For most, pole vaulting brings to mind mainly up and down movements. For freshman Jenny Soceka and redshirt sophomore Blair Luethmers, however, this track season promises to feature a back-and-forth struggle as well. Both vaulters have at one point in the season held the school record height, and neither plan on letting it stand as is.
'The record stood for about four years, then we both broke it in three weeks,' Soceka said, 'and we'll probably still keep breaking it for a while.'
Soceka broke the record, previously set in 2002 at 12 feet, 5.5 inches, with a jump of 12 feet, 6.5 inches in her first meet as a Badger. Two weeks later, Luethmers set the mark at 13 feet, .25 inches during a home meet at the Shell. That record is by no means safe, for Soceka has already jumped 13 feet in high school and hopes to reach the same level again soon.
More than obtaining the school record, both Soceka and Luethmers said they hope to ultimately place well in the Big Ten Championships and qualify for nationals. Luethmers and Soceka currently rank first and third respectively among Big Ten vaulters, and Luethmers' height may already be sufficient to qualify her for nationals, though it depends on the performances of others around the country (she must finish in the nation's top 20 to be eligible).
Second-year assistant coach Will Wabaunsee is coaching both girls for the first time, and already recognizes them as special talents.
'In practices, they feed off each other and really drive the group,' Wabaunsee said. 'Everyone gets a little pumped once they step on the runway because something special's gonna happen.'
Though Soceka and Luethmers only became teammates this year, they both knew of each other while pole vaulting for their respective Wisconsin high schools.
'Our schools didn't really compete against each other, but I knew who [Luethmers] was because she was the best vaulter in the state at that point,' Soceka said. 'When I first started as a [high school] freshman, I thought she was the greatest vaulter ever because I saw her go 12 feet and my PR at the time was only nine.'
The girls' high schools were in different divisions, but they did compete once in a summer competition when Soceka was a sophomore and Luethmers a senior.
Now Soceka and Luethmers compete side by side, and though Luethmers admits that they wouldn't be on the team if they weren't competitive by nature, she says they both support each other and are happy if the other has a great meet. Soceka agreed, saying that if both are going up against each other at 13 feet, they'll be happy even if only one makes it.
'I'm competitive against people on other teams and people on my team, but I still want my team to do well,' Soceka said. 'Like if Blair has a really good meet and I have a bad one, then I'm still happy since she's a teammate.'
The women's pole vaulting team is captained by Andrea Lange. Including Soceka and Luethmers, the team boasts five vaulters with PR's over 12 feet, four of which will be able to compete in the 2006 Big Ten Indoor Championships held in the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center on Feb. 25-26. Between now and then, don't be surprised to see the school record come crashing down as quickly as a vaulter in midair.
