Pole vaulters ready for Reno Summit

  NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Senior CJ Bell
clears the bar in the pole vault during a meet last year. Bruin
pole vaulters will attend a meet in Reno this weekend.

By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The pole vaulters are getting a head start over the rest of the
UCLA indoor track squad as they travel this weekend to Reno for the
Reno Pole Vault Summit.

The annual meet draws vaulters of all ages from around the
nation and will provide the Bruins with the opportunity to get tips
from premiere athletes and coaches in the sport.

“Because the pole vaulting community is so small, almost
all of the big vaulters in the U.S. will be there, which is good
for us to go and see the best people and hang out with them,”
sophomore Jared Drake said.

The meet starts Friday with the clinic portion, which will
include coaching attention, and the competition follows on
Saturday.

“The main things we’re trying to do in this first
competition, because there’s a clinic at the beginning, is
get input from all the national coaches and some world-renowned
coaches,” UCLA pole vault coach Anthony Curran said.

“The competition is just something to see where
we’re at indoors. Last year at Reno we had some better
preparation going into it and we all did pretty well.”

The Bruins have had success at this meet in the past. Last year
junior Tracy O’Hara, 2000 indoor and outdoor champion,
notched 13-foot-9 in her first competition of the season.

Though O’Hara cleared almost a foot higher (14-7) in
outdoor competition later in the season, the 13-9 jump was a good
start.

“I went in not knowing what to expect and I didn’t
know how high I’d jump or what poles I was using, and I ended
up jumping awesomely,” O’Hara said. “I’m
hoping the same thing’s going to happen again.”

Ten athletes will represent UCLA at the meet. Competing for the
men are senior CJ Bell, senior Steven Michaels, who leads the team
with his personal best of 17-7, sophomore Jared Drake, who placed
fifth at the Pac-10s with 16-10 1/2, and freshman Yoo Kim. Kim has
already cleared 16-6 in practice.

“We had a practice meet last weekend where all three of my
guys were in the 16-6 range, and I think when they get in a
competition situation, they jump another six to eight
inches,” Curran said.

“Kim probably had the best practice of his life in the
practice-meet. He jumped 16-6 in practice, so I think he’s
ready for a big one.”

Competing for the women will be O’Hara, junior Heather
Sickler, sophomore Karen Bewley and freshman Gail Larsen. Also
competing is senior Erica Hoernig, who has used up her indoor
eligibility and will compete unattached.

“Right now I think everyone’s a little ahead of
where we were last year, so we should go in there and have better
results than we did last year,” Curran said. “I’m
looking for Tracy to jump in the 14-foot range to start off, and
Erica and Heather look better than they have at any
preseason.”