Aches, pains just a vault for Jennifer Stenzel (VA)

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http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009 ... 009/457043

Aches, pains just a vault for Stenzel


Date published: 4/4/2009

By ADAM HIMMELSBACH

North Stafford senior Jennifer Stenzel is an interesting paradox.

Her knees are more creaky than those of most students her age, and she has already undergone one surgery.

Her back is more painful than those of most students her age, and doctors told her she might have a small fracture in her spine.

But Stenzel excels at a sport that usually requires good knees and a good back. Stenzel is one of the best pole vaulters in the area.

Her aches and pains have forced her to implement a unique training regimen that focuses more on strength than speed, because her maladies stop her from running especially fast.

"She got hooked on pole vaulting and worked on it very tenaciously," North Stafford coach Harry Booth said. "She's a very determined young lady."

The roots of that determination sprouted on a gymnastics mat.

When Stenzel was an infant, her mother, Laura, brought her to a moms-and-tots gymnastics classes.

She would climb small ladders, and that, her mother said, is how she learned to climb out of her crib.

Stenzel took gymnastics classes throughout her childhood and joined North Stafford's team when she was a freshman.

That year, a teammate told her that gymnasts can have success in the pole vault, so she tried it.

But it wasn't easy.

"When you first start pole vaulting, you feel really dumb because it's really hard," Stenzel said. "I don't have much coordination, so it wasn't working very well."

Stenzel was unsure if she wanted to continue, but each day, the North Stafford coaches convinced her to come back for one more practice.

Eventually, those days meshed together, and Stenzel began to thrive.

"I did pretty well at my first meet," she said, "and it just got better after that."

But when Stenzel was a sophomore, the lingering pains in her left knee worsened.

Doctors told her she had a torn meniscus, but when she underwent surgery to repair it, she was told the surgery would not help ease her pain.

"So they opened me up," Stenzel said, "and then closed me back up."

She did not compete in gymnastics that year, as she spent most of the winter undergoing physical therapy that was filled with lunges and squats.

Then last winter, Stenzel injured her back during the Commonwealth District gymnastics meet.

The pain began when she finished her floor exercise, and when she fell off the balance beam later it became unbearable.

She was told it was either a spinal fracture, a pinched nerve or a compressed disc.

Whatever it was, it hurt.

So during track season, Stenzel altered her training.

Booth said he typically trains his pole vaulters as sprinters, as it is necessary to be quick down the runway.

"I've had to not run her as much as I normally would, because her knees can't take it," Booth said. "Most of her training is based on physical strength."

Stenzel completes a lot of abdominal workouts and does a lot of pull-ups.

And last year, for the first time, she was able to bend the pole during the vault rather than lifting when it remained straight.

Stenzel reached 9 feet last year, and said she often reached 9-6 this year. She thinks she could reach 10 feet this season, and is ultimately aiming for 10-6.

"She kind of figures out how much training she can do based on what hurts and what doesn't," said her mother, Laura Stenzel. "She has a relatively strong upper body."