Farrell pole-vaulting trio to test each other at BU

[rainbowgirl28]

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Farrell pole-vaulting trio to test each other at Boston University this weekend
by Daniel O'Leary
Thursday March 05, 2009, 7:39 AM


Kyle Duggan is one of three Farrell grads who will be competing at this weekend's IC4A Indoor Track and Field Championships. (Staten Island Advance file photo by Derek Alvez)
Don't be surprised if you see a little extra height on the pole vault at this weekend's 88th IC4A Indoor Track and Field Championships at Boston University -- at least for Farrell graduates Brian and Kyle Duggan and John Carstensen.

The three long-time friends say they always bring out the best in each other.

"Jumping with John and Kyle is always a lot of fun. We can help each other out, if there's something we see, we can tell each other," said Brian, a senior at Rutgers. "Plus, it's great to just hang out with them. We're all real close."

For a trio of young guys, they've known each other for a long time -- the Duggans have been friends with Carstensen, a senior at Rhode Island for about eight years.

"We're real close," said Brian, who finished third at the Big East Conference Championships (16-feet, 2¾ inches), two slots ahead of Kyle, a sophomore at UConn (IC4A qualifying 15-9). "It's not like a competition at all. Well, maybe if one of us has a real bad one, we'll make fun of him, but it's all in good fun."

Pole vaulting isn't something a kid just picks up on his own. It was Brian, who ran cross country at Farrell, who got into it first.

"I went to Farrell for ice hockey," said Carstensen, who helped his team to a second place finish at the Atlantic-10 Indoor Championships by winning the vault with 16-2¾ jump. "But I couldn't get into it, so I started running cross country. I saw Brian jumping and asked coach (Anthony) Garafolo about it. That's exactly how it happened. I barely knew Brian."

And Kyle followed in the footsteps of his big brother and new best friend.

"It's always fun to compete with them. I don't want to lose to them, but I don't mind losing to them," said Kyle, whose Huskies won the Big East Indoor title. "It's fun. I'll talk some trash, but Corey (Duggan, a Farrell junior) talks the most trash. He wants to beat all of us."

As seniors, this weekend will be the final chance for Brian Duggan and Carstensen to qualify for the NCAA Indoor National Championships and the competition is expected to be fierce (the automatic qualifier will be 18¼, but Brian said he thinks 17-4 to 17-6 will do the trick). Though, they still have the upcoming outdoor NCAA Regionals and Nationals if they miss out this weekend.

Don't be surprised if they set some personal bests.

"I think we all jump better when we're all together, all three of us," said Carstensen, who sees Kyle plenty at New England meets. "We're all more relaxed around each other."