrnes said. "He'll do anything you ask."

Western coach Dana Neer couldn't help but heap praise on Burkholder.

"Blayne was not only a pole vaulter, he could do anything. He could long jump. He's high jumped and sprinted for us," the Panther coach said.

The success they each had vaulting, combined with their ability to help their teams in other areas, is the reason why they're co-MVPs of the seventh Kokomo Tribune All-County Boys Track and Field Team.

Imbierowicz, who set the Kokomo record at 15 feet, 4 inches, finished ninth vaulting in the state track after winning the sectional and regional. He was the North Central Conference champion in the event for the last three years. Plus, he provided the Wildkats with a second hurdler in the 300-meter intermediates behind Justin Pugh.

"He really accomplished about every goal we had for him. He made it to the state meet, broke the school record that was more than 20 years old and placed at state," Byrnes said. "If we had an injury on a relay team, he would run on it. Brad was a great role model for our young athletes to learn from.

"He was very helpful to our young vaulters, helping them learn the event. Zeb Bartolome's success in the pole vault has been due to Brad. Zeb could see Brad get the big heights and Brad coached him on things to do."

Burkholder himself won the Mid-Indiana Conference title three times and broke his own school mark with a vault of 15-6. In helping Western win the track sectional, he finished fifth in the long jump.

"We had to have him do it in the sectional because we needed as many points as possible," Neer said. "He scored 12 points rather than just the 10 he would have scored if he'd only won the pole vault.

"Blayne consistently jumped 15 feet, in every weather condition and that's just a tribute to his ability to not only jump but jump in heavy competition. For Blayne and Brad, it's not merely focusing on some of the state's best but some of the nation's best. To have two in Howard County like that, it doesn't happen very often."

Both previously have been named to the all-county team twice. Making it for the third time each are Western's Tommy Jenkins and Taylor's Christopher Sinnett while Eastern's Tony Martin and Jesse Rayl and Justin Pugh of Kokomo are back for the second time.