East Hampton Pole Vaulters Reach High Point

The joke would be that there’s something in the water in East Hampton to account for the power of the Bellringers’ pole vaulting crew. But it would be unfair to make light of their success in any way.

The reality is that the coaches and athletes involved all agree that there’s nothing whimsical about East Hampton’s standing as favorites heading into the CIAC boys indoor track State Open Saturday at noon at the New Haven Athletic Center at Hillhouse High School. Nineteen athletes among all four class championship meets last week (LL, L, M, S) qualified for the Open pole vault competition. Four are Bellringers. The other 15 come from 15 different schools.

Ask the Bellringers and they’ll say their ranking as the top pole vaulting team among the 123 boys teams in the state has come from a combination of athletic ability, hard work and the instruction from Bellringers’ assistant coach Pat Rubega – whose career best was 15 feet, 1 inch – and Norwich Free Academy assistant coach Russ Versteeg during workshops on the highly-technical and demanding event.

East Hampton head coach Bill Wilkie knows all of this factors in to what his pole vaulters have accomplished. Versteeg is one of the most respected pole vaulting coaches in the country.

“I could coach for another 20 years here and I don’t think we’ll ever have a group as talented as this one,” said Rubega, UConn’s 1988 Big East outdoor champion in the event at 14-6 and a former vaulter at Fitch-Groton. He is in his eighth year working with the team.

Junior Ben DeCresente is the No. 1 seed at 13-feet, based on winning the Class S state championship on Feb. 10 in New Haven. DeCresente competed last year at the Open but did not place.

Six vaulters qualified for the Open at a height of 12-6, two of whom are seniors from East Hampton – Nate Abraham and Ryan Rubega, the coach’s son. Sophomore Tyler Rubega, Ryan’s brother, qualifed at 11-0. Junior Adam Dolce, hampered by an injury, finished eighth in Class S at 10-0 but didn’t make it to the Open.

DeCresente (13-0), Ryan Rubega (12-6) and Abraham (12-6) swept the top three places in Class S, in which the Bellringers placed third as a team among the 33 indoor track teams that scored. Tyler Rubega (11-0) finished fifth. Abraham, the defending Class S outdoor champion, is the school outdoor record-holder at 13-3.

They say their toughest competition, on a meet-by-meet basis, has been amongst themselves and they’re not expecting much to be different on Saturday. Wilkie and Pat Rubega say the rivalry within the group is where it should be – friendly, co-operative and highly prideful, with no apologies required or grudges festering. Each would like to win outright; each is happy a teammate can succeed if his effort isn’t the best that day.

DeCresente is the hottest right now. Ryan Rubega and Abraham’s resumes might be a tad more impressive on balance. Wilkie says DeCresente is on the verge of a 13-6 effort. And that might be what’s needed to win. Wilkie wouldn’t be surprised, though, if Ryan Rubega or Abraham vault higher on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a brawl,” said Ryan Rubega, the 2009 Shoreline Conference outdoor champion whose personal best was a 13-0 last spring. “We’ve all won multiple meets. We know anyone can win.”

Abraham says he hasn’t had the greatest season in the pole vault.

“My vaulting is coming together the past couple of meets. It would be awesome to walk away my senior year with the State Open title.”

This isn’t the first year East Hampton vaulters have been successful. Previous years haven’t had as many Bellringers reach such heights, though. But everything seems to be coming together for the group.

“I’ve had a good season so far,” DeCresente said at practice on Monday. “The only competition really has been against my teammates. I think some people can surpass 13-feet. Nate and Ryan have a good shot at clearing 13. Joe Pasco [of Lewis Mills] can.”

Pasco is seeded at 11-6 but has done 13-0 this season, DeCresente said.

“Ben’s got a lot of talent. He’s made a smooth transition from being a gymnast when he was younger to picking up the pole vaulting skills,” said Wilkie, a 13-year veteran of coaching East Hampton cross country and outdoor track as well.

“Technique-wise, he’s about there. You’ve got to have all the components of the jumping technique to come together. Nate and Ryan are knocking on the door for the next height. They’re ready to move up. They’ve been working really hard.”

Abraham will be aided by running in just one of the two relays he ran in this season. The Bellringers’ sprint medley relay did not make the Open but the 4 by 800-meter relay, seeded seventh, did. “His legs will be there,” Wilkie said.

“My freshman year, my form was really off. Coach Versteeg helped me get the basics down,” said DeCresente, who participated in the Versteeg-run workshops in the fall but not this winter.

Pat Rubega says the pole vaulting clinics – an hour-and-a-half session – are helpful.

“It allows them to get a lot or repetitions in. They can work on the plant and drive,” he said.

The pole vault has many mechanical stages. Vaulters even disagree on the breakdown. Pat Rubega says it contains the carry, run, takeoff, drive, swing, pull-and-turn and the fly-away. Skills in acrobatics come into play approaching the bar and heading into the landing.

A key to the success, Pat Rubega says, has been having the proper equipment. Most schools have only two poles for their athletes to use. East Hampton has eight. Poles come in various lengths and weights and there’s a proper progression to different poles that is a prerequisite to attaining maximum performance. He has donated some poles to the team, but Rubega is thankful for the purchases by the East Hampton Bellringers Sports Boosters Club in recent years.

The East Hampton girls finished eighth in Class S. The Bellringers have 37 athletes on the boys team and 31 on the girls team. Seven boys qualified for the Open and six girls, the largest contingent to make it in the past several years, Wilkie said.

Sophomore Amber Sekoll was fourth in the Class S girls' pole vault at 8-6 but did not qualify for the State Open. Senior Nikki Chambers, who owns five school records, will be in three events. She is seeded 14th in the 600 (1:41.56) after placing third in Class S. The Bellringers 4x800 relay, which has sophomores Shannon Walsh, Lindsay Stoldt and seniors Chambers and Hannah Blondin, is seeded 15th. The 4x400 relay, with Chambers, is 16th.

Abraham, Tom Grylka, Tony Williams and Kyle Coghlin, the anchor, are in the 4x800. The top six teams at the State Open are invited to the New England Championships later this season. That’s their goal.

East Hampton finished second to Old Saybrook in boys and girls in the Shoreline Conference Championships on Feb. 5. The boys took the top four spots in the pole vault and five of the top six.

“Our plan is to have everyone at their best for the Shoreline and Class S meets,” Wilkie said. “Everyone is performing at their best.”

For Class S indoor track tournament results from Feb. 10, click here.