OPHS pole vaulter likes life on the edge

By Kyle Jorrey jorrey@theacorn.com

When Oak Park sophomore Aubrey Stark first set out to become a pole vaulter, the fear of bodily injury was never really an obstacle she had to overcome.

After all, when you're the type of teenager who would bungee jump off the world second-tallest bridge or ride snowmobiles at 75-plus mph, the idea of propelling one's body over 10 feet in the air with nothing but a skinny pole doesn't seem quite so frightening.

In fact, Stark said she's enjoyed vaulting from her very first lesson- and the Oak Park native hasn't looked back, or down, since.

"I look at (vaulting) as if it is some kind of amusement park ride, like a roller coaster," Stark said. "I think it's a lot of fun."

Only 11 months into her training, Stark has already shown the potential to become one of the best high school female vaulters in state history. Training under long-time UCLA pole vaulting guru/coach Anthony Curran, who himself owns the boys' state record, Stark has already gone over 10 feet and is training at 11 and 12. The state record for girls is 13-feet-6-inches, set by Chelsea Johnson in 2002. Last year's CIF state champion, Allison Stokke of Newport Harbor, vaulted 12-feet-8-inches. Both girls were seniors when they reached those heights.

Few are as impressed with Stark's rapid progression in the sport than her father, Dale, who himself was a high school pole vaulter. He credits much of her ability to her natural thirst for adrenaline, a desire that always pushes her to the edge in whatever she does.

"I'm amazed at how fast everything started happening in the last six months . . . for the first three or four months she was kind of like everyone else out there," her father said. "I think it comes back to the fear factor, or her lack of fear. She started increasing her speed, increasing her hand hold, and now things have really gotten going."

Because OPHS is without a pole vaulting team or even a pit to compete, Stark must do the majority of her training on her own time away from the high school. Though some athletes might find it difficult to keep themselves motivated without the benefit of teammates, Stark said she enjoys undertaking this task on her own.

"I actually like it better just because I don't have to depend so much on others," said Stark, who also plays for the Eagle soccer team. "I just know what my expectations are and I know what I'm capable of, so I'm always challenging myself. I like the fact that I'm in control of everything."

Stark's dedication to pole vaulting has gone a long way to impress Oak Park track coach Kevin Smith, who said he hasn't seen a vaulter at Oak Park since the likes of Jeremy Ross. Ross holds the boys' school record at 13-feet-6-inches- a record Smith thinks Stark is capable of breaking as a girl.

"I first saw her on the soccer field during a match, and it gave me a good indication that she would be very good at it because she had that fire in her eyes," Smith said. "She's found a route to success and she has worked hard at it. The fact that she's able to do all this (without the benefit of vaulting teammates) just confirms that desire that she has to be an outstanding athlete."

With its highly technical approach and awkward demands on the body, pole-vaulting is not generally the first choice of most track athletes. According to Smith, a long-time coach, it takes a certain kind of individual to be a pole vaulter.

"They have to be a little bit crazy, a little bit fearless," Smith explained. "They have to desire to do things other people just don't want to do it . . . They are the kids riding around on a bike or a skateboard and looking for something to jump over. When others tell them 'Maybe you shouldn't do that,' they're the ones that say 'Yeah, I think I will."

Dale Stark said he's long known his daughter fits that prototype.

"She's a girl who likes things on the edge; she's an adrenaline junkie," he said. "She rides a 200 XR motorcycle, she goes skiing, (snow)boarding, rock climbing . . . anything that gives her an adrenaline rush. And I think that's what attracted her to vaulting."

In the sport of pole vaulting, the athlete is constantly in pursuit of new heights and new horizons. Though Stark said much of her hard work is done away from the pit, when she does get an opportunity to goes against the bar, the sophomore loves seeing results from her hours of work both sprint and vault training.

"That's what it's all about," Stark said. "Just getting over that next bar, reaching that next height."

When she's not studying, playing soccer or working on her pole-vaulting, Stark is a regular fun-loving teenager, who spends much more time in the snow than the average California native. On a good year, she can spend up to fifty days at Mammoth, Calif., at her family's winter cabin.

"Snowboarding, that's my life. I love the snow," she said.

But with everything she does, Stark is constantly pushing herself to edge, taking on the most complicated of runs and always looking to go faster. As any father would, Dale Stark constantly has to tell his oldest child to take it down a couple notches.

"It does scare me a little bit . . . I'm always trying to shut her down and tell her that safety has to come first. Sometimes I feel that she has that teenage mentality that she can't get hurt, but she's learning that she can," he said, pointing to a recent shoulder injury she suffered in a soccer match.

According to Stark, her recent success in pole-vaulting and her prospects for the future have taught her the importance of staying healthy.

"Getting hurt like I am now really punishes my vaulting," she said. "All I can do is be careful . . . and I plan on taking it easier my junior and senior year."

During last year's track season, Stark's highest mark was eight-foot-seven inches, which was good enough for her to win all but one track meet during the regular season and qualify her for CIF prelims. She plans on nothing less than 10 feet to start out 2005, and has her sights set on contending at state.

This means Stark will soon be reducing her fear of the competition as well.

"There really isn't too much pressure involved because I love to do it so much and I'm very confident in myself- if I want to achieve something I'm going to do it. Pole vaulting is fun. The real pressure is from the school work," she said with a smile.