New coach sets new heights

Published: April 1, 2010

It’s a new year for the FHN pole vaulting team, and according to track coach Greg Hennenfent, they have a lot going for them.

“Our pole vault team had always been one of our strong points,” coach Hennenfent said.

This year, however, the team is now holding all of the cards. With the top-ranked vaulter in the St. Louis metropolitan area (Kyle Morse), a majority of the team having at least one year of experience, and a new coach, it’s looking rather bright for this track

and field staple.

This year, former pole vault coach Darren Toebben left the team to a new coach, Jeff Hartwig, former U.S. Olympian in the 1996 and 2008 games.

“[Hartwig] has been doing this since he was a freshman,” Pole-vaulter Mark Mayerhoeffer said. “He knows pretty much everything.”

After qualifying as a 28-year-old in 1996, Hartwig went on to set the world pole vault record in 1998: 19 feet, 9 1/4 inches. After he came back from the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he made several appearances here at North to assist the team. Now, he is in

complete control.

“It’s a little more rigorous than last year,” junior Dani Berger said.

At practices, Hartwig can be seen with a sheet of workouts, all designed to build every muscle in the body.

“Unlike the other [track and field teams], pole-vault uses muscles that you never even knew you had,” Hartwig said.

Members of the team are confident for the season with their new coach leading the way.

“We’re gonna do great,” Mayerhoeffer said. “We did good last year, so we’re gonna clean up this year.”

The track team’s first meet was March 22. In a four-team competition, the boys and girls teams placed first.

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