Knoch High pole vaulter still in coma after fall

Injured in meet Monday

Thursday, April 21, 2005

A Knoch High School freshman remained in guarded condition in a medically induced coma at Children's Hospital yesterday after a brain injury that could be the most serious accident in American pole vaulting since three fatalities -- including a Penn State athlete -- caused national rule changes three years ago.

Ryan Adler, 15, was hurt at a WPIAL section meet Monday at North Allegheny High School while attempting to clear 9 feet, apparently stalling in mid-jump and landing head-and-shoulders first in the padded plant box -- the hole where the pole is plunged to propel a vaulter skyward.

"That's a pretty good fall," said Knoch track coach Wes Brahler, who was elsewhere at the meet and didn't see Adler fall, though Adler's mother, Lisa, a teacher in that South Butler district, did witness the incident. "And he came down upside down."

Brahler praised the efforts of North Allegheny officials, the school's trainer and an unidentified physician in the stands. He said that doctor cleared Adler's airways and stabilized his head, neck and back until an ambulance arrived minutes later. Adler, who didn't regain consciousness, was placed in a comatose state by doctors in an attempt to prevent swelling in his brain.

"We have Ryan in our thoughts and prayers," said Brahler, who never before had an athlete so seriously injured in 16 years as Knoch's track coach. "Our boys are very compassionate. They're taking this to heart."

Adler had roughly six weeks of training at the high school and met with enough success to clear 10 feet, 6 inches in practice. He enjoyed the event so much that he told his mother he wanted to become the finest pole vaulter in Knoch history.

Although it isn't mandatory by the WPIAL's governing body, the PIAA, Brahler is accredited by the Pole Vault Safety Certification Board. That national organization is one of the many U.S.A. Track and Field offshoots that played a role in improving the event's safety standards in the wake of the deaths of Penn State pole vaulter Kevin Dare and two high school vaulters in early 2002.

Dare, 19, from Port Matilda, Pa., was killed after jumping at the Big Ten indoor track championships in February 2002, a tragedy sandwiched between the deaths of Jesus Queseda, 16, of Clewiston, Fla., and Samoa Fili, 17, of Wichita, Kan. With Dare's father, Ed, and Penn State athletic director Tim Curley helping to lead the way, sweeping changes were made in the event from the Olympic level to high schools.

Jan Johnson, chairman of the USA Track and Field pole vault safety committee and a 1972 Olympic bronze medalist in the event, said under the new rules the pit was widened by 4¹/₂ feet and lengthened by 5 feet, the plant box was padded and an angular pad was added around the entire landing area. The changes seemed to work, particularly in an event with 47 catastrophic -- life-threatening or debilitating -- injuries since 1971 and 17 high school deaths plus 14 other serious injuries since 1983, making it by the low percentage of competitors an even more dangerous sport than football in America.

"We've gone for two solid years with nothing," Johnson said of permanent or serious injuries. "It says to me that we really fixed this thing in a good way."

Then came this accident. Johnson will help to lead the safety committee's investigation into what happened Monday, though he said that likely will be delayed at least six months before starting "because we must be sensitive to the needs of the family and the school district."

This marked the second pole vault accident in the WPIAL in less than a week, with a Mount Pleasant athlete breaking a leg after landing on his feet after a jump Friday at an invitational at Latrobe. WPIAL executive director Larry Hanley said meet officials and coaches Monday at North Allegheny seemed to follow proper procedures, including signing a pole vault verification form that details the weight and pole of each vaulter -- the equipment needs to jibe, and bend, to specifications for the size of the athlete. That form also was a byproduct of the 2002 national changes.

Helmets, while not guaranteed by manufacturers as a safety precaution beyond a fall of 7 feet or so, are required by high school federations in six states: Minnesota, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Pole vault certification and training, such as Brahler attained, is mandated in 10 states, including neighboring New York. The PIAA offers help in certification, but neither that nor helmets are required.

Hanley said WPIAL schools participating in track were quick to adopt the new padding requirements three years ago, even at great expense, and some schools offer helmets to their vaulters.

"Pole vaulting is a rather unique art," he said. "Like a lot of athletic endeavors, it still has some potential for problems."

With Adler in intensive care yesterday, his father, Dan, and older brother, Chris, were still trying to return from Thailand where they were building houses as part of tsunami relief. His sister, Maria, is a sprinter on the Knoch girls' team. She was warming up for a race when her brother fell.