University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooner Vaulters Reach For New Heights :: OU to close home indoor season at Sooner Indoor Saturday.

Sooner Vaulters Reach For New Heights :: OU to close home indoor season at Sooner Indoor Saturday. Sooner Vaulters Reach For New Heights

OU to close home indoor season at Sooner Indoor Saturday.




Senior Michael McNamara is leading the nation in the pole vault as the 2002 indoor season comes to a close.

Feb. 15, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - Imagine for a moment what it feels like to be a pole vaulter. Someone hands you a pole that is around 16 feet in length and an inch in diameter. They tell you to start at the 30-yard line of a football field and run as fast as you can with the pole. When you reach the goal line, you plant the pole in a box that has a hole that is eight inches deep and eight inches wide. The action of the pole then sends you up in the air and you sail over the Robinson Street bridge on I-35, a height of just over 17 feet.

That's what it feels like to be a pole vaulter, and the University of Oklahoma has some of the best in the nation who will be competing in their final home meet of the 2002 season on Saturday. The women's pole vault begins at 11 a.m. at the Mosier Indoor Facility and the men will begin about an hour after the women finish. There is no admission for the meet which will also feature other field events and action on the track as the Sooners host a final tuneup before next weekend's Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Parking for the meet is available at the Duck Pond lot on Brooks, just north of the Mosier Indoor Facility.

"I came to the University of Oklahoma because of the tradition this school has built in the pole vault," explained vault coach Tom Williams. "When you look at the number of conference and national champions, the number of All-Americans produced by OU, it was a dream job for a vault coach. This program has been one of the top five nationally in the vault," Williams, a former vaulter at the University of Nebraska, added.

The Sooners currently have the top two men's vaulters in the Big 12 Conference in senior Michael McNamara (18-0.5) and junior Michael Westlund (17-10.5). Sophomore Leslie Dunlap (13-5.75) is the top women's vaulter in the conference. Freshman Austin Landreth (17-0.75) is ranked sixth in the league heading into this weekend's action. Another freshman, Lindsey Bourne, is ranked fourth (12-1.5) in the women's pole vault. These are Oklahoma bred vaulters as well as four of the five ranked vaulters (Bourne hails from Joplin, Mo.) are from the state of Oklahoma.

These Sooners are making waves on the national level as well. McNamara and Westlund are one and two in the latest ranking list (released Feb. 12) and Dunlap is eighth .McNamara and Dunlap have met the automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships, scheduled for March 8-9 in Fayetteville. Westlund and Landreth have met the provisional qualifying standard and Bourne is just four inches away from a provisional mark.

"I am very fortunate to have a talented, hard working group of student-athletes," Williams said. "The talent and the work ethic pushes everyone to a higher level. Some people work toward having one really great vaulter. I want to have a group of talented vaulters who are at different levels in their careers. It keeps people coming through the program and it keeps me on my toes as a coach."

That competitive atmosphere is something that drew many of the Sooner vaulters to Norman. It also is what keeps pushing each of them higher.

"Having talented teammates who are competing in the same event makes me want to work that much harder," Dunlap explained. "We have some of the best vaulters on the collegiate level that we work out with every day. It helps to have a coach but it also is helpful to have teammates who are willing to share comments with you. We are very competitive but we also are very supportive of one another. Watching our vault teammates helps each of us believe that we can do it, that we can take the bar to the next height. I don't think there is a better group of teammates or coaches in the country."

At the last home meet, teammates McNamara and Westlund were battling it out head to head in an attempt to set a school record. Leading the cheers during the event was the current school record holder. The Sooner vaulters also were cheering each other on. That might be an exception in most intercollegiate events but it is common in track and field, especially at the University of Oklahoma.

"I guarantee if Mac had cleared 18-2.5, then I would have cleared it as well," Westlund added. "You want to beat the best when they are at their best. When I do my best, it pushes him and he pushes me. The competition is you and the bar and your personal best. But a little extra incentive helps."

Pressure also comes from the fact that they are competiting at the University of Oklahoma, a program long known for its vaulters. "When you put on that OU jersey and head out to competition, you know you are expected to vault well," Landreth added. "But that's why we came to OU -- to work with the best daily as we compete with the best."

"It's also great going into a competition knowing that we have already jumped against some of the best in the country," continued Robin Hanna. "We know what to expect from the higher level of competition that we face every day in practice and we know that we will have people cheering for us, because they are our teammates and because we are wearing the uniforms of the Oklahoma Sooners."

As Williams explained, the Sooner vaulters are in various stages of their careers. Volunteer coach Kurt Hanna, a former conference champion at Baylor, is an internationally recognized vaulter. McNamara, Westlund and Dunlap are making waves this year on the national level. Robin Hanna, Kurt's younger brother, and Brett Corlett have national experience but are fighting through a vaulter's nightmare -- injuries. Both hope to compete tomorrow.

While Bourne and Landreth are just freshmen, both have extensive experience on the high school level. Bourne comes from a family of vaulters. Her grandfather is the coach at Missouri Southern, seven uncles, including OU coach Williams, were vaulters and her male cousins all vaulted. It was dares from those cousins that got her vaulting in her grandfather's back yard and now she's ranked in the Big 12. Jamie Lillie is a redshirt freshman, Jennifer Plank is a freshman and sophomore Mary Waytula has been vaulting competitively about two months.

All share a desire to do something different and most would be considered risk takers. According to Williams, it takes a unique person to be good at the vault. "First, you have to be a risk taker and you have to be courageous. We are talking about a lot of things have that to come together at the same time for you to be successful. And then, when you have your all-time best vault, you go back to practice, make some changes in your grip, or your approach or the pole, and you start all over again. It's a never ending process, looking for the perfect vault, much like the surfer who is always looking for the perfect wave. It may not happen but you continue searching.

"Pole vault combines so many elements of athletics," Williams continued. "You have the pure energy of the sprinter as you take off down the runway, the explosiveness of a jumper at the takeoff, the acrobatics and grace of a gymnast as you go over the bar. You run as hard as you can before jumping off the ground, fighting gravity all the way, then literally fly as you come back down to the mat."

As for what fans can expect this weekend, the answers are as varied as the individuals who gave them. McNamara is looking for a victory and a new school record in his final indoor home meet as a Sooner. Bourne believes vaulting is one of the most exciting sports and that the fans never know what they might see. Dunlap is looking for vaults where everything flows together and the end result is an improved personal record. Lillie knows that fans will see high energy and some of the most exciting athletic action on campus this weekend. She, too, is expecting record-setting performances. McNamara is looking for that good vault when he looks up from the pit and sees the bar still sitting on the standard.

Meanwhile, Robin Hanna and Corlett are just hoping to get back on the runway, putting away the frustration of watching teammates soar to new heights while they rehabilitate injuries.

For Williams, the beauty of the vault is its purity. "It really is just you and the bar. There are no judges to score you. It is an individual sport and you are the only one who has control over what you do. After a competition, you have to put the result on yourself. You are going to have the most success in the pole vault when you take the attitude that it is you and the bar, you trying to improve your personal best every time you jump."

Especially when you are handed that 16 foot pole and expected to clear a height comparable to an interstate overpass.