Sean Beighton (WA) article

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http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/04/ ... igh001.cfm

Prep Sports

Published: Saturday, April 28, 2007

High performance
Being cut at baseball tryouts was a blessing in disguise for Kamiak's Sean Beighton. He found solace in the pole vault and has been soaring ever since - both on the track team and on the ice, where he's a top-notch curler.

By Mike Cane
Herald Writer


MUKILTEO - If things had worked out differently, Sean Beighton would still spend spring afternoons on the baseball diamond. Instead of hurtling his body more than 14 feet into the air day after day, he'd be trying to figure out how to hit a curveball.

But when Beighton was cut during baseball tryouts as a freshman at Kamiak High School, his life took a different course. He joined the Kamiak track and field team, discovered pole vaulting and turned an unexpected diversion into a beloved passion.



Kamiak's Sean Beighton has the best 4A pole vault (14-feet, 9-inches) in the state this season, a mark that ranks tied for second for both 3A and 4A pole vaulters.
Now a senior, Beighton has morphed into one of the state's elite prep pole vaulters. After high school he plans to walk on at the University of Washington, where he'll train alongside some of the best in the country.

But for now he has his sights set on a coveted prize: A state championship. A two-time state meet participant, Beighton placed sixth in Class 4A last year and is ranked No. 1 in 4A this season with a top vault of 14 feet, 9 inches.

Today, he will go up against many of Washington's finest vaulters at the 20th Shoreline Invite at Shoreline Stadium. The event features seven competitors who have cleared 14-3.

"I think it's going to be a very interesting track meet," said Kamiak vault coach Bob Hannah, who believes Beighton can challenge the favorite, Sam Sampson of 3A Squalicum. Sampson is ranked No. 1 among all classifications with a season-best of 15-6.

Despite battling ankle and wrist injuries this season, Beighton has had several excellent performances. Last month, he won at the West Valley Ram Relays in Yakima. Earlier this month, he placed eighth at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational in California by clearing 14-7 and then won the Pasco Invite by going 2 inches higher.

Last weekend, Beighton was runner-up behind Sampson at the Eason Invite in Snohomish.

An incessant desire for perfection fuels Beighton.

"He has never been satisfied with (staying) at the same level," Hannah said. "He's always wanted to excel and to be the best."

When Beighton started, he didn't know how to hold the long, flexible vault pole, let alone soar into the air and maneuver his body over the bar. But by listening intently to his coaches, spending time at summer clinics and working on little things that add up to huge gains, Beighton constantly improved, Hannah said.

Early on, it was clear that vaulting would be more than simply a hobby for Beighton. It was like seeing someone swell with emotion after watching an unforgettable, inspiring movie, Hannah said. But for Beighton, instead of a film, the source of inspiration was vaulting.

"I wasn't that gymnastically inclined," Beighton recalled of his initial attempts, "but I just kind of went down the runway and went for it a few times."

It took him a while to overcome the fear of flight and fully trust a bendy fiberglass pole. "You don't know what's gonna happen at first. Everything about the vault is really unnatural," Beighton said.

His apprehension wasn't obvious to those around him, though. "He had no fear whatsoever. He just wanted to try it," Hannah said.

Beighton progressed rapidly thanks to training sessions at the UW with Huskies assistant coach Pat Licari, a former prep All-American and state champion from Sumner, and assistance from Becca Gillespy, who in 2000 won a state title at King's of Shoreline.

More recently, Beighton benefited greatly from taking gymnastics classes. It boosted his core strength and increased his mid-air body control. Said Beighton, "You have the confidence to go upside down. You know where you are."

Here's where the story begins to sound like a tall tale. Besides being a gifted vaulter, Beighton is also a world-class curler.

Yep, you read it correctly.

Beighton, whose father encouraged him to try the ice-based sport, started curling when he was 13. He competed last year on a team that won the Washington Junior Championships and earned the bronze medal at the Optimist International Under-18 Championships in Calgary, Alberta.

Could he have possibly picked two more different sports?

"It's pure concentration, team effort," Beighton said of curling, which involves throwing a stone - also known as a rock - and using a broom to sweep the ice in the rock's path. "Everyone has to be on the same page, the same level."

But vaulting, Beighton said, is the ultimate individual sport: "It's all you. You have no one to blame but yourself, really, after a competition."

Beighton plans to pursue both sports after high school. His ultimate goal: To qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics in curling and the 2012 Summer Olympics in vaulting.

When it comes to vaulting, UW's Licari said Beighton has serious potential.

"I'm real excited about the prospect of having him be a part of our team," said Licari, citing Beighton's height, speed and dedication as key assets.

Those qualities just might carry Beighton to the top today at the Shoreline Invite and, more significantly, next month at the state championships.

"He knows he's put the time and the energy into the program and he can be a state champion, and that's what he wants to prove," Hannah said.

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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/preps/317 ... bar26.html

4A pole vault champion keeps his cool
Kamiak senior Beighton spends his offseason as competitive curler
By MICHAEL MCLAUGHLIN
P-I REPORTER

PASCO -- Throwing a rock on ice or leaping 15 feet in the air.

Not the activities of a typical teenager, but for senior Sean Beighton of Kamiak High School, both are his passion.

Beighton won the 4A state title in the pole vault Friday, clearing 14 feet, 9 inches before failing to top 15-4. A crosswind gave the vaulters problems all morning, but Beighton seemed unfazed.

That's understandable, considering he was competing to make the U.S. Olympic curling team two years ago as a 15-year-old and was the youngest competitor there.

"My team made it to the second round of qualifying in Minnesota," Beighton said. "I think that experience helps me with my vaulting, especially the mental parts, like focus and staying calm. My goal is to make the 2010 Olympics."

Beighton, whose parents are from Canada, began curling six years ago while watching his father, who was a bronze medalist in 1992 for the U.S. World team and is a seven-time Washington state champion.

He began vaulting as a freshman at Kamiak when he didn't make the baseball team.

"I wanted to do something so I could stay in shape," Breighton said. "Since my brother vaulted in high school, I thought I'd give it a try. The guys in the pole-vaulting community are fun to hang out with. I guess choosing to vault turned out to be a pretty good idea."

Breighton will vault for Washington next fall, but says his future will definitely contain more time on the ice with the rock and broom. At Washington, he'll join last year's 3A state pole vault champ, Ryan Vu from Interlake, who has dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship.

Breighton expects to recruit Vu to the curling ice eventually.

"Pole vaulting is very competitive in the U.S.," he said. "How I do at Washington will help dictate which sport I concentrate on, but I see myself performing in the future at a higher level curling. They seem like such polar opposite sports, but there are many mental similarities. The biggest difference is that vaulting is totally individual and curling is a team sport."

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http://heraldnet.com/stories/07/05/26/1 ... oys001.cfm

Kamiak's Beighton wins pole vault; L. Stevens' Bywater, defends 3,200-meter title


By Mike Cane
Herald Writer






PASCO - Some people disregard the whole third-time-is-a-charm theory. But Sean Beighton turned an old cliche into reality.

Appearing in the pole vault at the Class 4A state track and field championships for the third straight year, the Kamiak High School senior exceeded his previous two showings by soaring all the way to the top. Beighton cleared 14 feet, 9 inches to win the 4A vault Friday at Edgar Brown Stadium.

"It feels amazing - state champion and putting all that work into it and finally getting the results," said Beighton, who came into the meet tied with Woodinville's Trevor Sodorff for the season's top 4A vault (15-0).

Beighton, who did not place as a sophomore and was sixth in 2006, cleared 14-9 on his second attempt at the height. He finished ahead of Federal Way's Viktor Gruy, an underdog who topped out at 14-6.

Beighton came through in a particularly pressure-packed moment en route to the title. He missed twice at 14-6 but, on his third and final try, barely crept over the bar.

"Oh, I was so nervous," Beighton said. "I thought I hit (the bar too hard). 14-6 was insane." Beighton, who will compete as a walk-on at the University of Washington, went on to easily clear 14-9. He estimated he could have cleared 15-6 on the attempt. Later, he missed all three tries at 15-4.

Beighton had hoped to go higher than 14-9, but his performance was remarkable considering that he competed with significant pain. Beighton suffered a tendon strain in his lower back May 18 at the district meet and didn't practice at all until Friday.

Now, he said he's ready to celebrate and take a few weeks off.

Nathan Simunds of Stanwood placed third in the vault (14-3).