Westlake senior Molly Bartkiewicz, bloody nose and all, finished third in the state as a junior. She has already set a personal best this winter during the indoor season and now she wants the state record. (File photo by Larry Bennet)

Bartkiewicz has sights set on state record in pole vault
By Zachary Dzurick
Sports
Published March 29, 2005

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Molly Bartkiewicz had absolutely no interest in being a pole vaulter. She was a gymnast, a runner and swimmer. But midway through her freshman year at Westlake High School her older brother thought she should add another sport to her resume.

"I actually didn't want to pole vault, but my older brother Stanley, who was a junior on the track team, said I should try it," Bartkiewicz said. "I argued with him for at least two hours and said no way. But he talked me into going to the first practice and I loved it."

So what was the attraction of running quickly with a large pole in order to flop yourself through the air?

"I like weird sports and my background in gymnastics helped," Bartkiewicz said. "I liked it right way, but then I got good at it and I really liked it."

Bartkiewicz's start in the sport was modest.

“I started at seven feet and by the end of my freshman year I was clearing nine feet,” she said. “But that was all straight pole. Going into my sophomore year, I learned to bend the pole and started to clear a lot higher.”

Bartkiewicz started working with Amherst pole vault coach Alan Roark. His coaching allowed Bartkiewicz to blossom in the sport.

“He got me bending the pole and has shown me a lot of drills and techniques that I would have never known if I was doing it by myself,” Bartkiewicz said. “He really cares if you do well and he has a love for pole vault that is great to have as a coach.”

While she continued to set personal bests, Bartkiewicz was still a bit of an unknown because of Avon Lake’s Katie Nowak, who won the SWC pole vault title the last four years. Going toe to toe with Nowak at the regional meet was the inspiration needed to turn Bartkiewicz from a good pole vaulter to be a confident vaulter with high aspirations.

“It was my goal from the beginning of my junior year to get to states,” Bartkiewicz said. “But at the beginning of the season, I wasn't sure I would make it. As it got warmer and I could practice more, I realized I could do it. The regional meet was a turning point. It came down to Katie (Nowak) and myself as the last ones left. I knew I was already going to states, but then I PR'ed and I knew I could compete at the highest level.”

The state meet is tense enough, but Bartkiewicz found a way to make it even more intense. While waiting for her turn to jump, her friend Alex Boiwka noticed she had a problem.

“I was seriously just sitting there talking to Alex, one of my teammates, and he was like 'your nose is bleeding,’” Bartkiewicz said. “It was the worst possible time of my life to get my first nose bleed. I had nothing with me and I looked over to my mom and sister and they just laughed at me and didn't help. Then I got called up in order and I was so nervous and I didn't know what to do. My coach told me I had to calm down because the blood was pumping pretty fast.”

She recovered to clear a personal outdoor best of 11-3. No one at the state meet jumped higher than that, but because of attempts, Bartkiewicz finished tied for third. Now she wants more.

“My freshman year I never dreamed of vaulting anything competitive or being hunted down by other teams,” she said. “My sophomore year I jumped higher but I was still in the shadows. Katie (Nowak) was always there and I was second. My junior year I wanted it, but I knew I really had a lot of work to do. States helped when I got third, but I tied for third and I wanted first and a fair first with no tie. Now my whole outlook has changed.”

Bartkiewicz competed during the indoor season. She started slow, but found her stride as the season wore on.

“My first indoor meet I only jumped 10 feet and I was extremely embarrassed. At the second or third meet, I jumped with Green’s Carrie Keyes and Copley’s Becky Rospotynski who were first and second at the state meet last year. I was frustrated because I did all that hard work and I was still behind them. As the season progressed and I did 12 feet at the Kent State Invitational, I knew all that hard work paid off. I also qualified for Nike and it was such an amazing experience to compete against the best in the nation.”

With success comes expectations, not only from herself. Erin Ferut’s outdoor state record of 12-8 is what Bartkiewicz is chasing, but now the rest of the state is chasing Bartkiewicz as well.

“I know I am ranked first going into the outdoor season,” she said. “I have been to indoor meets and now everyone knows my name and what I have jumped. Everyone knows everything about me. I feel like everyone wants to beat me now. I know I should not be happy about that, but I love it. I love having competition and that I can get my goal. But I want to put it high enough that it won't be touched for a while.”

Bartkiewicz does not like falling short of her own expectations. Will she be able to handle the ups and downs of the early part of the track season, where the conditions are not always ideal?

“My coach and I talked about that,” she said. “He said you have to realize the only real meets are districts, regionals and state. All the other meets are just really long practices with other people in the way. So that is how I am going into the season. I know I will get frustrated if I do not do my best, but I need to focus on the main goal.”

Which is?

“I want to win the state championship and I want to set the state record.”

Lofty goals but obtainable ones for a once reluctant freshman turned dedicated and hard working senior.