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Show StatesmanSportS Friday. Ian. 23, 2009 Page 9 Reaching new heights USU's Grabowska sets school record in pole vault (/Statesman www.utah itatoxmnn.com/ claiiiflodl 14/7, easy to uio, ea»y to rind, caiy an tho wallet. of o/i -the ded you TuMbLe-ThEMo al answor: "BRIDF WARS" $200 Reward! USU POLE VAULTER SONIA GRABOWSKA clears a vault at the Aggies indoor meet last Saturday. Grabowska broke the schools record with a vault of 13 feet 9.5 inches and qualified for the NCAA Championships at Texas A&M. CAMERON PETERSON photo By CONNOR JONES sports senior writer Poland exported more than $89.3 billion of furniture, coal, ships and machinery in 2008. They also exported one of their best young athletes, Sonia Grabowska, and the beneficiary of that export is Utah State. Grabowska grew up in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, home to about 2 million people. She said her childhood was normal, but because she lived in the poor district of Warsaw, Praga Polnoc, it was too dangerous to play outside with other children. "My mom was scared, so I didn't go play with children outside the house," said Grabowska, "but it's changed now." Grabowska said, Praga Polnoc, which means north Praga, wasn't greatly damaged in World War II so for many, this district is considered to be among the oldest in Warsaw with many of the buildings dating back to the turn of the 19th century. Among those 19th-century buildings is the high school Grabowska attended, VIIILO im. Wladyslawa IV, which she said means Public School No. 8 patroned by Wladyslaw IV. Grabowska said she got started in track at a young age because she went to a sport primary and a sport junior high school, which, as part of the mandatory curriculum, has two hours of physical education classes a day. "I started doing track there because schools were oriented around track and field. I was doing 300m hurdles and then I competed in javelin few times; I did really good but I didn't have my 'crown' event, so I stopped because I didn't think it made any sense to continue. I started doing pole vault at the end of my senior year in junior high when by chance the pole vault coach asked me if I wanted to try pole vault, I thought 'Why not?' and started practicing. A year and a half later I was the Polish indoor and outdoor pole vault champion. "It was in 2006 when I won the Polish champs for outdoor with 3.90 meters and indoor with 3.60m. Then in 20071 had surgery and didn't compete in the indoor season and outdoor was really bad because I wasn't recovered enough. At that point I almost stopped pole vaulting," she said. Grabowska said she came to Utah State in 2008 for one reason - USU assistant coach Joel Johnson. Johnson, in his fourth year as an assistant coach, is also a USU record holder, with 7,586 points in the decathlon and one of the four runners for USU's 4x100 meter relay team. Good thing she chose not to stop because during the opening meet of the 2009 indoor season, held in the Nelson Fieldhouse Sat., Jan. 17, she crushed USU's previous record of 3.97 meters, or 13 feet .025 inches. Grabowska now holds the record at 4.20 meters, or 13 feet 9.5 inches. This record setting mark qualifies Grabowska not only for the NCAA championships, being held at Texas A&M's new $51 million McFerrin Athletic Center, but it also qualifies her for the European Under-23 Track and Field Championships taking place in Kaunas, Lithuania, this July. One of the more impressive things about Grabowska's jump is that height places her tied for the second-best mark by a Polish pole vaulter and 15th best in the world this season. This Saturday Grabowska and the rest of the track athletes travel across the mountains to face conference foe Boise State, where Grabowska hopes to further prove her value as a USU athlete. -c.h.j@aggiemail.usu.edu KftntConecrrtfa|[ 7:00pm FiaturlHfl Ftfftfmf Flhw Euh NHhf enerai Admission * ! 2 More Info: 797-3264- GRABOWSKA is a native of Warsaw, Poland. CAMERON PETERSON photo Hokies: Delaney leads VT in upset Opener: Aggies crush Bengals U continued from page 8 Teague said. But Delaney hit two free throws seven seconds later and the Hokies allowed one field goal after that to clinch their fourth straight win - one of the biggest victories in school history. Virginia Tech improved to 3-6 against top-ranked teams - and continued its dominance of the Demon Deacons. The Hokies have wonfiveof their last six meetings with Wake Forest. "You have to play at a really, really high level every night to have a chance," Greenberg said. "Now our challenge is not to drink the Kool-Aid.... The second we get to Blacksburg, it's over with, because in this league, it can be very fleeting. You can be on top of the world one day, and you can be finished the next." A prime example of that: The Demon Deacons' schoolrecord 16-0 start, which now is history. Their next home game - a Jan. 28 showdown with Duke - suddenly looks less appealing now that it might not be a l-vs.-2 matchup. "I think we got them at a good time," Greenberg said. "I don't want to take anything away from what we accomplished. ... I don't think they were looking ahead, but human nature's human nature." L.D. Williams finished with 12 points and Al-Farouq Aminu added 10 for Wake Forest, which looked nothing like the nation's top-ranked team early on. Then again, that's largely because the Hokies' physical defense took the Demon Deacons out of their game. Virginia Tech erased its only lead of the half by outscoring them 23-6 over an 11-minute span, going up 30-14 on Victor Davila's layup with 4:18 remaining. "Our defense really let us down tonight," Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said. "That part's a little bit disheartening." Wake Forest didn't attempt a free throw in the first half - while the Hokies were 10-for14 from the stripe - and for a stretch of 13 minutes, Teague was the only Demon Deacon to score. The rest of his teammates were a combined 0-for-9 during that span. "We're going to find out about our guys a little bit," Gaudio said. "There's tough kids in that locker room. There's no doubt in my mind that they'll bow their necks... and go back to work." On Wednesday (1/14/2009), a black HP Notebook Laptop (model DV2845SE/Turion TL-62) was stolen from the fourth floor of the Merril-Cazier Library between 3:15-4:15 pm. It had two tattoo stickers, serial number is possibly 2CE81707Y7. The laptop can be given back for $200, NO QUESTIONS ASKED! Or anyone with direct info that leads to the return of my computer will receive $200. Please contact Ro°er <& 801-458-4334 Commute FARE That's How We Roll. O continuedfrom page 7 their short season in their next match at BYU. USU will play in Provo at 3 p.m. on Jan. 30. The Cougars are ranked No. 47 in the nation after dropping their first match to No. 33 South Carolina. Wright said he thinks the Cougars will be a bigger test but that the competition will be good for the Aggies. "They're a good team, it'll be good for us," Wright said. Wright also stressed taking control of opportunities during the matches as a key point for the Aggies against BYU. "You gotta be patient, but when you get opportunities you need to be aggressive," Wright said. Wright said the Aggies need to take advantage of short balls that are hit and and to attack as they get opportunities. ~blaze.hullock@aggiemail.usu.edu Victory: Ags hang on for win dall your local State Farm Insurance Agent today. \M continuedfrom page 7 With other losses around the NCAA, the Aggies 13-game winning streak is now the second longest in the nation, trailing only St. Mary's 15. Thursday night's win marked USU's worst shooting performance of the season as the number one field goal shooting team in the country converted only 38 percent from the floor compared to 47 percent for the Spartans. That percentage will have to improve if the Aggies wish to keep their winning streak alive Saturday when they travel to Hawaii. The Aggies play the Warriors at 10 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on KJZZ as well as ESPN Full Court. Utah State has not won at Hawaii during their three seasons in the WAC. Play of the game With 4:43 left in the first half and the game tied at 18 Wilkinson found himself wide open behind the 3-point line. Wilkinson hesitated then took the shot and buried it, giving the Aggies their first lead of the game. It was the second 3pointer Wilkinson has made this year. -p. d.k@aggiemail usu. edu Lana Powell Insurance Agency, Inc. 550 N. Main Si., Ste 220 Logan I 752-7639 laaa@Uuuipowe]|ji«t |