Patrick Lockington continues family legacy in vault (WI)

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Prep of the Week: Roncalli's Lockington continues family legacy in pole vault
By Marc Correnti
Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC — Following in the footsteps of a great athlete is one thing.


But following in the footsteps of your father who was a great athlete at the same high school you attend in the same sport and the same event you compete in is a completely different thing altogether.


That's what it's been like for Roncalli pole vaulter Patrick Lockington.


For many years, there has been one constant for the Roncalli track and field team — a Lockington is a star pole vaulter who looks to make it to state and has his sights set on breaking some of the school records.


The first Lockington to make his name with the Jets was Robert Lockington, Patrick's father, who would go on to win the pole vault championship at the then-WISAA State Tournament.


Fast forward the clock to today and Patrick is staring at the same feat his father faced some 20 years ago.


It's not easy living in the shadows of a state champion, but Patrick has made his own legacy at Roncalli, qualifying for the WIAA State Tournament during his sophomore and junior years.


Roncalli boys track coach Ray Baranczyk said there are certain athletes that will feel the pressure of living up to an older relative, let alone one who was a state champion at the same high school, but said Patrick has handled the situation with aplomb.


"His Dad's expectations were very high on Patrick," Baranczyk said. "Patrick has stepped up to those expectations. He's definitely not in his Dad's shadow. He has his own expectations he wants to fill and many are coincidentally the same expectations as his Dad's."


Patrick says his father has been a big part of his athletic achievements, especially in pole vault where Robert once reached a career-best height of 12-6. Patrick tied that record his sophomore year in a meet at Plymouth.


"When I got home that night, he said, 'Guess what you did?," Patrick said. "He said, 'You just tied my best high school record as a sophomore.' I thought that was pretty cool."


Patrick has continued to surpass that, getting as high as 13 feet. The school record is 13-8 held by Jake Peters in 2004. It's another milestone Patrick has locked in.


"My personal goal is to break the school record," Patrick said. "I thought I would have had it by now and sometimes in practice I get it, but practices and meets are two different worlds. I'm trying to combine that into one world; that seems to be my problem right now."


Before the season, Patrick achieved 14 feet at non high school events in Madison and Whitewater, but up until now he's been looking for the day "when I'll be able to piece that all together for the meet."


As a sophomore, Patrick qualified for the Division 3 meet, but did not register a height at state. He returned to La Crosse as a junior and faired a bit better, reaching a height of 12 feet and collecting a 15th-place finish. He knows that in order to place at state, he will likely have to earn a 13-6 or a 14-foot leap.


It's something he has been working on since his last trip to La Crosse.


"I think with his experience being there the last two years, he'll know what to expect," Baranczyk said. "A good athlete like Patrick should be able to focus and he knows this is his last chance as a high school athlete. I believe he'll bring his best vault to regionals, sectionals and hopefully state."


Patrick admits to having a "bucket of nerves" before most meets and said the most difficult part about competing at state has been the mental aspect.


"It's very different (at state)," Patrick said. "My sophomore year, we sent more people than anyone in the area. Then last year, it's only me and Sean-Pat (Oswald) and it's two different worlds. There's not many people to talk to and you don't know as many people down there. It's very much more business."


When Patrick does have an off-day in pole vault — which has been a rarity this season — he will look to his father to help critique his performance and try to correct his mistakes.


Not only is Robert a good source of information from the aspect that he competed in pole vault, but also that he's been a longtime pole vaulting coach at Roncalli.


"We both work together," Patrick said. "I can tell what I'm doing wrong on the vault and he sees what I see and I see what I feel I'm doing wrong. We usually have conflicting opinions, but in the end he usually ends up being right."


While Patrick look at the mental part as being another hurdle for him to leap over, there's definitely no questioning the physical prowess that he brings to every meet.


With a chiseled physique and well-proportioned weight balance, Patrick makes up for what he sometimes fails to accomplish mentally to possessing all the physical tools that usually place him the upper echelon of pole vaulters in Manitowoc County.


Baranczyk credits Patrick's physique to a program that is put together by the school trainer. The program is designed to prevent any staleness in their workouts, while mixing up different regimens over eight weeks at a time.


"When we're in-season, we ask our athletes to lift two times a week," Baranczyk said. "We work the core muscles, which will be the bench press, the squat and the power clean. He'll do that twice a week and then he'll do auxiliary exercises to strengthen those muscles around the core. Patrick's been doing that ever since his freshman year. Some kids are genetically superior and Patrick came in with those genes."


As for consistency with his vaults, Baranczyk adds: "I saw the consistency already starting to develop last year. We knew we could depend on Patrick placing high in every meet."


While Patrick is focused on achieving a school record and making it to state for the third consecutive year, he hopes the younger athletes will look at him as someone who worked hard to achieve his goals.


Baranczyk doesn't see that being a problem.


"Patrick is a great role model for our younger athletes," Baranczyk said. "The younger kids wanna be like Lockington. That'll be his legacy."