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Neuenswander vaults to new heights with Indiana
Record-setting pole vaulter leads 7 Hoosiers to NCAA outdoor meetBy Jeremy Rosenthal 331-4355 |
jrosenthal@heraldt.comJune 10, 2009
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS Four years ago, Indiana assistant track coach Jake Wiseman pored over a list of pole vaulters he thought might come to IU.
In a process that he described as having an overriding factor of luck, Wiseman picked the longest name on the list: Neuenswander. He then contacted her school’s athletic director and got her phone number.
After a little luck and a lot of hard work, junior Vera Neuenswander has become the most successful women’s pole vaulter in IU history.
Today, Neuenswander, and six of her Hoosier teammates, will be in Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships.
Neuenswander, a native of Jefferson City, Mo., grew up walking on her hands in the front yard of her house under the watchful eye of her father, an All-American gymnast and University of Michigan alum.
Her father allowed her to begin gymnastics in second grade but, although she excelled in gymnastics, Neuenswander started to pole vault in middle school.
“I figured I had a better shot at doing big things in the pole vault than gymnastics,” Neuenswander said.
When she won three Missouri 4A state championships in the pole vault, it was clear her talent would be enough to continue at the collegiate level. Neuenswander said she wanted to attend a Big Ten school since her father went to Michigan.
The visit to IU left a lasting impression on her, and she said she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with former Hoosier Dave Volz, a 1992 Olympian in the pole vault.
“I came to visit here at IU, and I loved it,” she said. “I thought the coaches were great. I thought it would be an incredible experience to work with Dave Volz. He is an Olympian. I really got along with Coach Wiseman, and it felt like the right fit.”
Volz said he could see, from the start, a promising future for his athlete.
“Vera is obviously a very talented pole vaulter,” Volz said. “When she came in here as a freshman, you could see the talent. She is quick, she is strong and she has great agility. She has improved tremendously in her technique over the last three years.”
Neuenswander experienced great success in her first year. She was the nation’s top freshmen pole vaulter in the indoor and outdoor seasons and finished 12th in both NCAA championships.
As a sophomore, however, she failed to qualify for either national final.
Volz said Neuenswander had maximized her full potential using her technique in her first year and had to make changes the next year, which meant a period of adjustment.
“She works so hard that is wasn’t a matter of if she was going to do it, but when she was going to do it,” Wiseman said.
That came on March 14 when Neuenswander earned the first All-American honor in pole vault for the IU women’s program when she finished sixth at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Neuenswander continued her impressive season outdoors when she cleared14-feet-1Ø to set a school, meet and facility record to win the NCAA Mideast Regional and qualified for today’s championships.
Neuenswander, who is ranked sixth in the nation, has her sights set on a personal record at the meet.
“I’m going to put it all out there on the track and see where I end up,” she said.
Volz said Neuenswander has a chance to win the event.
“She is a fierce competitor, No. 1,” Volz said. “She is somebody that hates to loose. That is a true asset of hers. The other biggest asset she has is her work ethic. Nobody will ever work any harder then she does to get it right.”
