Leslie Brost reaches for new heights (NDSU)

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http://www.argusleader.com/article/2009 ... COLUMNISTS

As pole vault continues to grow, Brost reaches for new heights
STU WHITNEY • SWHITNEY@ARGUSLEADER.COM • MAY 3, 2009
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The high school girls pole vault didn't make its Dakota Relays debut until 1997, when Huron's Megan Nelson claimed the title by clearing the bar at 8 feet, 6 inches.

So it was a sign of progress Saturday to see the commotion caused by Leslie Brost, who helped elevate the sport in South Dakota before taking her act to the national level and beyond.

The former Watertown standout, now a freshman at North Dakota State, cleared 13 feet, 7.75 inches to break meet and stadium records in the college women's pole vault.



Brost's effort, though short of a personal best, topped all other competitors by more than 2 feet - drawing appreciative cheers from a supportive home-state crowd.

"In college, you go to a big meet and no one really knows who you are," says Brost, who won three straight pole vault titles with Watertown and holds the all-time state record for girls (13-5.25).

"But you come back to Howard Wood and everyone remembers you from high school. You want to jump well to show them that things are still going well, that you haven't stopped working."

That has never been an issue for Brost, who teamed with Mallory Peck - a former O'Gorman vaulter now competing at Purdue - to transform South Dakota girls pole vault from an experimental event into a rising force on the national scene.

Just 12 years after no high school girl came close to 9 feet at this meet, five vaulters cleared 11 feet in Saturday's prep girls competition, including Alli Aramptazis of Aberdeen Central with a winning effort of 11-6.

"It's still a really new event, and it seems like every year the standards and the level of competition goes up," says Brost, who finished second at last week's Drake Relays with a personal best of 13-9.5, which ranks eighth in NCAA Division I this outdoor season. "It's fun being part of the group that was there in the early stages, giving the sport some momentum."

The pole vault area at Howard Wood is behind the main grandstand, so those who show up are folks who really want to be there - or curious fans who heard the buzz of a good performance.

There were some of both on hand Saturday to watch Brost make several attempts at 14 feet - an elusive mark that would have moved the freshman into the top six nationally.

When Brost's third attempt fell short, those saluting her efforts included Derek Miles, a Tea native and University of South Dakota assistant coach who took fourth in men's pole vault at the Beijing Olympics.



Though Brost is making adjustments - a longer run, a larger pole - to maximize effectiveness as NDSU approaches the Summit League meet May 14-16, Miles foresees a bright future.

"She's a great athlete, which is one of her biggest strengths as a vaulter," says the former USD standout, who hopes to make the U.S. squad for the World Championships this summer. "She's fast, she's strong, and she's got good awareness. It was a good situation for her to be able to come out here and use that home-crowd advantage."

As for the pressure of going for a landmark leap long after the competition has bowed out, Miles spoke from experience.

"In pole vaulting, that's what drives you," he said. "That's what gets you over that bar that you've never cleared before. It gives you more adrenaline, which is sometimes exactly what you need."

Like Peck before her, Brost was an accomplished gymnast when she started track as a seventh-grader - and the pole vault soon followed.

"There's a lot of the same body awareness, just knowing where you are in the air," she said. "As a gymnast, you're already comfortable being upside down and flipping, and things like that carry over."

In gymnastics, Brost was a three-time all-tournament selection in high school who helped Watertown claim its 2006 state title.

But it soon became clear that the pole vault would be her ticket to a Division I scholarship, and maybe even a path to her Olympic dream.

"In the beginning, I think she competed just to do it," said Watertown assistant track coach Casey Feininger, who handles vaulting. "But after she started seeing success, we began to set some serious goals."

As a freshman, Brost cleared 12-1 during the season but still finished a distant second at the state meet behind Peck, a senior who nailed 12-7.

But Brost would reel off three straight Class AA titles after that, re-writing the state record book and literally raising the bar for those who followed.



Feininger recalls her pursuit of 13 feet, which she finally conquered as a sophomore when they set the marker (which shows fans and athletes the height) at 12-12, rather than 13-0.

"It helped," says the coach with a shrug. "Maybe they should have done that today to get her over 14 feet."

Brost's decision to attend NDSU rather than a South Dakota school didn't come as a surprise to anyone in the world of local track and field.

The Bison women's head coach, Ryun Godfrey, is the son of longtime Watertown coach Vic Godfrey, which partly explains why there are five former Arrows on the NDSU roster.

Brost started attending pole vault camp in Fargo when she was a freshman, developing a trust level with Bison vaulting guru Stevie Keller.

"It was a lot different than being recruited by coaches I never met." said Brost. "With Stevie, it was a lot more comfortable, and I felt like I already knew everyone there."

In the summer after leaving high school, Brost boosted her stock by placing second at the USA Junior Nationals to qualify for the IAAF World Junior Championships in Poland, where she finished eighth.

That led to a desire to wear the Team USA colors again. At the senior level, that means shooting for the World Championships or the Olympics - and no one's ruling it out.

"Leslie's the type of kid who is pretty calm and cool under pressure," says Keller, who is also NDSU's associate head coach. "She might be nervous inside, but she doesn't really show it.

"She's showing good progress, and we want her to continue to improve to the point where she's jumping consistently over 14 feet. Obviously, being a national contender down the road would be awesome for her, and making the U.S. Championships."

After putting on a show for a purple-clad crowd that included her parents, sister and grandparents, Brost didn't even flinch when confronted with the biggest word of all: Olympics.

"That's the dream for everybody," she said "Everyone who competes at a high level as a junior wants to reach that goal."

Of course, it would have been unthinkable for a South Dakota female pole vaulter to entertain such notions a decade ago. But now the sky is the limit.