Allison Stokke

Rick Devereux

At high school pole vault competitions, athletes waiting for their

turn to jump can be seen getting mentally prepared through a variety

of methods. Some bob their head and lip-sync to music playing on

their headphones. Some jog through the correct technique on unused

portions of nearby runways. Some sit apart from their competitors in

order to better concentrate on the task that lay ahead.

But there might also be a girl with black, tightly-braided

ponytails who does not look as intense as the other girls. Her dark,

fawn-like eyes dart in sharp contrast to her otherwise placid

expression.

But Allison Stokke, the Newport Harbor High freshman with this

angelic face, feels right at home at pole vault competitions.

Stokke won the California high school pole vault title in

Sacramento June 5 with a vault of 12 feet, 8 inches. She reached this

pinnacle despite having made her first vault in December, while most

of the competition has been training in the event for years.

Stokke, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, attributes her

calmness before competitions to her athletic background.

“I’m used to the competition because I used to do gymnastics,” she

said. “I did all four events in gymnastics [balance beam, floor

exercise, vault and uneven parallel bars]. I think gymnastics helped

me in the pole vault because it improved my body awareness.”

The pole vault is one of the most technical events in track and

field. Every element of a jump is related and even the smallest

miscue can affect the outcome. The concentration needed in

gymnastics, another highly technical sport, has helped prepare Stokke

for the pole vault.

“She has a gymnastics background that immediately took her right

[to the elite level of the pole vault],” said Eric Tweit, Newport

Harbor girls track and field coach.

While many schools are dropping the pole vault due to budget cuts,

Tweit said Stokke single-handedly saved the event for the Sailors.

“For us, it’s pretty exciting because she’s only a freshman and

we’re one of the ones who are going to keep it.”

Stokke’s pole vault coach at Newport Harbor is Logan Odden. Odden,

a Marina High product, holds the Orange County boys high school pole

vault record (16-7). Odden sees great things for Stokke in the near

future.

“She’s catching on faster than anyone I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I

can see her, by her senior year, being one of the top jumpers in the

country. I think she has a good chance of breaking the national girls

record [13-8] by her senior year.”

Odden was coached by Kevin Magula at Marina. Magula still coaches

at Marina, as well as at Orange Coast College, where Odden currently

competes. Maguna also coaches a Huntington Beach-bases High Flyers

pole vault club, where he was first introduced to Stokke in December.

Magula, who continues to coach Stokke on the weekends, recognized her

as someone with special talents when they first met.

“She is very strong for her size and the way that she swings up

and gets on top of the pole and works on top of the pole is amazing,”

he said. “She does that really well and that’s what’s going to take

her far in this sport because that’s one of the hardest things to

learn -- to work up the pole and do that proper stuff on top.”

Stokke had hoped to clear 12-0 before the season came to a close,

but, now, she wants to literally raise the bar.

“Now my goal is at least 13-0,” she said. Stokke will compete

today at the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento. The meet is

considered the top high school track and field meet in the nation and

may be the last chance this season for Stokke to reach 13-0.

She said she is thinking about competing in the junior nationals

in Texas in July and has heard talk of her possibly making a run at

the Olympics in four years. But she is concentrating on today’s meet.

“[The future] is in the back of my mind, but I’m just thinking

about what I need to do right now,” she said.

For all of the concentration and focus Stokke is applying to the

invitational, the impression that she wants to win at all cost would

be natural. But the soft-spoken girl with wide eyes is just the

opposite.

“I’d rather get 13-0 and not win than not clear 13-0 and win

because 13-0 is my goal and that’s what I really want right now,” she

said.