|
|
|
John Zant: Wagner Raises the Bar by Moving to Kansas |
|
|
|
By John Zant
|
|
Wednesday, May 02 2007 |
 John Zant
"I want to go as high as possible," she said.
That makes sense when you know that Wagner is a high jumper. She took up the event at Dos Pueblos High School, reached the state finals and competed in the Junior World Championships. She then went to Cal Poly. In 2004 she won the Big West Conference title and finished third in the NCAA nationals.
But the departure of her coach from Cal Poly left Wagner, an extremely goal-oriented person, with grave doubts whether she would continue to improve. She had heard good things about K-State's coach, Cliff Rovelto, and made the move in the fall of 2005. She was uninvited but undaunted. Wagner was not allowed to talk to any K-State athletic representatives prior to her enrollment because Cal Poly had refused to release her. She would not be eligible to compete until a year had passed.
 Kaylene Wagner set a stadium record when she cleared 6 feet, 2¼ inches to win the high jump at the 98th Drake Relays. Courtesy photo
Now it's her official senior year, and Wagner — a graduate student in kinesiology — is one of the stars of Kansas State's high-jumping act. At the 98th Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, last Saturday, she won the women's high jump by clearing 6 feet, 2¼ inches, her best as a Wildcat and putting her second on the NCAA's top performers list. Amy Acuff, a three-time Olympian, also cleared 6-2¼, but she had to settle for second place because Wagner had fewer misses in the competition.
Wagner has won five of six meets in the outdoor season and figures it's only a matter of time before she tops her personal best of 6-3½, set three years ago. She has complete faith in Rovelto. He has coached 32 All-America high jumpers, including current K-State senior Kyle Lancaster, who holds the school record of 7-7, and sophomore Scott Sellers, who has cleared 7-5¾.
"Coach Rovelto knows a ton about the body and how to train for the high jump," Wagner said. "I had my form torn apart and built back up again. To a normal person, I look the same when I jump. But the speed, the strength, the timing and the rhythm are all different."
Wagner intends to keep training next year and take a shot at the 2008 Olympic Trials. Coming up in the next month are the Big 12 Championships in Lincoln, Neb., and the NCAA regionals in Des Moines, a qualifier for the nationals in Sacramento. The USA Championships will follow in Indianapolis.
Her parents, Richard and Shannon Wagner of Goleta, will travel to those meets.
"As parents, we found it hard when Kaylene decided to move away," Richard Wagner said, "but we felt we would rather her be in Kansas and be happy. Kaylene is an unusual woman, one of those people who doesn't shy away from really hard challenges. She always ran the farthest in Ellwood School jog-a-thons.
"She always has gotten A's in school," he said. "If she needed to do four hours of homework, she'd sit down and do four hours of homework. She went to Dos Pueblos as a basketball player. I'm glad she went out for track. She's tall (6-1), and the high jump suits her. I'd like to tell kids that whatever their body type is, there's something you can do in track and field."
 Noah Bryant shot to the top of the NCAA leader board when he heaved the 16-pound ball 67 feet, 5½ inches in the USC-UCLA dual meet. Courtesy photo
Bryant is a redshirt senior. He sat out last year while recovering from a 2005 accident in which a 16-pound hammer bounced off the cage and smashed his face. He came back in a big way this year by winning the NCAA indoor shot put title. He has also thrown the hammer outdoors, achieving a best of 214-11½, which ranks eighth on USC's all-time hammer list.
The Trojan men's team outscored UCLA, getting an unexpected lift from former Santa Barbara High water polo player Stenn Parton, whose winning javelin throw of 197-8 was more than 25 feet farther than his previous best. Duane Solomon, the former state champion half-miler from Lompoc's Cabrillo High, won the 800 meters and took third in the 1,500 for USC. Solomon has an NCAA-leading time of 1:47.19 in the 800.
GNEKOW EARNS HER KEEP: Ariana Gnekow took the same risk in coming to UCSB last fall that Kaylene Wagner did at Kansas State. Gnekow tried out for the Gaucho women's basketball team with no assurance that she would receive any playing time, much less a scholarship. The 5-foot-9 freshman guard was coming back from reconstructive surgery on her right knee, which she had blown out in her last game at Santa Ynez High six months earlier.
Gnekow defied expectations by playing with reckless abandon from the start of the season. She saw significant playing time - averaging 3.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in almost 15 minutes a game - and head coach Mark French announced Tuesday that she would receive a full scholarship.
French described Gnekow as "a throw-back type of Gaucho" and "one of those mentally tough players we like to have." She follows in the footsteps of two other Santa Ynez women who had outstanding UCSB careers, Erin Alexander and Kristi Rohr.
"We are absolutely delighted to be able to reward Ariana for all of her hard work and everything she has given to the program," French said. "We are happy that a great kid and tremendous athlete will no longer have to pay for her education."
UCSB now has 12 returning players and three incoming freshmen on scholarship for the 2007-08 season — the maximum of 15 full rides allowed by the NCAA. It is apparent that Shantel Thomas, who sat out last season after playing for the Gauchos as a freshman in 2005-06, is not in their future plans. |
|
|
