Sophomore Mike Woepse is poised to lead UCLA’s corps of vaulters this season. Woepse’s family is full of athletes: older siblings Greg and Elizabeth are both UCLA track alumni and Woepse’s younger brother Patrick recently committed to playing water polo for the Bruins.
For sophomore pole vaulter Mike Woepse, his dominating start to the season is just a part of who he is. Pole vaulting is in his blood.
Woepse’s father is a world class pole vaulter Greg Woepse, who pole vaulted for San Jose State, and his older siblings Greg and Elizabeth Woepse are both UCLA track alumni. Greg, who graduated from UCLA last year, brought home the Pac-10 title for UCLA in 2011.
“We competed in everything we did,” Mike Woepse said about growing up in a sports-oriented family.
“There was bound to be some sibling rivalry; growing up, I was always competing with my brothers.”
Interestingly enough, one of the family’s major competitions had nothing to do with track.
“Ping-pong was big in our family,” Woepse said.
Whether it was at footraces or table tennis, this intense competition planted the seeds for Woepse’s career in track and field, where the winners and losers can be separated by a fraction of an inch.
Growing up in a hyper-competitive family has had a big influence on Woepse’s athletic career. But Woepse’s success cannot be solely attributed to family influence.
“Mike is committed at a higher level than anybody I have ever coached,” vaulting coach Anthony Curran said.
“When you have a kid like that, that’s committed to do things on his own, that studies on his own, that does the extra 20 percent, you’re going to have great results. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Mike.”
Woepse’s work ethic is proving to be successful for him so far this season. He cleared his lifetime best 17-8.50 feet at the Reno Pole Vault Summit for UCLA in January, placing him into the UCLA all-time top-10 for the first time in his career.
This, along with his record-breaking performance at the Cougar Indoor event in Pullman, Wash., is the beginning of a breakout season for the young pole vaulter.
The sophomore’s performance is an improvement from last year, which according to him “was a rough year all the way around from start to finish.” Woepse’s rough year saw him tie for a 20th place finish at the NCAA Championships and earn an All-American honorable mention.
His high standards are a testament to his intense, competitive nature, and Woepse says his goals for this season are to contribute to the team and qualify for the indoor nationals.
As Woepse continues to pursue his goals at UCLA this season, his younger brother Patrick is not far behind.
Patrick formally committed to attend UCLA to play water polo this past Wednesday, and the youngest Woepse may be the most competitive of all.
“I’m excited. I’m planning on winning an NCAA Championship,” Patrick said.
It looks as if the sibling rivalry will continue, even with the brothers playing two different sports.
“(In high school) we won three CIF Championships, and Mike only won one,” the youngest Woepse added playfully.
It will be interesting to see who can bring home the most NCAA Championships for UCLA, and even though the brothers are competing against each other, Bruin fans and sports fans in general can appreciate what drives athletes like Mike Woepse to succeed.
It seems the Woepses like to keep things all in the family.
And luckily for UCLA, they have found a home here with the Bruin family.