Track and field is one of the few sports where there are many different things to specialize in, such as sprinting, throwing, or jumping. But Piper Wietbrock (10) loves pole vaulting.
Wietbrock is currently the number one girl on varsity with a personal record of 8-foot-6 inches, but she didn’t get to that point overnight. She has put countless nights into this sport starting all the way back with her first track clinic in the third grade. Although she wasn’t technically on a track team, she practiced all the time, until she played for Immaculate Conception of Dardenne (ICD) in seventh grade.
A lot of work goes into being a pole vaulter and so much of that is done in the offseason. Wietbrock runs all year round along with working out during the summer and in the fall she is a part of the cross country team.
She first started off running and doing track because she comes from a family of runners but after experiencing it for herself she has found her own love for it. On top of being runners, her father and brother were also pole vaulters when they were in track and that is what first sparked her interest.
In addition to being a vaulter, she is also a varsity sprinter and jumper. Wietbrock does any races between the 100 and 400, including relays, as well as triple and long jump.
To help with Wietbrock’s performance, she always tries to stay out of her head. Pole vaulting can be very challenging physically, but also mentally there is always the possibility of mental blocks that restrict the body from vaulting even if the athlete has done it hundreds of times at practice. Thankfully, sometimes muscle memory kicks in anyways but not always and that can hurt a score. Luckily Wietbrock has learned the trick to being a good vaulter.
“Do not think about it too much because then I will stress myself out,” Weitbrock said.
Coaches are always a big part of one’s athletic career and this is especially true with Wietbrock. She not only has her family to guide her but she always believes in herself as well. With helping herself, she can also help her teammates with their journey of doing track.
“She gives me good advice,” Coach Dukeman said. Wietbrock has helped her a lot with techniques and just overall motivation. She feels that some coaches try to tell you what to do but not how to do it. Dukeman is not like these coaches.
Wietbrock is ready for the next steps to increase her personal record in her next years of high school.
