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Vaulters' journey ends


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Erin Hooley / gtphoto@greeleytrib.com
Chris Kraak attempts a pole vault during the State Track Meet at Legacy Stadium at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora. Hailing from Greeley West High School, Kraak fell out of the 4A competition at 14' 6" Saturday.


Mandi Torrez, (Bio) torrez@greeleytrib.com
May 22, 2005

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AURORA --Mark Roggy left the first day of track practice four years ago with his hands full.

Chris Kraak and Tyler Roggy didn't know the first thing about pole vaulting.

"They were horrible," Roggy said. "They weren't very good."

But from beginners to veterans, the Greeley West senior duo finished that four-year journey Saturday far from horrible and closer to the best in the state.

The two Spartans had a shot at gold in the pole vault, but neither could pull it off at the Class 4A State Track and Field Championships at Legacy Stadium.

But Kraak put in Weld County's top individual finish as a runner-up for the second straight year. He cleared 14 feet, while Roggy came in seventh at 13-6.

"We really wanted a title today, so I wouldn't call it a great day," Mark Roggy said. "We didn't have consistency, and you can't have that at the state meet. A little disappointed, but it's not the end of the world. We have two kids on the medals stand."

Those places helped West finish as the top Weld boys team, 18th place with 16 points. Windsor led the girls teams in eighth place with 30 points.

Northridge junior Ryan Hill paced Weld in the boys running events with a seventh in the 100-meter dash. He took 0.09 seconds off his preliminaries time for an 11.32.

Northridge's Hannah Miller led the Weld girls by placing in four events.

West's finish in the vault was far from where the two Spartans started as freshmen. A little friendly competition, a good coach and hard work did wonders.

Kraak made three appearances at the state meet in his career and Tyler two. And both beat this year's state champ, Wade Henderson of Sterling, during the Northern Conference meet.

"We're the first ones to start at practice and the last to leave," Kraak said. "I can't remember a night that we weren't the last ones to leave. It's like brothers. We just push each other so hard that if he's going to take another jump, I might as well take another. We just go at it all the time in practice."

That kind of effort took them from struggling to making 8 feet as rookies to going sky high this season, both with a personal record of 14 feet this season.

Tyler was even close to making it at 14 Saturday, clearing the bar by several inches but knocking it off on the way down.

"That's all the more gratifying to see them at the medals stand at the state track meet," said Mark Roggy, who vaulted in high school and for the University of Northern Colorado in the 1970s. "I've grown up with both of them and am proud to have been their coach."

The feeling is mutual for the Spartans, though the experience was somewhat different for Tyler having his dad as a coach.

But "I wouldn't have it any other way," said Tyler, who will attend Colorado Mountain College next fall and likely will follow dad's footsteps as a coach.

The experience Roggy passed on to his protégés was a big factor in their success, they said.

Roggy, who also coached the two in football, had a fifth and third place at the state meet during his high school career.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't talk to him about sports," said Kraak, who's headed to Hastings College for football and track. "It's a special bond with a coach that some people don't get."

So while Roggy had his work cut out for him four years ago with these Spartans, the journey's end was just a part of what Tyler called a "fun ride."

"I feel really good about what they've done and how they've approached the event," Roggy said. "I even think Chris and Tyler could coach pole vault they know so much about it. And that's a tribute to them and how hard they've worked."

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Pole vaulter markets sport, trying to help others reach new heights


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JIM RYDBOM / jrydbom@greeleytrib.com
Former Greeley West senior Chris Kraak has been a savvy salesman for the Spartans track team by helping recruit younger students to go out for the team. Kraak's love for the sport of track and finishing 2nd in the pole vault at the state track meet has made Kraak the Greeley Tribune Athlete of the Year for boys track.
Nate Miller, (Bio) miller@greeleytrib.com
June 11, 2005

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GREELEY -- When Chris Kraak makes his pitch, people listen.

But his silver-tongued enthusiasm doesn't move replica watches or used cars. He pushes a product he believes has genuine value.

"He's kind of salesman for track," Greeley West coach Dave Franklin said, recalling a back-to-school night when Kraak set up a display of track medals and photos to try to increase students' interest in the sport.

"I have a passion, and I want to share it with other people," Kraak said, a big smile lighting his youthful face. "In my case, you might wind up liking it and be good at it."

The 18-year-old Greeley West graduate finished second at state in the pole vault -- the highest finish of any Weld County Class 4A competitor -- to become the Tribune's Athlete of the Year in boys track.

Kraak said track began as a way to gain speed as a football player. In his freshman and sophomore years, he and his pole vaulting partner, Tyler Roggy, began learning the sport from Tyler's dad, Mark Roggy. The elder Roggy, who was a University of Northern Colorado pole vaulter, is West's football and pole vault coach.

"I just started to like it, and it worked out for me I guess," Kraak said. "The pole vault is such a mental event. You can't have any mental break downs because there are so many different points to it."

Kraak's dad, Bruce Kraak, said he never thought his son would become a track star.

"He came home one day and told me he was going out for pole vault and that really surprised me," he said. "He progressed rapidly, which came as a surprise not only to Coach Roggy but to myself and my wife."

Learning all the technical aspects of the event took time, Kraak said. But by their junior and senior year, the younger Roggy and Kraak were competing at a high level.

"I think it had to do with our athletic ability, but more than anything it had to do with Coach Rog," he said. "He's a great coach."

The pole vaulting partners pushed each other, too.

"I learned a lot of competition from him because we were always head-to-head that way," the younger Roggy said. "He just has the desire to be the best. He just wants it so bad, and he'll work to get it. It seems like the higher the stakes, the better he gets."

Kraak said he often depended on his coach to go the extra mile.

"There were times in our freshmen, sophomore and junior years when Tyler and I were at the track until 7," he said.

Kraak said his coach never batted an eye when it came to putting in extra effort for the kids he coached.

"He's always helping everyone," Kraak said.

Kraak hopes to fallow in his coach's footsteps.

"I'd love to coach," he said. "The coaches I've had have impacted me so much."

This past season, Kraak and his partner would practice pole vaulting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The other days, they would help the coaches teach the younger kids. Kraak said he enjoyed the challenge of both roles.

"When you're the athlete, you have to do the stuff you told them about right," he said.

Kraak will attend Hastings College, an NAIA school in Hastings, Neb. He will participate in track at the next level, a challenge he's excited about.

"I'm looking forward to better competition and seeing how much potential I can get and seeing how far I can go," he said.

He plans to major in physical education and then become a coach. He will continue to sell the virtues of the sport he loves.

"It's a great competitive experience because you get to learn that it doesn't matter if you're first, second or third," he said. "It's just to go out there and make improvements for yourself."