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Grab a flexible 10-foot pole weighing 10-12 pounds, run as fast as you can and stick the pole in the ground, then use the pole to vault your body over a bar raised 10 feet off the ground.
Sound exciting? Clay freshman Haley Kubicki thinks so.
“At first I didn't have much interest,” she said, “then it looked kind of cool so I said, 'why not.'”
On Friday, Kubicki competes in the pole vault at the Division I regional track and field meet in Amherst. The top four placers advance to the state meet June 3-4 in Columbus.
Kubicki advanced to regionals by winning the pole vault at last week's district meet at St. Francis de Sales. No Clay pole vaulter, male or female, has ever advanced to the state meet.
“It's a very tough region,” Clay pole vault coach Alex Szigeti said. “We have some of the top vaulters in the state in our region. Haley has every bit of 10 feet in her. If she does what she's capable of, let the chips fall where they may. I like her chances to be top eight. She's jumped 10-0 at practice. That's our goal, to PR and go 10-0 and see what happens. That will put us in the running.”
Kubicki set a personal record at districts, vaulting 9-3 to win the event. That height – three inches higher than the second-place finisher - was nine inches higher than her career best.
“Previous to that, my highest was 8-6 at the City League meet,” Kubicki said. “I prayed a lot more to get up there. After I cleared 8-6 clean, I kept raising it and it felt good. It went to 8-9, to 9-0 and then 9-3. I got 9-3 on my last attempt. I was thrilled. I couldn't believe it.”
It helps to have a father who is a pole vault coach, and it helps to have a younger brother who is also a pole vaulter. Kubicki's father, Greg, is the head boys track coach at CL champion Whitmer.
“He doesn't put too much pressure on me,” Haley said. “It's nice having him there.”
Her brother, Mitchell, a seventh-grader at Eisenhower Middle School, started pole vaulting two years ago. Haley took up the sport just last year.
“I figured, why not give my younger brother some competition,” Kubicki said. “I started my eighth grade year because my dad coaches the pole vault. I wanted to get into it to compete against my brother, but since my dad coached it, he helped me a lot in the beginning. When Mitchell saw me get 9-3, he told me he has to do better now.”
Szigeti and Clay track coach Scott Wamer both rave about Kubicki's dedication to her craft.
“She's a hard-working athlete and a very coachable young lady,” said Wamer, who coached Kubicki with the Eagles' soccer team last fall. “I'm not at all surprised how well she's done. I think good things happen to good people. She's a hard worker and she never says anything negative. I knew once we got some good weather she would come into her own.”
Szigeti said it's just a matter of time before Kubicki breaks the girls school record of 10-6, held by Katie Gadus. Kubicki also ran the 100-meter hurdles earlier in the year, but a strained Achilles' forced her to focus on the pole vault.
“First of all, she's very competitive,” Szigeti said. “Whatever she chooses to do, she's dedicated to that. Not just in athletics but also in the classroom. She's willing to pay the price to be successful. That's where the dedication comes in. Haley is very coachable and is willing to do what it takes to get better, and she is the first one cheering for everyone else.”
Kubicki still has lots of work to do before she can start dreaming of a state championship. Last year's D-I state champion, junior Olivia Bergesen of Mason, vaulted 12-0. She is, however, prepared to put in the work it takes to get there.
“I still don't have all of it down,” said Kubicki, who also gets coaching from former Clay pole vaulter Allen Saunders. “My dad helped me out a lot with technique in the beginning. Getting over the bar, that feels really good when I do it. When you put everything together, it feels really good. My goal is to be in the top four (at regionals). I want to PR first and place in the top four.”
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