PARKSTON -- Wes Dvorak and Henry Wegehaupt have their work cut out for them at the state track meet this year.
Dvorak and Wegehaupt are Ethan/Parkston's top pole vaulters and are competing in the event today in Spearfish.
Dvorak is the No. 3 seed in Class A with a seed mark of 11 feet, 9 inches and Wegehaupt is the No. 4 seed with a jump of 11-feet-6.
"The competition is so close, hopefully they both will be able to place," Ethan/Parkston track coach Craig Bruening said. "I think it's going to come down to whoever misses first. It's going to be a battle of the wills."
Last year, Wegehaupt, now a junior, took sixth place at state with a jump of 11-feet-6. Dvorak, a freshman, did not place.
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"My goal is to try and place third," Dvorak said. "I'm nervous, but kind of excited because it's my first time going to the state meet."
Volunteer pole vault coach Buck Timmins, a Mitchell resident, has been working with the vaulters throughout the season, and
he thinks the two athletes have a good shot of placing this weekend.
"Our goal is to place at the state track meet and to see if they can improve upon the jumps that they've already done this year," Timmins said. "It will be interesting to see how the two do, because there are a lot of really good pole vaulters in Class A this year."
Wegehaupt said he's glad to be able to have a teammate come along with him, and his goal is just go out there and do his best.
"I have to give credit to all the coaches," Wegehaupt said. "Mr. Bruening does a great job of helping us all to be better athletes and he had the foresight to have Mr. Timmins drive out and help us this year. Every time he drives to Parkston, he has a new way to improve our technique and improve our jumps. He's just a great guy and he's helped us so much."
Timmins said pole vaulting is a technical event and there many things an athlete has to think about every jump. In practice, Wegehaupt and Dvorak work on different aspects of jumping individually and then put everything together.
"In pole vault, everything needs to come together in order for the jump to go well, as opposed to maybe just running a 100-meter or 200 dash," Timmins said. "We just try and concentrate on basic techniques and break down the jump into different parts."
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Timmins said the Parkston athletes are hard workers and dedicated to their event. He excited to see how they do this weekend.
"We just want have the boys do the best they can do," Timmins said. "Both of the boys have a good attitude toward pole vaulting, and they've both made great strides since the beginning of the year. We've worked really hard to get to the point we're at right now, and I know both of them can do really well."
