After fleeing Africa, PV a minor obstacle for Masseke (IL)

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http://www.sj-r.com/sections/sports/stories/114105.asp

After fleeing Africa, pole vault a minor obstacle for Masseke

By MARCIA MARTINEZ
STAFF WRITER
Published Thursday, May 10, 2007


Vaulting over a crossbar sometimes 12 or 13 feet high using a pole seemed to Sergio Masseke like something he would enjoy doing.


So the Springfield High School junior took up the pole vault.

Masseke competed at the varsity level in the long jump and triple jump last season. This year, that wasn't enough. A few weeks ago in only his second meet, he won the City Meet title in a field of three pole vaulters.

Stepping out his comfort zone isn't uncommon for Masseke. He's a thrill seeker who was born in Africa and has traveled to several countries, including Portugal, Germany and France.

"I try everything, and I'm open-minded," he said.

The pole vault - considered the most technical track and field event - is a mixture of gymnastics, speed, strength and nerve. No one can question Masseke's fortitude. The 17-year-old has shown plenty of moxie in life.

In August of 1998, his family fled civil war in the central African country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). Sergio, the youngest of Deidrinel and Jean-Jacques Masseke, was 8 at the time.

"I've seen things kids can't even imagine," Sergio said. "I had a gun pointed at me. There were bombs near our house. Most of the stuff was pretty intense. The U.S. Embassy was bombed a couple days after we slept there. This was the third pillage. We've gone back and forth from the Congo. We lived in New York and Maryland before."

The Massekes had only minutes to gather their possessions when American citizens were evacuated. Deidrinel Masseke, a Spanish teacher at Lanphier High School, grew up in Puerto Rico with a Puerto Rican mother and an American father. Jean-Jacques Masseke, a substitute teacher in District 186 and supervisor at the YMCA, is Congolese. The family was airlifted to Cameroon, then transported to France where they spent nine hours in an airport. They eventually made it to their final destination: Springfield.

"We came to Springfield because my aunt lived here," Sergio said. "We lost everything from our savings to our clothing. We had three pairs of clothes with us.

"We started from nothing. Luckily, my mom was a teacher, so she got a job teaching. We had just a trunk and our clothes on our backs. We rented a house, then we bought our own house. We've come a long way."

In short time, Masseke has made great strides in the pole vault. It's been a month since he vaulted for the first time.

"He asked me if he could try (vaulting) and I thought he had enough upper body strength to handle it," Springfield coach Darren Pierce said. "When he started off, he couldn't get over 8-0 very well, then one day he started popping them out. He's working hard at it."

Pierce admits he is no pole vaulting expert. So Masseke is learning the finer points of vaulting under the tutelage of senior Nick Roate, who placed fifth in the event at last season's Central State Eight Conference Meet. Roate is ineligible to compete this season but is helping "coach" Masseke, who is a friend.

Roate's student nearly reached new heights at the City Meet.

"I accomplished my goal of trying to get 10-0 and went out at 10-6," said Masseke, who had a fifth-place finish in the triple jump at City. "My next goal is to get to 11-0."

Another objective tops his list of priorities. Masseke is on a mission to gain an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The honor roll student, who plays soccer at SHS, wants to compete for the Falcons' track and field team.

Masseke comes from a military family. Both his grandfather and great-grandfather were in the armed forces with one receiving a Purple Heart and the other a medal of honor. Sergio's older brother, Kahlil Masseke, a Southeast graduate, recently was given an honorable medical discharge from the Air Force.

Sergio wants to learn to fly planes and build them.

Masseke already knows a thing or two about flying. He soars through the air on a pole.