Class of 2008 Collegiate Signings

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20080 ... /806210320

giffins sign with Florida State
By CHRIS PARRY

Staff Writer

Callie Giffin is trading Tyler for Tallahassee, and bringing twin sister Lauren along for the ride.

The former All-East Texas pole vaulter signed a scholarship letter of intent to Florida State University Friday for track and field. Lauren is also going to FSU for pole vault and will attempt to walk on for the Seminoles.

“I am really excited to go off and finally make this accomplishment,â€

[rainbowgirl28]

http://sports.snu.edu/press.asp?num=2762

Men's Track & Field Signs University of Oklahoma Transfer, Kye Yocham
Monday, July 14, 2008 by Scott Secor

(BETHANY, OKLA.)---Southern Nazarene University head track and field and cross country coach, Billy Miller, has announced the signing of University of Oklahoma transfer, Kye Yocham. Yocham, a 6’0 pole paulter, will join the SNU track and cross country program in the fall of 2008.

Yocham was a standout at Norman North High School during his high school career before going to the University of Oklahoma upon graduation. At Norman North, Yocham finished 6th in the state in the pole vault championships, posting a height of 14-0 and tied for second in the region. Yocham was named Most Improved and earned Rookie of the Year honors.

“We are excited to have Kye as a member of our men’s cross country and track and field programs,” said SNU Head Coach Billy Miller.

Yocham will join an SNU track & field program that sent 12 individuals to the Outdoor National Championships in May. SNU’s track program has produced 12 NAIA National Champions and 49 All-Americans since the re-institution of the program in 1993.

[Barto]

Lacey Sanchez-12'1'' and Kovey Simmons-15'4'' both will be Lions' at southeastern univ. of La..Both vaulters train at New Heights Gym in LA. More to come..

We are very excited to have Kovey and Lacey join our track and field family.

Go Lions!

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/200 ... 71326/1059

Carson's Arnold looks forward to Idaho State — then 2012


Email Print Comment Recommend
By Charles Whisnand
Appeal Sports Editor

The chance to be coached by one of the nation’s top pole vault coaches and one of this country’s most prominent athletes in the event is what Carson High School graduate Mike Arnold is receiving.
Arnold signed with Idaho State this week to compete in the pole vault in track. Arnold will be coached by Idaho State head coach Dave Nielsen, who’s considered one of the top pole vault coaches in the country.
Nielsen also coached former world-record holder Stacy Dragila at Idaho State. Dragila basically put the women’s pole vault on the map, going on to establish and re-establish several times the world record and win an Olympic medal in the event while competing for the United States. Arnold will also have a chance to learn from Dragila while at Idaho State.
“I’m really relieved,” Arnold said. “It’s where I wanted to go. I just don’t have to worry about that anymore. I’m looking forward to competing for them.”
Arnold said it was flattering to be recruited by Nielsen, calling it “really cool. He’s produced a lot of good people. I’m looking forward to him coaching me and progressing me as a vaulter. He saw promise in me.”
Nielsen originally offered Arnold a 50-percent scholarship, but upped the offer to 70 percent based on Arnold’s development. A 70-percent scholarship is an excellent offer for a track athlete, especially one that specializes in one event.
Arnold went from a vaulter who cleared just 13 feet, 6 inches and failed to advance to the NIAA 4A State Championships as a junior to a state champion this year as a senior for the Senators.
Paul Hegler, who has coached many of Northern Nevada’s top high school pole vaulters and helped with Arnold’s development, said the disappointment of not making state last year ended up being a turning point.
“You’re going to let this destroy you or let it make you great,” said Hegler about what he told Arnold last year after he didn’t make state. “He just worked his butt off.”
“It’s a really, really good fit for him,” Hegler added about Idaho State. “They’ve got one of the best coaches in the nation as far as pole vaulters go. It’s going to be great for him. I’m real excited for him.”
Along with winning the state title, Arnold set the CHS school record by clearing 16-1, becoming one of only a handful of high school vaulters in Nevada history to clear 16-0.
And Arnold isn’t done, yet. He will compete on Sunday in the USA Track & Field Junior Olympic National Championships to be held in Omaha, Neb. He qualified for nationals by winning the Western regional event in Livermore, Calif., with a mark of 15-5.
Arnold said he’s ready for a breakthrough performance on Sunday. He said in practice he’s just brushed the bar while trying to clear 17-0 a couple of times and has cleared 16-9 in practice.
“It’s really coming along,” Arnold said. “I’m looking for a P.R. (personal record) and maybe a win this weekend.”
But Arnold also knows the competition will be tough.
“There’s a lot of good competitors that are going,” he said.
At Idaho State, Arnold said his goal is to qualify for the NCAA Championships and to clear 18-0 as a freshman. His ultimate goal is to compete in the 2012 Olympics.
“I’m looking at the 2012 games in London,” he said. “Qualifying for the Olympics — that would be super exciting. It’s like one of my lifetime dreams to go to the Olympics and represent the USA.”

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.dunnconnect.com/articles/200 ... orts04.txt

Menomonie resident accepts full track scholarship at Alabama A&M

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 11:08 AM CDT

Marlys Kruger, Sports Reporter

Being in the right airplane seat at the right time has paid dividends for local resident Lucas Krueger. A 2008 graduate of St. Croix Lutheran High School located in West St. Paul, Minn., Krueger has accepted a full athletic scholarship to Alabama A&M University (AAMU) as a pole vaulter on their track and field team. AAMU is located in Normal/Huntsville, Ala., and is a Division I AA school and a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

After being named the regional winner of a Coca-Cola scholarship where there were more then 80,000 applicants, Krueger was asked to fly to Atlanta, Ga., to interview for the national award, and he struck up a conversation with the fellow next to him on the plane. The fellow happened to be Dr. Taylor Bird who is the head of the scholarship program at Alabama A&M.

When Krueger informed him why he was on the plane and that he wanted to attend a college somewhere to major in agriculture, Bird informed him that A&M had a very strong agriculture program and had several academic scholarships available. (The A&M stands for Agricultural and Mechanical). He told Krueger to contact him when he got back to Wisconsin for more information. Krueger followed up on it and eventually was offered a full academic scholarship.

He later started talking to the head track coach, Kim Seals, about pole vaulting on the team, and the coach discovered he was talented enough to receive an athletic scholarship, so Krueger accepted that one instead.



Krueger was the co-captain of his high school team and had his best vault of 13-6 his junior year, helping his team to back-to-back Class A State True Team championships. He has since vaulted 14-6 at a camp in Stevens Point. He does a lot of weight lifting and also played football for his high school.

Krueger is the son of Tom and Karen Krueger and lives on an 80-acre farm a few miles from Menomonie. He attended St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Menomonie from kindergarten through eighth grade, then chose to enroll at St. Croix Lutheran.

He is quick to thank everyone who helped him get to this point in his life. “God is the center of my life and I believe He had everything to do with me being on that plane next to Dr. Bird. My parents have been very supportive and I had great coaches at St. Croix, including head coach Brent Schaht and my pole vault coach Dan Wimmer,” he said. “I am looking forward to a new challenge in my life.”

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.mercurynews.com/losgatos/ci_10327435

Sally Stanton's position on the all-time pole vault list could be challenged during the next four years by 2008 Los Gatos grad Christine Reed. A talented hurdler and pole vaulter (11-2 personal best in high school), Reed has matriculated to Harvard and plans to compete for the Crimson during the 2008-09 season.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.atascaderonews.com/V2_news_a ... ry_id=1093

AHS alumna Allen signs with Gators
Posted: Friday, Aug 22nd, 2008
Submitted article August 22, 2008

Colleen Allen, a 2007 graduate of Atascadero High School, has committed to the Women’s track and field team at San Francisco State University for the 2008-09 school year.

She will compete in the pole vault under Coach Terry Burke.

SFSU is a division II school in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, widely considered to be the top Division II conference in the nation.

Allen competed this past season at Cuesta College under the coaching of Jani and Jan Johnson. In addition to the pole vault she competed in the 100-meter hurdles, the 200-meter run, the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay. In the pole vault she finished in sixth place at the Southern California Regional meet in Bakersfield, and 10th place at the State Track and Field Championships in Cerritos. Her season best this year was 10-2, while her personal best stands at 10-6. She was the women’s team captain and was recently named to the Cuesta College Spring 2008 Athletic Honor Roll.

Her high school career included three seasons of pole vault winning the junior varsity title her first season, being named All-League and competing at the CIF Prelim meet in Downey both her junior and senior seasons.

After completing the majority of her general education requirements at Cuesta College, Allen is pursuing her major studies in anthropology with minors in art history and the classics at SFSU. Her future plans include a year of studying abroad through the CSU International Program in Florence, Italy and a graduate degree in museum studies.

The CCAA has been one of the nation’s most successful intercollegiate athletic conferences since its establishment in December 1938.

The 12-member league is home to some of the nation’s finest NCAA Division II athletic programs in Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State Stanislaus, Chico State, U.C. San Diego, San Francisco State and Sonoma State. Additionally, California State University, Monterey Bay has begun its provisional status as a CCAA member. This past summer, Humboldt State departed from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and joined the CCAA.

CCAA members have won 145 NCAA Championships (98 men, 47 women) which is far and away the most of any Division II conference. On the men’s side, CCAA members have brought home at least 10 titles in swimming and diving (25), wrestling (16), track and field (13), tennis (11) and baseball (10).

CCAA institutions have been very successful in the 25-year history of NCAA women’s athletics, having won 10 cross country, eight softball, six track & field, five volleyball and five basketball national championships as well as 18 more in four other sports.

The CCAA has undergone several changes in conference membership since charter members U.C. Santa Barbara, Fresno State, San Diego State and San Jose State came together to form the league in 1938. Over the past 68 years, a number of institutions have been members of the CCAA, including Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly, Chapman, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Pacific, Pepperdine, U.C .Riverside, U.C. Davis and Grand Canyon University.