Slovenski (Princeton) eyeing Olympic Trials

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Newsmaker 2008: David Slovenski
Seth_Koenig@TimesRecord.Com
12/30/2008
First Mainer to win Nike pole vault title eyes Olympic trials

BRUNSWICK — Picture two young adults charging toward each other on unicycles, armed for a unique joust with long poles capped at the end by boxing gloves.

This circus clown-medieval knight hybrid duel was exhibited repeatedly during the past two summers on Bowdoin College athletic facility grounds. It was considered a common-sense way for David Slovenski and his older brother, Steve, to cross train for the pole vault.

Seem silly? Well, the Slovenski brothers both attend Princeton University and are accomplished athletes, so if they're willing to call unicycle jousting part of a comprehensive training regimen, maybe it should be taken seriously.

"My dad had tried to learn to unicycle a while ago, so we had one, and when my brother and I found it, we were like, 'Why is this here? Can we try it?'" David Slovenski, a college freshman, recalled recently. "So we got used to riding them and thought, 'We've got free hands and a pole. Why not joust?' It was a natural conclusion for us. But most Division I schools like Princeton aren't into funny cross-training like we are."

David Slovenski, 18, grabbed headlines in the spring of 2008 when, as a senior at Brunswick High School, he became the first Mainer in history to take first place in the pole vault at the Nike Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Greensboro, S.C.

The victory emblazoned Slovenski as perhaps the best high school pole vaulter in the country, and came not long after he set the New England outdoor record with a vault of 16 feet, 9 inches.

The accolades piled on for the Brunswick teen in a year that also featured the Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China. The worldwide event is held every four years and typically turns a global spotlight on track and field, which otherwise can get lost in the heavy U.S. media coverage of baseball or football.

In a recent interview with The Times Record, Slovenski stopped short of calling for a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic team. But he did leave the door open to a more modest aspiration.

"I guess a goal of mine would be to make it to the Olympic trials," he said. "You need a vault of 18 feet to qualify, so I'd like to be able to accomplish that over my four years (of college)."

Slovenski has one collegiate indoor track meet under his belt so far, a home meet against the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University and other schools. He vaulted 16 feet, 4 inches, meaning he's pretty close to where he left off when he graduated from high school.

The new stage was, surprisingly, relaxing for Slovenski, who relished returning to the bottom rung of the competitive ladder as a freshman, at least for a while.

"This had the feeling of being a freshman — a 'rookie,'" he said. "It took the pressure off. I didn't have to worry about records or it being my last season. Last year, my senior year in high school, I was going for big records at big meets."

For now, he said, Princeton offers him a degree of anonymity and allows him to focus on improvement. But he doesn't plan to be a member of the pack forever, and thinks an appearance at the Olympic trials is within range if he makes incremental progress during his time as a Tiger.

"I think 18 feet is a realistic goal," he said. "It'll be a challenge, but it's (attainable). This year, I want to get up to 17 feet. A lot of students lose a little bit in their freshman year, getting used to the lifestyle changes in college. If they were a 16-9 pole vaulter in high school, they might drop down to a 16, and begin to work back up from there.

"I think I've got a lot of room for improvement," Slovenski continued. "You can always work on form. You can come off the top of the pole straight up, or you can come off at an angle, and I can work on trying to come off the pole straight up to get some extra height. I can also work to get more strength in my legs, which would allow me to use a heavier, longer pole."

David's success doesn't come in a vacuum, as most people aware of Brunswick sports know. Slovenski's father, Peter, coaches track at Bowdoin College, now years removed from his own sparkling collegiate career that included two All-Ivy League selections while at Dartmouth College. Steve is a senior pole vaulter at Princeton, and little brother Mike vaults as a sophomore at Brunswick High.

David's uncle competed at Bates College, where his father — David's grandfather — coached.

"We're all vaulters. We all practice together, train together and support each other," said David Slovenski. "We have a lot of fun with it. There's no competition within in the family — we just encourage each other to do as well as we can."

In the case of the Slovenskis, perhaps the age-old saying should be changed to: The family that vaults together, stays together. Or, perhaps, the family that unicycle jousts together . . .