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I'm sorry, but this picture totally cracks me up



http://www.registerguard.com/news/2004/ ... .0405.html

Dreams take flight: Freshman Tommy Skipper already has the UO pole vault record

By Bob Rodman 
The Register-Guard

Perhaps you can begin to call it a trend now, the young phenom or two or three joining the Oregon men's track and field program, seeking to return the Ducks to glory in a sport rich with tradition.

The latest of the young lions is Tommy Skipper, with enough talent to have the Oregon program soaring just as he soars over an ever-rising pole vault bar.

In February, the 6-foot-2 Skipper cleared 18 feet, 8 3/4 inches during an indoor meet in Nampa, Idaho, taking down the Oregon vault record of 18-6 1/2 , set by Kory Tarpenning nearly two decades ago.

"Kory was my inspiration for vaulting in the first place," Skipper said. "When I broke his record, he wrote a letter congratulating me. I wrote him back. He was one of the great vaulters."

Already a folk hero of sorts for his monster accomplishments as a Sandy High superstar and his link to Oregon through his late brother, javelin star Art Skipper, Tommy Skipper is all of 19 years old.

Tommy Skipper is setting his sights higher after breaking the UO pole vault record with a jump of 18 feet, 8 3/4 inches.

Photo: Kevin Clark / The Register-Guard


"He's got all the tools," Oregon coach Martin Smith said. "He has all the natural athletic talents, and he works with them very hard. He has the complete package, is committed to training and learning and has a tremendous work ethic. He has an inner drive and determination to be the best he can be. He has a passion for his trade.

"Tommy also has an athletic maturity and groundedness. He is much more seasoned and mature and aware than you might anticipate for someone so young."

He is not alone. As Smith begins his sixth season at Oregon - with the major local meet on the Oregon schedule, the Pepsi Team Invitational, coming up Saturday at Hayward Field - the Ducks' young guns are blazing away.

Of the 10 Ducks on the current team who rank in the top 10 of their events on Oregon's all-time lists, five are sophomores and one - Skipper - is a freshman.

Skipper tops the vault list, Eric Mitchum is No. 2 in the 110 high hurdles (13.75), Jeff Lindsey is fifth in the high jump (7-1 1/2 ), Matt Scherer is fifth in the 400 (46.40), and Jordan Kent is sixth in the 200 (20.99) and eighth in the 100 (10.46).

Kent, who could redshirt this season as he focuses on basketball, and Mitchum were the keystones to Smith's 2002-03 recruiting class. This time around, Skipper and Mike McGrath, who was the nation's leading prep senior in the 800 a year ago, are the lead rookies for the Ducks, who won the Pac-10 title by default last year - Southern California had to forfeit the crown because of points scored by an ineligible athlete - and seem to have the tools to win it outright in Tucson, Ariz., next month.

"We've had a little bit of a run of good luck," Smith said. "We have secured a number of athletes of that stature. If you are to be successful in track and field at a high level, you have to make that the engine driving the train in your recruiting strategy.

"You cannot be competitive without that kind of athlete, and you don't get many athletes as good as Tommy in your career."

Skipper, with his Hollywood looks and his down-to-earth demeanor, delivers a sheepish grin as he speaks humbly of his presence in the shadows of Oregon's track and field legends.

"So many great athletes competed here," he said, almost reverently. "Pre, Mac Wilkins, the Crouser brothers, Salazar. ... It's amazing how many incredible athletes were at Oregon.

"I'd like to be one of those, and I'm going to do everything I can, work as hard as I can, to someday be in that company. I am so honored to be here."

Just as Kent, the hometown hero from Churchill High School, was last season, Smith hopes Skipper is a reason for track and field fans to buy tickets to a meet at Hayward Field. (After Saturday's scoring meet, in which the Oregon men's and women's teams host Colorado, Minnesota and Washington, the remaining home meets are the Oregon Invitational on April 24 and the annual Twilight Meet on May 1.)

"Tommy is someone who people in the state have followed, a native son," Smith said. "There is an attachment, and everyone takes pride in seeing the hometown talent flourish.

"Some people also have an intangible charismatic quality to them, and Tommy is one of those people. He is a very genuine person and people connect with that. They feel a lot of goodness when they get to know him.

"You root for someone like that. You like that person. He is one of ours."

Plus, Smith said, Skipper competes in a spectator-friendly event.

"It's pretty amazing, the pole vault," Smith said. "An athlete running down the runway at an accelerated speed, sticking a pole in the ground, finding himself upside down, getting over the bar and falling to the ground from 19 feet or higher.

"It captures the imagination, even if you know nothing about the event."

Ah, shucks, said Skipper, who one day - possibly sooner than later - may find himself vaulting before a world audience. He is less than 4 inches from clearing the cherished 19-foot barrier.

"It's part of the deal," he said of the attention. "I don't feel any pressure to do something I can't. I give 110 percent, leave it all on the track."

The sky may not be the limit for Skipper, whose trip onto the national high school stage ended last spring with his being named the Track & Field News boy athlete of the year, an honor directly related to his outdoor prep vault record of 18-3.

A short time later, he won the USA Junior Championships vault title. Last month, he took the silver medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

"If God is willing," Skipper said, "maybe one day I will be able to take a shot at being one of the best. I dream of that all the time."

En route, he said, he will do his best to help return the Ducks to their coveted status as not only a power in the Pac-10 Conference but a big-time player on the national stage.

"I want the experience that all of those great athletes had at Oregon," Skipper said. "I want to help this team, help bring the program back to where it was in the past. I will be honored to play any role."

There is little doubt it will be a prominent one.

We were posting that picture all over the track......boy did he get pissed! Seriously though, that article hits it right on the head, that boy is the most humble person i have ever met.

dang, that guy is a beast. What more can be said?

He's gorgeous... that's what else can be said

HAHAHAHAHA how could you keep a straight face taking that picture!?!?!!

http://www.uwire.com/content//topsports043004001.html

Oregon's Skipper a humble superstar


By Jon Roetman


Oregon Daily Emerald (U. Oregon)
04/30/2004


TODAY'S HEADLINES
04/30/2004

(U-WIRE) EUGENE, Ore. -- He is one of the most talented track and field athletes in the country.

He's celebrity-handsome and has become a Hayward Field icon during his freshman year at Oregon.

For those who have never met Tommy Skipper, it would be easy to suspect the 19-year-old of being self-absorbed.

It takes only one conversation with the Sandy native, however, to realize he's one of the most modest people one could encounter.

"I was a little shocked by how humble he was," senior pole vaulter Trevor Woods said. "I tried not to have any preconceived notions when he first got here, but the word that people around Oregon used [to describe Skipper] was 'wow.' I wouldn't say they considered him to be God-like, but almost like a mythical creature. But the moment he showed up, you could just tell that he was genuine. There's no fakeness to him."

A combination of strong family values and a desire to honor his late brother Art has lead Tommy Skipper on a path to Oregon, where he has quickly become one of the school's most well-liked athletes. That path, however, wasn't always clear.

Skipper's choice to become a Duck wasn't an easy one at first. Coming out of Sandy High School, the 2003 Track and Field News' Boys Athlete of the Year had the talent to pole vault for any school in the nation. After a lengthy decision-making process, Skipper decided Tracktown, USA, was the place for him. It was close to home and his brothers, Scott and Art, had also been Ducks.

"Looking back at it, I say 'wow,' it shouldn't have been that tough for me to see that Oregon was the place for me," Skipper said. "There was so much confusion coming out of high school with me wanting to make the perfect decision and not wanting to have any regrets on going to the wrong university. Now that I'm here, I love the University of Oregon and there wouldn't be any other place for me."

After arriving at Oregon during the winter term, it didn't take long for Skipper to amaze his teammates on and off the field.

At an indoor meet in Nampa, Idaho, in early February, Skipper broke the school pole vault record when he cleared the bar at 18 feet, 8 3/4 inches. The previous record, held by Olympian Kory Tarpenning (18-6 1/2), had stood for 19 years.

Skipper's performance during the indoor campaign earned him All-American status and gave Oregon coaches an idea of what he's capable of accomplishing during his collegiate career.

Once the outdoor season started, Skipper's success continued. Though he hasn't come close to his record-breaking height, he recorded first-place marks at the Oregon Preview (17-6 1/2) and the Pepsi Team Invitational (17-5), along with a fourth-place finish at the Texas Relays (17-8 1/2).

What impressed Skipper's teammates even more than his athletic talent was the way he has handled success.

"He's a great guy," redshirt freshman pole vaulter David Moore said. "You would expect someone with that much talent to be a little more cocky, a little more arrogant, think he knows everything and think he's better than everyone else. But he doesn't have that attitude. He's totally down to earth and realizes he has great talent, but doesn't think he's better than anyone else because of that."

Skipper picked up on selflessness from time spent with his older brother Art, who died in a small plane crash in 2001 at the age of 31.

Tommy grew up watching Art experience success in the javelin as a Duck. While at Oregon, Art set the school record (251-8, broken by John Stiegeler in 2001, 252-10) and was a two-time All-American. Tommy said he thinks of Art every time he competes in a meet.

"I think about him every day," Skipper said. "[It's hard] when you lose the person that inspires you to be better and to live life. He's my motivation for everything. He honestly was my best friend."

Along with a humble attitude, Art instilled a fiery desire to be the best inside Tommy, who fell in love with the pole vault in the seventh grade and has been hard at work ever since.

Despite his accolades in the pole vault, Tommy said he was anything but a natural at first.

"It was something that I enjoyed so that kind of drove me to always want to pole vault every single chance that I got," Skipper said. "It didn't come naturally to me. I had to work at it every single chance I got."

Being able to stay focused and maintain a strong work ethic are reasons Skipper has gotten this far. From an athletic standpoint, it was obvious he could accomplish anything if he put his mind to it.

Along with the pole vault, Skipper also starred in the 100-meter dash, the 200, the long jump, the high jump and the javelin. Outside of track and field, he was also a talented prep football player. As a wide receiver, he could out-jump almost any defensive back in the Mt. Hood Conference. When he wasn't catching passes, he was showing off his leg as an all-state punter.

And as if Skipper's athletic resume wasn't impressive enough, the San Diego Padres selected him in the 37th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball amateur draft, despite the fact Skipper had never played an inning of organized baseball in his life.

With other options available, it was Skipper's love for track and his desire to be the best that kept him focused. That same competitive desire has rubbed off on his Oregon teammates in their pursuit of improvement.

"His work ethic and his demand for perfection [are motivating]," Woods said. "He almost gets too frustrated because he wants to be too perfect. The attitude that he brings about wanting to be the best is what we feed off of."

While Skipper's marks in the pole vault are congratulated by teammates, it's his friendship that is appreciated. Getting into a conversation with the freshman about his marks will likely lead to a quick change in subject matter.

"If you start talking to [Skipper] about how he did, he'd rather just talk about how you did," sophomore high jumper Jeff Lindsey said. "He's such a laid-back guy that he's fun to hang out with."

If Skipper's athleticism, attitude and contributions to the Oregon track and field program had to be summarized in one word, head coach Martin Smith prefers to use the G-word.

"The thing about Tommy you enjoy is how genuine he is," Smith said. "He's not about making himself out to be better than everyone else. He's able to bring other nice qualities to the table. He wants to do everything he can to help the team. His strengths are deep-rooted inside of him and he has a very mature ability to carry himself in a way that he's very comfortable around other people. What you see with Tommy is that he's very sincere."

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/ ... .0119.html

Ron Bellamy: Skipper ready to reach new heights

By Ron Bellamy 
Columnist, The Register-Guard
  
When we left Tommy Skipper, he was disgusted and disconsolate because he was unable to reach the pole vault finals in the Olympic Trials in Sacramento last July.

It was the only flaw in his fabulous freshman year at Oregon. And it was, he says now, for the best.

"In retrospect, what I learned in that meet is much more valuable than getting a PR," Skipper said.

"I would rather have it go the way it did and learn from that, and have it under my belt as a learning experience, than have to go through that another time in my career."

What Skipper learned, he said, is that he has to be prepared for all types of weather to withstand elements such as the crosswinds that bothered him in Sacramento, where he'll vault again in June in the NCAA outdoor championships.

And he learned that he can never look beyond the task at hand.

"Honestly, in the prelims, it was kind of a given to me that I was going to advance to the finals," he said. "That (the prelims) was something that I didn't really calculate for. I was so concerned about the final, and you have to take one step at a time. I'm thankful I got the opportunity to learn that last year."

Skipper's sophomore campaign at Oregon began last weekend, with a testing-out vault of 17 feet, 8 1/2 inches in the Dempsey Indoor Invitational in Seattle, and continues this weekend in the carnival-like atmosphere of the 15th annual Reno National Pole Vault Summit, where he's scheduled to compete in the elite division Friday night.

Skipper's UO teammates and other Eugene vaulters will also compete in the two-day indoor festival that will draw hundreds of pole vaulters, from the top post-collegiates to high school athletes, to Nevada for competition and coaching clinics in a celebration of the event.

Skipper and Oregon had much to celebrate last year. The former Oregon prep star from Sandy High School didn't enroll at Oregon until January and didn't start working with his current pole vault coach, Mark Vanderville, until March. And yet he won the Pac-10 championship, the NCAA regional championship and the NCAA Division I title, setting an Oregon and Pac-10 record by clearing 18-10 1/4 .

He also won the Pac-10 decathlon title, and when the year ended he was ranked the No. 10 pole vaulter in the nation by Track & Field News, the only collegian on that list.

Imagine what he could have done with a solid fall of conditioning and technique work. Which he has now.

"There's no doubt he can jump high, but there's always the excitement that there's a lot to fix, and a lot he can improve on," Vanderville said.

Through the fall and early winter, Skipper has done more running than ever. At age 20, he has also watched more film than ever, not only reviewing his own vaults in practice and in competition, but studying the vaulter who is, more and more, becoming his role model - the great Sergey Bubka, whose vault of 20-1 3/4 in 1994 remains the world record.

"I can clearly see why he was the best," Skipper said, noting Bubka's strength, and his dedication to perfection in every aspect of the event, and to making the pole vault "a lifestyle."

Undeniably, Skipper has given himself a tough act to follow this year, but he insists his focus is on neither defending his titles nor clearing a specific height.

"I read something about Sergey Bubka the other night, and he was talking about how people get excited about the heights, and the money, and kind of all the wrong things," Skipper said. "He said he was only focused on his technique, and his condition, and that everything else will fall into place.

"I'm a very strong believer in that. I can't worry about defending my title, or winning a meet. I just have to go out there and be confident in what I've worked on."

Yet it would be a logical progression if sometime this year, and under the right circumstances, Skipper takes a shot at 19 feet, a height cleared by only six collegiate vaulters ever. For perspective, only 20 elite pole vaulters achieved that height last year. In the world.