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Clearing the bar not the only obstacle
By JAMAL THALJI © St. Petersburg Times, published April 26, 2001 ZEPHYRHILLS -- It's that split second every pole vaulter fears. Drew Barthle charged down the runway, planted his pole in the pit, felt himself rise in the air -- and then it happened. "It sounded like a gunshot going off," Barthle said. "Boom!" The Zephyrhills junior's pole had snapped in three places. The high end knocked Barthle in the head. His body fell on the mat, but his head hit the ground. The middle piece of the pole just missed his back. Barthle wasn't seriously injured in that mishap Monday. But the pole vault is a fickle event, and Barthle will have to shake off any ill effects before today's Class 3A, District 9 meet at Springstead if he wants to advance to the regionals. A district champion his sophomore season, Barthle faces the toughest challenge of his prep career: hitting his career- and season-best height of 11 feet, 6 inches -- without his favorite pole -- for the first time since the Suncoast Relays. Then he'll need to peak the next week, vaulting 12 feet for the chance to advance to state. "District and regionals is where I want to climax, where I want to do my best," he said. "I think 11-6 should advance me, and at regionals I should be up around 12." His biggest obstacle, though, might be in his head. "It's definitely psychological," he said. If only Barthle could just concentrate on the pole vault. However, he can't because as one of the lone veterans to return to a rebuilding Bulldogs' squad, Barthle has been as much an assistant coach as a teammate. "I have to practice during P.E. and mostly coach after school when I'm here," he said. "I spend a lot of time coaching." But there is a payoff: Zephyrhills' track team is gaining in size, talent and momentum. Barthle does what he can for the squad on the track as well, running the 110-meter high hurdles and the 4x100 relay. Which is why Barthle is the team's leading scorer. "Oh, definitely, we've got more individuals than ever," he said. "We've never been good as a team, but individually we're doing much better." None more than Barthle, coach Troy Hochstetler said. "He brings a lot of experience and he's fairly athletic," the coach said. "He's got a real good start, he's got that quick explosion so he can really drive on the pit, to get that momentum that helps get him in the air." Barthle doesn't enter today's meet with the best height, but the pole vault is a fickle event, after all. "In the pole vault it doesn't really matter what you go in there with," he said. "It's who's on their game. It just depends if that person is on a groove and everything is going."
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