USD pole vaulter adjusts to life as a Rust

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http://www.volanteonline.com/sports/q-a ... -1.1637115

Q&A: Pole vaulter adjusts to life as a Rust
JUSTIN RUST

VOLANTE ASST SPORTS EDITOR

Published: Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, April 1, 2009

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week The Volante sports staff will interview a member of the USD athletic community and ask them off-the-wall questions. Enjoy the hilarity.

Tim Rust is a senior pole vaulter for the USD men’s track and field team. He placed seventh in the pole vault during the Great West Championships.

Justin Rust: I know what it’s like to have the last name Rust. Do you get a lot of jokes about your last name?

Tim Rust: I do. I always get called Rusty. I have been called rusty barbed wire or rusty nails. People make fun of me and ask if I’m rusty when I run.

JR: What’s the most creative nickname you have heard dealing with your last name?

TR: Rustolium is the most creative one I have heard.

JR: Do a lot of people call you Rusty?

TR: It’s become my nickname. It’s been second nature for me to be called Rusty. I have gotten used to it.

JR: How is it to joke around with your coach, Olympian Derek Miles?

TR: Usually with pole vaulting, we will make up games and compete against each other and there will be trash talking involved. He usually wins the competitions, so he gets to do most of the talking.

JR: Does anyone ever question any of the advice he gives the team?

TR: Usually when he says something, people listen because he is an Olympian. We take what he says pretty seriously.

JR: Do you have any funny pole vaulting stories?

TR: There was this one time I was vaulting and I tripped right before I went up for the vault. Instead of going over the bar, I shot backwards. Luckily, I was able to turn around and I landed on my feet. It wasn’t counted as a jump because I didn’t touch the mat or break the vaulting plane, so I got to try again and I made it that time.

JR: Have you ever had to wear a helmet while pole vaulting?

TR: I haven’t had to in college, but in high school I had to wear one because in Minnesota it was mandatory to wear a helmet. I was excited when I didn’t have to wear it in college. I just didn’t like the feeling of it because it just felt different.

JR: You are a recreation major. What are your plans after college?

TR: Right now I am in graduate school for exercise science. My plans are to work in the fitness field and hopefully start my own fitness center.

JR: How much fun has it been to go to the different Division I places?

TR: I have enjoyed it. During the indoor season, we went to the University of Minnesota, which was cool. We get to compete against teams we haven’t seen before.

JR: How great was it to win the Great West Conference?

TR: I was ecstatic because it’s my last year, so when I look back at it later, I will see that I helped win it.