Area schools' pole vault prowess inspires others to try the event

The Fox Valley Conference stood proudly, its chest protruding, last May 28 in Charleston at the IHSA Boys Track and Field State Meet.

The list of Class 3A pole vault finalists contained 20 names, one-quarter of whom were from the FVC. Crystal Lake Central’s Brandon Dahl took fourth, Crystal Lake South’s Sam Peschke finished seventh.

McHenry’s Kevin Szamlewski narrowly missed a medal in 11th, while Huntley’s Jacob Riese and Rafael Rivera also competed in the finals. That moment served as further evidence, along with the considerable number of state medalists, both boys and girls since 2007, that the McHenry County area is thriving when it comes to the pole vault.

Since 2007, the area has produced one state champion (Woodstock’s Jon Walsh in Class 2A in 2012) and four runners-up. Almost every year the boys and girls records at the McHenry County and FVC meets are threatened, if not broken.

Dahl and Szamlewski broke the county meet record last year, each clearing 14-9. Peschke broke that last week with a 15-1, a height he had to make or risk losing to Riese, who had made 14-7 with fewer misses.

McHenry assistant coach Mike Quinnett, whose specialty is vault, has had several state-caliber vaulters. The Warriors’ Corey Szamlewski was second in 3A in 2010; girls vaulter Savannah Howie was 3A runner-up last year.

“Success breeds success,” Quinnett said. “When kids start getting better, then other kids in the area start to say, ‘Why can’t I do that?’ That’s what I think it is. You get some kids going high, all of a sudden everyone elevates their level.”

McHenry, Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, Huntley and Woodstock North (now in the Kishwaukee River Conference) have been the area’s best at vaulting, usually because those schools have an assistant, like Quinnett, who is knowledgeable at coaching one of track and field’s most difficult events.

Peschke thinks the whole atmosphere around the FVC is advantageous.

“Every coach at every school in our conference helps every kid, no matter what school they’re from,” Peschke said. “I’ve gotten a lot of help from coach Q. at McHenry, I have four of his poles right now. It’s really a collaborative thing. We help kids out from Central, trading poles, helping each other with form and everything. It’s kind of a community thing.”

Daredevils

So, what attributes make someone a good pole vaulter?

Speed, upper-body strength, a strong core, a willingness to practice and having some daredevil inside are all necessary qualities.

Woodstock senior Cora Uidl gave vault a try in the summer before her freshman year. Uidl took sixth in the 2A vault at the IHSA Girls Track and Field State Meet last year.

“So much of it is mental,” Uidl said. “I think the physical stuff is the easiest part. For me, keeping my head on straight and just focusing is the hardest part.”

Uidl, who will vault at NCAA Division III Wisconsin-LaCrosse next year, said she is naturally athletic and strong in her upper body, so the vault came somewhat naturally for her.

Prairie Ridge’s Sam Fisher, who will compete at D-I Northern Iowa, had an advantage that a lot of other girl vaulters have. She grew up doing gymnastics.

At last year’s girls state track meet came on the infield at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Stadium as the 3A girls awaited receiving their medals. Howie and the others decided to have a handstand contest, which was both impressive and hilarious, and hinted that there may have been a few former gymnasts in the group.

“I was already a little bit of a daredevil, doing flips and stuff in the air,” Fisher said. “A person who doesn’t have that background kind of needs to have that daredevil mentality and start doing it.”

Riese had an advantage with Huntley, which has the pole vault in its middle school programs. His mother, Jeananne, urged him to take it up in the seventh grade, he thinks because of the risk-taking tendencies of his youth.

“That definitely made a difference,” Riese said. “I don’t know if I would be a pole vaulter if we didn’t have it in middle school. If you really enjoy something you want to keep doing it. It’ll drive you to be better and better. You can focus if you love it.”

It’s about technique

Coaches often can spot athletes for certain events by their body types. Slender kids may be distances runners, those with more muscular builds are sprinters, tall and lanky types might hurdle, and throwers just kind of naturally stick out.

Vaulters are different.

South assistant coach Rich Eschman has coached for more than 25 years, with the pole vault as an area of expertise. But for all his experience and knowledge, he still doesn’t know until he sees for himself.

Eschman has aspiring vaulters push themselves up and try to kick a bungee cord. After a few weeks, if they can’t kick the bungee, Eschman kindly suggests they try a different event.

“Some kids come in, pick up a pole and kick the bungee,” Eschman said. “And it’s ‘OK, you can stay here, because you’re not afraid to put your feet above your head.’ I don’t know what it is about them that allows them to do that, because I can’t do it. I don’t know what the rhymes or reasons are.”

And Eschman adds that good vaulters don’t necessarily have to be extremely gifted physically.

“I’ve seen guys who really, if you were to put them on the track, they wouldn’t be able to help you,” Eschman said. “They’re not fast, they can’t jump. Most people think to be a vaulter you have to be this freak athlete, but there are so many guys who have studied the vault and technique-wise have figured it out.”

For instances, while Peschke runs some sprints and relays for the Gators, senior Peter Polizos does not. Eschman says he could not help South score on the track, yet Polizos vaulted 13-1 to take third at the McHenry County Meet.

Quinnett found his next girls vaulter in sophomore Jenna Pauly, who watched Howie take second at the county meet at 10-3. Pauly, who won the high jump, had been vaulting for four weeks.

“I have more girl vaulters now than I have guys,” Quinnett said. “That’s usually not the case. The girls don’t have the testosterone, they’re not the thrill-seekers.”

‘It’s pretty surreal’

Peschke learned that he had vaulting in his genes. His grandfather, Curtis Wilson, vaulted in high school and Peschke has Wilson’s old steel pole in his garage.

When Peschke tried out as a freshman, he showed some vault aptitude right away.

“I was natural enough to stay with it,” Peschke said. “I didn’t crash and burn. My freshman year I got 10-9, which was good. It wasn’t until the next year or last year where I pulled ahead of anybody. I liked it so I stayed with it.”

There are more opportunities available for vaulters to practice. Fisher talked about working even more this offseason after just missing a medal last year. Peschke said he did a lot of offseason training and drove to Bloom High School in Chicago Heights most Sundays.

Peschke says the season itself is too short, necessitating the offseason work.

In the moments when everything comes together, all the training and effort is worth it. The pole vault can provide a beautiful sight as the vaulter’s feet point toward the sky and he or she sores over the bar, while everyone holds their breath waiting to see the bar remain atop the standards.

“When you’re getting to the pole and things are going well, it can be a lot of fun,” Peschke said. “It’s pretty surreal. You get a lot of confidence when it’s about to work. When you’re not getting through your pole, on the other hand, it can be a scary feeling, because you don’t know where you’re going to land when you come back down. But generally, it’s pretty cool. It’s definitely a different feeling than anything else.”

Getting it done

A look at how area pole vaulters have fared since 2007 at the IHSA Track and Field State meets

Boys

Year Athlete, School Class Place

2009 Zach Siegmeier, CL Central AA 2nd

Mark Niemann, CL Central AA 5th

2010 Corey Szamlewski, McHenry 3A 2nd

2011 Josiah Becker, CL Central 2A 2nd

Corey Szamlewski, McHenry 3A 4th

2012 Jon Walsh, Woodstock North 2A 1st

Nate Richartz, McHenry 3A 6th

2013 Will Ford, McHenry 3A 5th

2014 Jimmy Krenger, Woodstock North 2A 8th

2015 Jimmy Krenger, Woodstock North 2A 9th

Brandon Dahl, CL Central 3A 9th

2016 Brandon Dahl, CL Central 3A 4th

Sam Peschke, CL South 3A 7th

GIRLS

2008 Sarah Ross, Jacobs AA 3rd

2011 Lexi Dahl, CL South 3A 9th

2012 Lexi Dahl, CL South 3A 6th

2013 Claire Dalman, CL Central 3A 5th

2014 Claire Dalman, CL Central 3A 4th

Delaney Lyman, Huntley 3A 9th

2015 Delaney Lyman, Huntley 3A 8th

2016 Savannah Howie, McHenry 3A 2nd

Cora Uidl, Woodstock 2A 6th