Quintana Beach Vault
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:59 am
http://stories.thefacts.com/story.lasso ... 507b9e16ff
Pole vaulting contest on track
By Joel Luna
The Facts
Published July 22, 2008
From area youngsters to an NCAA champ and even an Olympian, the Quintana Beach Pole Vault competition is attracting a wide array of competitors.
So far, close to 40 pole vaulters will venture onto Quintana Beach, including 2008 Olympian Erica Bartolina and Big 12 outdoor NCAA champion Maston Wallace.
“We were hoping to get close to 50 vaulters, but gas prices might be putting a strain on some,” organizer Mark Herns said. “Still we got Erica, who is an Olympian and Maston, who is an NCAA champion on board. We have a lot of local athletes from Alvin, West Columbia, Angleton, Brazoswood, Brazosport, but also groups from Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, UH, Texas A&M and all ages.”
Bartolina, from Philomath, Ore., qualified with a 14-foot, 11-inch jump at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials to place third and qualify for Beijing. Wallace, a Friendswood native, attends the University of Texas and won the Big 12 outdoor title with a personal best of 18 feet and a half inch at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in May.
The outdoor venue starts at 9 a.m. Saturday and will continue until the last pole vaulter performs.
“Most of them are going to camp out the night before at Quintana Beach, and we will have one runway,” Herns said. “We have a youngster as young as 8, and our oldest master jumper as of right now is 67-year-old Steven Warr, who coaches kids up in the Houston area. There are also some other master jumpers and most of them are going to try to get some personal records while some will try for their age records.”
Master pole vaulters will begin the competition followed by an exhibition showcasing Bartolina and Masters. Then the junior high athletes will compete followed by high school and then college vaulters.
“We’ve always had this competition in back of our heads, and finally this year Marc started telling the kids it was going to happen,” organizer Bob Crites said. “This first one is probably going to be bigger than what we expect it to be. A success for us will be if we don’t have bad weather and get enough jumpers who have some fun that they will want to return next year.”
Master competitors will be Herns (51), Crites (54), Warr, Don Curry (51), Helen Croskell (35), Ally Daum (26), Grant Merriman (36) and Bubba Sparks (55). Cristy Turner (28) also is in the competition but will be jumping in the open level.
Placings will be first through third for everyone except for high school competitors who will place first through sixth. Elimination from the competition will happen only if a pole vaulter misses three jumps in a row.
“One of the main things is that we will have some good wind at our back, a fast runway and a good pit to land in,” Crites said. “Bartolina will jump this event and then head to China next week. Maston just came back from a competition in Poland.”
Both Crites and Herns have jumping backgrounds. Crites from Indiana cleared 17-10 1/2 by the time he was done as a Hoosier. He was a part of the 1976 Olympic Trials and after a 17-year hiatus, Crites started coaching the sport to local youths before picking up the pole again and competing at local masters events.
Herns of Lake Jackson won the high school state title in 1975 at Brazoswood and went to UT before transferring to the University of Houston. He was an All-American and qualified for the 1980 Olympics. His personal best in college was 18 1/2 feet. In 2000, Herns was going to attempt to qualify for the Olympics but leg problems prevented the comeback.
“We are going to score them by age groups and then continue to raise the bar,” Herns said. “If anyone still wants to get in they can show up Saturday before we start raising the bar.”
Pole vaulters can register at www.elitesportz.com or by calling Herns at (979) 480-5642 or Crites at (979) 864-0046.
Pole vaulting contest on track
By Joel Luna
The Facts
Published July 22, 2008
From area youngsters to an NCAA champ and even an Olympian, the Quintana Beach Pole Vault competition is attracting a wide array of competitors.
So far, close to 40 pole vaulters will venture onto Quintana Beach, including 2008 Olympian Erica Bartolina and Big 12 outdoor NCAA champion Maston Wallace.
“We were hoping to get close to 50 vaulters, but gas prices might be putting a strain on some,” organizer Mark Herns said. “Still we got Erica, who is an Olympian and Maston, who is an NCAA champion on board. We have a lot of local athletes from Alvin, West Columbia, Angleton, Brazoswood, Brazosport, but also groups from Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, UH, Texas A&M and all ages.”
Bartolina, from Philomath, Ore., qualified with a 14-foot, 11-inch jump at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials to place third and qualify for Beijing. Wallace, a Friendswood native, attends the University of Texas and won the Big 12 outdoor title with a personal best of 18 feet and a half inch at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in May.
The outdoor venue starts at 9 a.m. Saturday and will continue until the last pole vaulter performs.
“Most of them are going to camp out the night before at Quintana Beach, and we will have one runway,” Herns said. “We have a youngster as young as 8, and our oldest master jumper as of right now is 67-year-old Steven Warr, who coaches kids up in the Houston area. There are also some other master jumpers and most of them are going to try to get some personal records while some will try for their age records.”
Master pole vaulters will begin the competition followed by an exhibition showcasing Bartolina and Masters. Then the junior high athletes will compete followed by high school and then college vaulters.
“We’ve always had this competition in back of our heads, and finally this year Marc started telling the kids it was going to happen,” organizer Bob Crites said. “This first one is probably going to be bigger than what we expect it to be. A success for us will be if we don’t have bad weather and get enough jumpers who have some fun that they will want to return next year.”
Master competitors will be Herns (51), Crites (54), Warr, Don Curry (51), Helen Croskell (35), Ally Daum (26), Grant Merriman (36) and Bubba Sparks (55). Cristy Turner (28) also is in the competition but will be jumping in the open level.
Placings will be first through third for everyone except for high school competitors who will place first through sixth. Elimination from the competition will happen only if a pole vaulter misses three jumps in a row.
“One of the main things is that we will have some good wind at our back, a fast runway and a good pit to land in,” Crites said. “Bartolina will jump this event and then head to China next week. Maston just came back from a competition in Poland.”
Both Crites and Herns have jumping backgrounds. Crites from Indiana cleared 17-10 1/2 by the time he was done as a Hoosier. He was a part of the 1976 Olympic Trials and after a 17-year hiatus, Crites started coaching the sport to local youths before picking up the pole again and competing at local masters events.
Herns of Lake Jackson won the high school state title in 1975 at Brazoswood and went to UT before transferring to the University of Houston. He was an All-American and qualified for the 1980 Olympics. His personal best in college was 18 1/2 feet. In 2000, Herns was going to attempt to qualify for the Olympics but leg problems prevented the comeback.
“We are going to score them by age groups and then continue to raise the bar,” Herns said. “If anyone still wants to get in they can show up Saturday before we start raising the bar.”
Pole vaulters can register at www.elitesportz.com or by calling Herns at (979) 480-5642 or Crites at (979) 864-0046.
it was crazy but i am sure we will be seeing this agian next year and i know that i want to go again