North Royalton Sr. Kristen Denk is the NBN Indoor Pole Vault Champion and the Ohio All-Time Girl's Champion with a vault at NBNI's of 13-8.5. She was 4th outdoors last year at the D1 OSHAA Championships and she believes that for her the biggest part of improvement will come from being mentally tough, trusting the bigger poles and committing to every vault. She has gone from an 8-6 vault in March of 2013 to 13-8.5 in just two years. She is confident that she can and will hit the 14' bar before she graduates from high school.
OhioMileSplit: Kristen, first, congratulations on winning the New Balance National Indoor Championship and setting an All-Time Ohio record of 13-8.5 in the Pole Vault. You have had a great indoor season with a US #3 2015 ranking (US All-Time Indoors #10) and head to the 2015 outdoor season with a vault height that would place you 12th US All-Time. That is a 14-7 vault last year by Desiree Freir of Justin Northwest at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships.
At NBNI, you and Megan Gray of Hays Budda in Texas, both had one miss going to 4.18 or 13-08.50. She missed her attempts at the height and you cleared it on your last attempt. After your second miss, what was the conversation between you and your coach? What were your thoughts as you stood on the runway? What were your thoughts as you cleared and realized that you had just won the National Championship?
Kristen:After my second miss at 13-8, I tried to stay as calm as possible because I know that getting nervous doesn't help anything. My coach told me that he knew I could clear that height,
and if I stayed back long enough (upside down), I would smoke that height. I wasn't keeping close attention to how many misses Megan Gray had at 13-4, so in my head, I had thought that I would win the meet even if I missed my third attempt at 13-8. When I stood on the runway, I said to myself (just as I do before every vault) "commit to this! Stay back, follow through and commit... commit! Trust it!" In fact, I was wrong about winning if I missed and if I would have missed my third attempt it would have cost me the win. But, that worked out in my favor because it kept my nerves down. When I cleared the height, I wanted to cry of happiness. There is no better feeling. It was a moment I'll remember forever. I reminisce on that moment about five times a day...lol.
OhioMileSplit: Let's go back now and look at your vault progression. In 2013 you went 11-3 and had an OH #19 ranking. You missed going to State. Last spring you were 4th at the D1 State competition with a vault of 12-0. Allyson Simmons of Fairless won that competition with a new All-Time Ohio vault of 13-4.25. What were your thoughts in the State competition last year?
Kristen: To be honest, I walked into both the indoor and outdoor state meets of 2014 thinking I was going to win, even though that was quite a reach. I've always been like that however. In my mind, anything can happen on any given day. And by that, I mean that there are tons of exceptionally talented, athletic kids at the state meet. But, it all depends on your performance that day. Anyone can PR and anyone can no height. At the outdoor state meet, my goal was to jump 13' and win. I obviously did not come close to that with a max jump of 12' that day which put me in fourth place. It wasn't what I had hoped for, but that was okay. I knew my potential wasn't capped at 12'. This only pushed me to work harder because I want to be the best, and I want to reach my full potential.
OhioMileSplit: As you headed into your senior year, what were your expectations and goals?
Kristen: Heading into my senior year, the first goal I made was to jump 14 feet in indoor season. Now I know that sounds cocky, because at the time I had only jumped 12-4... And when I made this goal, I thought it was way out of my reach, but I always try to set the bar really high for myself. I haven't hit that 14 ft. bar yet, but being able to come so close is really something the realistic side of me did not expect. I know now, that I can, and I WILL hit that 14 ft. bar before I graduate from high school.
OhioMileSplit: What did you do in the off season last summer and this past fall to get ready to vault this year?
Kristen: When my outdoor season of 2014 ended, I changed the game for myself. I started working out most days of week, lifting weights and eating healthy. I wanted to be as lean as possible while still building strength. Towards the end of September, I started practicing with my coaches at Industrial Vault. We started out with just drills and short runs, and slowly progressed into long runs.
OhioMileSplit: What would you attribute your success this year too?
Kristen: I would attribute my success this year to many things. First off, I am in the best hands with my coaches at Industrial Vault. If you want to exceed in the Pole Vault... that is where you need to go. I don't just say that because they are my coaches and I am biased. They truly love the sport and know just about everything there is to know about the pole-vault. They sent 25 kids to the Ohio State meet this year and 15 of them got on the podium. I, 100%, would not have had this success without them.
Secondly, my parents. Pole vault can be an expensive sport when you look at pole costs. We have had to purchase a few poles this past year which was quite expensive. My parents bought the pole I needed and have always done everything they can to help me succeed in the sport. They also have taken me to several national meets which cost time and money. But those meets are such great experiences in that they put you in your place. You don't know what talent is really out there until you travel to find out, and my parents made those meets possible for me.
And finally, my teammates at Industrial Vault. Everyone there is so talented and works so hard. We push each other to clear higher heights.
OhioMileSplit: Let's take a look more specifically at your HS career. When did you first get involved in Track? What events did you participate in? When did you first start vaulting?
Kristen: I first began track my sophomore year of high school. I had just finished my diving season and did not choose to continue with the sport. So I started vaulting late winter/early spring of 2013. I mostly stick to pole-vault but I will also run the 100 and 4x1.
OhioMileSplit: What attracted you to vaulting?
Kristen: What attracted me to vaulting was my friend Nicole Rozsa, who was a gymnast. I had been told from several different people that gymnasts make good pole-vaulters, so I had to try it out!
OhioMileSplit: What is your gymnastics background?
Kristen: I started gymnastics when I was just 3 years old and continued all the way through the seventh grade. I competed for two years at Level 8 and was was training for Level 9 when I hurt my knee and had to have surgery. At that time I was training about 20+ hours a week for the last few years of my gymnastics career.
OhioMileSplit: What
is a typical training week for you? Mon-Friday, with a competition on
Saturday.
Kristen: Vault on Tuesday/Thursday. Lift weights and short running workouts on Monday/Wednesday/Friday. And then a meet on Saturday or Sunday.
OhioMileSplit: Describe your typical vault workout. What is your warm up? What do you try to accomplish in a practice?
Kristen: For a typical vault workout, we start out with some basic running drills holding poles, which we call "stubbies." We then spend about an hour doing various drills and we finish by getting on the runway and vaulting for an hour to an hour and a half. We jump 2 days a week.
OhioMileSplit: We talked about your gymnastics background. Some people are calling the Pole Vault gymnastics with a pole. Today, we are seeing more gymnasts turn to the Pole Vault and more and more gymnastics drills and apparatus being used in PV training. Gymnasts tend to have very good upper body strength, spacial awareness and the training discipline that comes with hours of practice for specific apparatus. In your various drills, how much has gymnastics been incorporated into your training?
Kristen: We always start with the running drills I explained earlier. We then do a lot of work on the rings, swinging and hitting the same positions that we do in an actual vault. We do work on the parallel bars, drills on rope, back extension rolls, a specific drill on what we call "the Inverter' and several other drills done while holding a pole. We have a few others that would be a little difficult for me to explain without you seeing them. But yes, gymnastics has definitely helped me with my pole vault. I have great body awareness, coordination and strength, especially upper body and core, that I have retained since I quit gymnastics.
OhioMileSplit: In regards to more specific vaulting questions,What pole are you using now? In regards to more specific vaulting questions, I know that you have various different poles. What poles will you are using this year and how does pole selection play a part in your vaulting strategies?
Kristen: I used a 14 foot pole for the first time at NBNI on my 14 ft. attempts. The fourteen ft. pole will definitely take me to the next level. I originally started out on 11-6 poles, and then moved to 12ft, then 13ft and 13-7. I have cleared all my major heights on the 13-7 poles. I normally use pole from 5-15 pounds over my weight in meets.
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OhioMileSplit: Describe yourself as a person and as an athlete? How would you describe yourself as a competitor? What motivates Kristen?
Kristen: I have always been very competitive since I started gymnastics at a young age. I don't like losing. I always look at what college vaulters are doing and elite vaulters and I imagine that I have to compete against them. That pushes to jump even higher.
OhioMileSplit: What do you like about vaulting? What do you dislike?
Kristen: I love EVERYTHING about vaulting... I really do! I think that is another factor that has helped me to succeed in this sport. I enjoy going to practice. I love going to meets and competing, even when they take all day. I don't vault because I have to. I do it because I love the feeling of clearing a new height, and knowing that all your hard work has a purpose.
OhioMileSplit: How do you mentally prepare for a competition? Do you visualize your vaults?
Kristen: In mentally preparing for a competition, I try my best to not think about it. I do everything I can to take my mind off the fact that I will be competing later that day. It helps me relax and stay calm. Once it's finally time to compete, I get completely focused, or "in my zone."
OhioMileSplit: What are your goals for this outdoor season? Will we see a 14' vault this outdoor season? What will it take to accomplish it?
Kristen: I definitely have some really high goals for this season. I like to think that I will be clearing 14' bars mid-season, so that I can't be consistent with that height in the post season, and possibly clear even higher bars. From here on out, a big part of my improving will come from being mentally tough. I am going to need to trust bigger poles and commit to every vault. Having success in the vault takes not only physical strength, but also mental.
OhioMileSplit: Kristen. Congratulations again. It is always a pleasure to talk with you and to have the chance to interview with you. I'm looking forward to seeing that 14' vault this spring and to watching your successes, not only in the balance of your high school career, but at Ohio State over the next few years.