Date posted online

Date posted online: Thursday, May 18, 2006
Climbing to new heights
Iowa-bound Zona gaining momentum
BY AL HAMNIK
ahamnik@nwitimes.com
219.933.4154

BOYS TRACK | SECTIONAL PREVIEW

ST. JOHN | Alex Zona loves dashing down a runway with a large stick in his hand, leaving the ground like a weather balloon, flying over another stick with his feet to the heavens, and then landing on a huge sponge.

Some people think pole vaulters are crazy and that's the hook for the Lake Central senior.

"Probably just because I'm stupid enough to run as fast as I can, stick my hand up in the air, and hope for the best," said Zona, who has vaulted an area-best 15 feet, 3 inches this season. "It's the only event in track where you actually use (equipment) to better your performance and I think that's kinda cool."

So is the track scholarship he recently received from the University of Iowa.

Zona competed in the pole vault, long jump and high jump during the regular season but will skip the long jump when sectionals begin tonight and concentrate on his two specialties.

He set school records this spring in the pole vault (15-3), high jump (6-6 1/4) and had long-jumped 21-10 1/2 the first time he tried it. But he found that running into a sand trap messed up his steps for the vault.

Zona trains with a vaulting club at Bloom High School in Chicago Heights and borrows his poles from there, some of which can cost $500 each. Log onto www.vaultchicago.com and you'll see Zona in one of the training videos.

As exhilarating as the pole vault is, it can be extremely dangerous.

"Once you let your head start getting involved, they call that 'vaulter block' and it's no good when you think about all the stuff that's happening," Zona said. "Because if you do think about it, those poles are about a sixteenth of an inch thick, they're hollow, and you're bending 'em in half.

"If that thing snaps, you're going down to the ground."

A two-time state qualifier, Zona is the fearless fighter who keeps punching away despite the risks.

"I've had mats with holes in 'em, mats that are pushed apart," the 155-pounder said. "I've knocked the wind out of myself while coming down. I've landed off the pads. I've never broken a bone, but I broke a pole two years ago at state while warming up. The pole snapped in half, came up and hit me square in the ribs.

"I barely landed on the pad, but I just grabbed another pole and had to try another jump."

During the AAU National Indoor Championships last winter at Merrillville, Zona set an age-group record by vaulting 16 feet, something he does quite often at practice.

"He's just a good athlete," Lake Central coach Rudy Skorupa said. "High jump, long jump, he could probably do a lot of other events, too, but it's the pole vault where he has the most potential.

"During mid-March of his sophomore year, he started pole vaulting and right from the beginning, it seemed like he had a natural approach, plant and takeoff. He's just gotten better and better."