Of all the spectators, athletes and coaches to witness
UCLA’s David Shortenhaus clear the pole vault bar at 17 feet,
1 inch last Saturday in Boise, Idaho, the most surprised may have
been the redshirt sophomore himself. Shortenhaus, a decathlete who
specializes in the throwing events, had never considered pole
vaulting a strength. Yet, after increasing his lifetime best by
over a foot, he now sits on the cusp of qualifying for the NCAA
Indoor Championships. “It’s pretty ridiculous,”
Shortenhaus said. “I hadn’t even gone 16 feet in
practice until two weeks ago. You never see that dramatic an
improvement so quickly.” The key to his sudden emergence in
the pole vault, Shortenhaus believes, has been his ability to
overcome his fears. As a freshman at Las Lomas High School in
Walnut Creek, Calif., Shortenhaus took a bad fall while pole
vaulting, sustaining a slipped disk and a bulging disk in his back.
Overcoming those demons, until recently, has been difficult.
“It was pretty traumatic,” Shortenhaus said. “But
the cool thing is the last half year, I’ve moved past it.
I’ve been dealing with the injury and that’s helped a
lot.” The immediate goal for Shortenhaus will be to get in
position to earn a berth to next month’s NCAA Championships
in Arkansas. Shortenhaus, whose vault is currently the 10th highest
of the indoor season, believes he will have to clear at least 17
feet, 4 inches to get an invitation. “But I probably could
have cleared 17-7 in Boise, so I think I can do it,”
Shortenhaus said. He’ll have the support of his teammates and
UCLA pole vaulting coach Anthony Curran, who have poured over the
video from the Boise meet to try to share some of their
observations with Shortenhaus. Even if he does manage to improve
upon his performance from last weekend, Shortenhaus says he will
not focus solely on the pole vault. Instead he will try to build
upon his recent success in the other areas of the heptathlon and
decathlon. “That’s where I can contribute to this
team,” Shortenhaus said.
UP NEXT: Both the UCLA men’s and women’s track and
field teams will compete in the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville,
Ark., site of next month’s NCAA Indoor Championships. The
Bruins will be looking to qualify more athletes for Indoor
Nationals this weekend and get a feel for the venue in
Arkansas.