Raising the bar

Stark family pole vaulting tradition continues at Oak Park High


Connor Stark

Connor Stark


He’s just a freshman, but Connor Stark is making his mark not only at Oak Park High but in the state and nationwide as well.

Connor, 15, is one of the highest jumping freshman pole vaulters in California as well as the nation, according to the website www.DyeStatCal.com.

His top mark so far this season is 13.6 feet. His goal by season’s end is to jump 14.6 feet, and by the end of high school he’d like to be jumping 17.6 feet.

“Connor is very unique as a freshman vaulter,” said Kevin Smith, Oak Park track coach.

“He combines very good runway speed with refined pole vault skills. Just with natural maturity he will become an exceptional vaulter, perhaps nationally elite, over the next three years.” Connor is a natural athletesaid his father and coach, Dale Stark. The more pressure his son feels the better he performs, often jumping higher during meets

than at practice, the father added”He doesn’t say it but I don’think he likes to lose,” Dale Stark said. “He’s still very humble. I can see him building into a real leader for the othekids in the next couple of yearsHe’s very helpful.”

At Oak Park Connor is the youngest of six male varsity jumpers. Although he’s young, Connor already brings leadership to the team, said teammate Michael Horowitz, a junior.

“He’s an inspiration,” Horowitz said. “We all see Connor try so hard, always with a positive attitude. He pushes everyone, is encouraging and everyone loves him.”

Speed, form and abdominal strength are important in pole vaulting, Connor said, but mental discipline is key. “You always want to come out with confidence,” he said. “I think, ‘Maybe I’m not going to win this

meet, but I’m going to get my PR (personal record).'” With 20 members this is the largest pole vaulting team Oak Park has had, growing from 17 last year. Dale Stark expects the team to dominate during the league season. Smith credits

Dale Stark with the team’s growth and development.

“Behind the scenes, Dale has supported the program with the necessary resources, and he has helped us get the best coaching possible,” Smith said.

“The enthusiastic and skilled coaches have instilled solid fundamentals in the athletes and laid the groundwork for the program’s explosion.”

Connor’s success may be in the genes.

Pole vaulting is a Stark family tradition. Dale Stark was a vaulter in high school. His oldest daughter, Aubree, expressed interest in the sport as an Oak Park sophomore six years ago, and the team, which had died out years earlier, was resurrected.

Aubree is now a UCLA sophomore and pole vault team member making 12.6-foot jumps.

“We started with one kid and built up a little every year,” Dale Stark said.

Madison, the next Stark to enter Oak Park, jumped a record 11.6 feet as a freshman last year.

This season Madison has struggled with health issues, including an ankle injury during soccer season. Her goal is to get to at least 12 feet.

Madison and Connor say they are happy be sharing the Oak Park pole vaulting experience, training together at Oak Park and at UCLA several times a week.

“There’s no advice to be given to that kid. He knows how to do it,” Madison said.

Connor was 11 years old when Aubree started pole vaulting as an OPHS sophomore. Connor watched a couple of practices, tried it and liked it.

“It was fun; the coach was great, and it involved doing something with my family,” Connor said.

Throughout middle school Connor participated in practices and all-comer, general meets. The summer before eighth grade he placed second in the National Junior Olympics.

Now in high school, he’s taking the sport more seriously, jumping against older, higherjumping student-athletes.

“I personally think it’s a lot more fun being in meets where you can help your school, earn points for your school,” Connor said. While pole vaulting has been a bonding experience for him and his father, Connor admits that he and his dad argue occasionally.

“He can tell me the truth,” Connor said. “He doesn’t have to be nice.”

Coaching his teenage children is challenging, particularly during practices, Dale Stark admitted.

“They’re harder on me. They can’t separate coach and dad,” Dale Stark said. “Sometimes the attitude at home carries onto the field. But they do exactly as I ask them to at a meet.”

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers FABULOUS FRESHMAN—Connor Stark, a ninth-grader at OPHS, is a standout pole vaulter for the Eagle varsity team. Stark's sisters, Aubree and Madison, are also highly competitive in the sport.

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers FABULOUS FRESHMAN—Connor Stark, a ninth-grader at OPHS, is a standout pole vaulter for the Eagle varsity team. Stark’s sisters, Aubree and Madison, are also highly competitive in the sport.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *