Iowa schools go global to fill gap in preps

Andre Poljanec landed in Iowa, partly, because the state's high school athletes never had a chance to get off the ground.

Since the pole vault is not offered at the prep level in Iowa, Poljanec filled a void for the Northern Iowa track program. He was recruited to Cedar Falls from his homeland of Slovenia, and blossomed into an NCAA all-American.

Still, he wishes Iowa youths were allowed to follow him over the bar.

"I think it's really a shame," said Poljanec, the national co-leader with a season-best vault of 18 feet, 2inches. "Because I've seen a lot of talented athletes who could be great pole vaulters.

"They need to change that."

Poljanec will be among at least a dozen international athletes representing the state's major universities during this weekend's NCAA Midwest Regional at Drake Stadium.

The list includes Iowa State triple jumper Agata Kosuda, who grew up in Poland, and Iowa's Tammilee Kerr, a javelin thrower from Jamaica.

All three qualified in events unavailable to the boys and girls who performed at last week's state meet in Des Moines.

"You create an opportunity for out-of-state kids, but we would like to be able to look at in-state kids, too," Northern Iowa coach Chris Bucknam said. "You need the pole vaulters, the triple jumpers and the javelin throwers to put (together) the right kind of team."

Boys competed in the pole vault from 1906-89, but it was phased out because of liability costs and lack of facilities.

Iowa and Alaska are the only states that do not sanction high school vaulting, according to a national survey in 2004.

Iowa also is among seven states that don't have the triple jump, along with Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia.

The javelin, meanwhile, is featured in just 13 state meets throughout the country.

When events are banned from the prep itinerary, college coaches are more likely to scan the globe.

"I don't think any of the state schools are different than we are, in that you look close to home first," Iowa State men's coach Steve Lynn said. "Then, you look someplace else.

"I think we have a commitment to the state, but our No. 1 commitment is to make our program better."

The number of in-state prospects would likely increase if the high school event list mirrored the colleges.

Troy Dannen, executive director of the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union, says expenses make the pole vault prohibitive. He would, however, be in favor of adding the other two events.

"I look at the triple jump and the javelin as something that test skills today's (other) events don't test," Dannen said. "I think they would be really neat additions."

When he made a pitch for the triple jump five years ago, coaches resisted.

"In fact," Dannen said, "it was a unanimous vote against the triple jump."

Montezuma boys' coach Ryan Van Veen is skeptical.

"I think a part of it is there's probably just not many qualified coaches to teach (it)," he said. "If there's not a lot of people who can teach it, it's tough to start something new."

Cindy Kostek, girls' track coach for Des Moines Christian, would support a move to add all three events, though the potential cost could put her program behind other schools.

"We wouldn't be able to do the pole vault, but we'd love to see it for the state," said Kostek, whose husband Mark is co-director of the NCAA regional. "If the colleges offer it, I think we should."

Schools would have to spend about $10,000 for a pole vault pit, plus another $500 for poles. That's especially pricey for Des Moines Christian, which doesn't have a track.

"I could see the 4-A schools nabbing it up and doing it the first year," Kostek said. "We wouldn't be able to do it for years."

Omitting events in high schools has a financial impact on the Cyclones, Hawkeyes and Panthers. Out-of-state recruits can cost an athletic department an additional $5,000 per scholarship, per semester.

"You have to make some tough decisions with the limited number of scholarships, anyway," Iowa men's coach Larry Wieczorek said. "It's a tough juggling act."

From a competitive standpoint, coaches must decide whether they want to invest in the future, or benefit from the experience of athletes who grew into the sport.

"If you want those quick points, you have to almost go to the foreign athletes because they've been doing track and field since they were 2 years old," Drake coach Natasha Kaiser-Brown said. "So they're a lot more advanced and at a different level coming to your college."

Reporter John Naughton contributed to this story.