BY PAUL SUELLENTROP
The Wichita Eagle
Source
- It didn't occur to Jackie Brown to be scared to use a flexible fiberglass pole to fling herself into the air.
She wasn't afraid to play basketball or football with her brothers. Vacations offered a chance to jump from high places into a lake. So when her high school track and field coach asked her about pole vaulting, she didn't hesitate.
"I was one of those girls in high school who wanted to play on the football team," Brown said. "Anyone who's going to pole vault, you can't stand back at the runway and think you're going to get hurt. You can't. It can't even be a thought in your mind, or you probably shouldn't be doing it. I've never thought it to be scary."
That attitude, along with her height and athletic ability, make Brown one of the Missouri Valley Conference's best pole vaulters.
"That's her thing -- she's fearless," freshman Ashley Rosenbaum said. "If she's not going to make it in the pit, she doesn't care, she'll just go up. That's why she is so good."
If Brown doesn't place first, it's likely teammate Brooke Demo will. Brown and Demo, who have three MVC pole vault titles between them, are ranked 1-2 entering this weekend's MVC indoor meet in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Brown won MVC indoor titles in 2002 and 2004. Demo won the outdoor title last spring as a freshman. Brown, hampered by a hamstring injury, finished second.
WSU's strength in the pole vault is one of many reasons MVC coaches voted the Shockers the favorite to win the meet.
"We're a significant favorite," WSU coach Steve Rainbolt said. "It's exciting, because if we go there and take care of business, we should be the team to beat."
Brown enters the meet with a best height of 13 feet, 1 ½ inches. Demo is next at 12-2. WSU freshmen Ashley Rosenbaum (11-5 ¾) and Sara Eustice (11-1 ¾) are fifth and sixth in the MVC.
Brown, a 5-foot-10 senior from Overland Park, won the MVC indoor championship in 2002 with a height of 11-11 ¼. Since then, Brown, who also played volleyball at WSU, has worked to improve her technique.
"She was just a tall, athletic girl who was able to use her athleticism to get over the bar," vaulting coach Jennifer Ashcroft said. "She was just wild. She just kind of flew over the bar however she could."
With Ashcroft's help, Brown has sharpened her technique. The biggest hurdle is getting "upside down" over the bar, shoulders down and feet over head when clearing the bar.
"Your body naturally, it doesn't want to go upside down," Brown said. "It doesn't want to go that high up in the air. You've got to learn to do that."
Demo, a sophomore from El Dorado, doesn't have Brown's height or athletic ability. She chose the pole vault because her hard work on the technical aspects can give her an edge.
"I'm not the most athletic person," she said. "I had to work to get where I am."
Demo won the MVC outdoor with a vault of 12-5 ½ last spring. She finished third in last season's indoor meet at 11-5 ¾. Her improvement has continued this season.
She's focused on all the details," Ashcroft said. "She's the last one in the weight room. She's always asking questions, watching film. She knows she needs to be dedicated."
Missouri Valley Conference Heat Sheet (and leaderboard)
Code: Select all
Event 29 Women Pole Vault
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Saturday 2/25/2006 - 1:30 PM
MVC Meet: 13-03.50 2005 Melissa Ullenbruch, Indiana State
MVC All-time: 13-03.50 2005 Melissa Ullenbruch, Indiana State
Name Year School Seed Mark
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Flight 1 Finals
1 Royer, Nikki Indiana St. 11-06.25
2 Rosenbaum, Ashley Wichita State 11-05.75
3 Brown, Jackie Wichita State 13-01.50
4 Stephens, Randi Indiana St. 11-00.25
5 Eustice, Sara Wichita State 11-01.75
6 Brinkman, Kristin Illinois St. 11-05.75
7 Demo, Brooke Wichita State 12-02.00
8 Kristmann, Jayne Missouri St. 10-08.00