Dutch Perryman Article (AZ)

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http://www.ahwatukee.com/afn/sports/art ... 5518a.html

Perryman's 1st place validates decision to stick with 1 sport
By Larry Ward
Staff Writer

When Dutch Perryman decided to forgo the final season of a successful high school basketball career at Desert Vista High School to concentrate on the pole vault, he had some doubters.

Even his father, Jon, and his pole vault coach, Jeff Guy, questioned his decision.

It's hard to argue with success, however.

After finishing third in the Class 5A pole vault championships last season, Perryman used this past year devoted exclusively to training in the event to catapult him to first place on May 14 at Arizona State University's Sun Angel Stadium.

His quest doesn't end at the top of the podium.

"I plan on going a long way, and this is pretty much the start for me, not the end," Perryman said. "This is really the first year I focused on pole vault."

Perryman cleared 15 feet for the title, which was well under his personal best of 16-1 set at the Central Region meet on May 6. That was one of the top outdoor vaults in the nation this season, according to Guy.

"You definitely want to win your senior year," Perryman said, "but I didn't quite reach my goal I was hoping for. But a win is a win."

Perryman faced some additional adversity on May 12 before the meet started. His personal gear was stolen along with those of teammate Shawn Burr and Guy while the vault team was in a meeting at the high school. The poles they used were not harmed, but Perryman had to break in a new pair of spikes.

"That could have played a role," Perryman said of 'only' reaching 15 feet, "but I tried to concentrate and focus on what I wanted to do. I wish I could have done better, but I can't regret a state championship."

Dutch's state title was the second in the Perryman family in one week. His sister, Jaci, collected the girls' state pole vaulting championship on May 11. She had been the family's pole vaulter and Dutch was a basketball player since he could dribble.

That changed last spring when Dutch managed to finish third at state in the pole vault despite limited practice time. He wasn't able to start practicing until mid-March after helping the Thunder basketball team reach the state championship game.

The question remained of whether Perryman would have been even better in the pole vault had he stayed exclusive to the sport a year or two earlier instead of dividing his time between basketball and track.

"Who knows?" Perryman said. "I improved a lot this year when I just focused on pole vault, and I definitely would have improved a lot more if I had done that last year. But I have no regrets. Last year's basketball season was amazing. I would never want to give that up."

Perryman had been the favorite to win pole vault all season.

"There wasn't that much pressure," he said. "But a lot of guys were jumping very well early (in the finals), and they pushed me at first. A lot of people made 14-6 and I didn't expect that. I wanted to do well and as long as I was on top of the podium, I was happy."

Track and field scholarships for men are scarce, but Perryman has been pursued by several Division I schools, including Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and Kansas.

"I haven't made a decision," he said. "I still have a lot of schools calling me, and I just want to make sure I make the right decision. There are very few track scholarships for men so anything you get is a big deal."

In addition to attracting attention from colleges, Perryman and his sister have brought attention to Desert Vista's pole vault program.

"We're getting more vaulters out than we ever had before and hopefully there will be a lot more," he said.

Perryman may taken more than a blue ribbon from his final state high school track meet.

"When I look back," he said, "I'll think of this as the beginning and realize this is where it all began."

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http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/a ... b0519.html

D. Vista siblings to face other state champs
Pole vaulters to strut stuff at Queen Creek
Richard Obert and Jose E. Garcia
The Arizona Republic
May. 19, 2005 12:00 AM
Desert Vista's Dutch and Jaci Perryman, the brother-sister combination that took the Class 5A boys and girls state pole vault titles last week, lead the state's best in the Vault-Stars Classic today at Queen Creek High.

The state champions from 5A to 1A will compete. Girls start vaulting at 5 p.m. and the boys at 7.

Dutch Perryman cleared 16 feet, 1 inch this season. He is weighing offers from Arizona and Arizona State. Both of his parents attended ASU, but he appears to be leaning toward UA, where he was quite impressed by a recent recruiting trip.

Two days before the state championships, Perryman and his coach, Jeff Guy, had their gear stolen from the Desert Vista track while they were in a team meeting. Perryman had new vaulting shoes in his bag, which was not found. He luckily had a second pair of vaulting shoes.

After clearing 15 feet for the state title at ASU, Perryman received his gold medal from 2004 Olympic gold and silver pole-vaulting medalists Tim Mack and Toby Stevenson and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Nick Hysong.