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Show i Nelson Earns I Title By I Dedication Dave Wlgham Chppef Sports V nee in every ten years or so, a sports reporter runs across an individual who jfcj? js finally paid off for all his time and effort, fc'i; Eric Nelson, just another name to some peo-pie. peo-pie. was rewarded for all his trials and dedica-!: dedica-!: jon last week by winning the state 4A pole :Cfe vaulting title. Ci) One of the problems that faced Eric in gain- j, ! ing recognition as a polevaulter was the fact that he participated in a field event that is usually overlooked. The pole vault is one of the least watched events. The graduating class at Bountiful is loaded with athletic talent. One could build a great ar- w gument that Eric heads the top of the list. "It's a tough event to get good at," noted a modest Eric. "It takes speed, a good plant-form plant-form and then some gymnastics." One would have to agree with this guy that pole vaulting is one of the toughest events to master. Eric was born in Santa Rosa, Calif., but at Jw: the age of two his family moved to Idaho. They moved around in the state living is such big named cities as Boise, Driggs and Middleton. ; In the second grade the Nelson family con-structed con-structed a pole vaulting pit in their back yard J and using a bamboo pole, Eric began his car- i.bL-. eer. ftm-ffi In the ninth grade he cleared 11-feet, which 'f he felt was great since he was playing other J; sports and not even practicing his main event. During his sophomore year Eric moved to ian Bountiful. It was during that year Eric got ser- A!IC'; ious about pole vaulting and cleared 12-feet, ls placing him second at the region meet. The guy iy i; that beat him for the title happened to be his older brother, Justin, who set the school record afev of 13'6". atau Last year Eric made a name for himself JUJ". around the area and the state by going 12'8" to m win the region crown and place fifth in the pmr state meet. Cfllti Eric Gets Help From Finland Then this past year he met up with Esa Saas- tomien, the Finnish foreign exchange student at r Bountiful. "He really helped me in the off sea- II son. He's had some great coaching in Finland L and he shared their ideas with me. The things 1 he really helped me with were in the weights 1 1 and gymnastics area. We used the trampoline a J 'ot during the winter and then strengthened my stomach muscles with gymnastic exercises, like it pulling myself up with just the arms on the par-,14 par-,14 arallel bars," he explained. , With this new technique, Eric set some lofty 00 80a's for the track season. "Fourteen-feet was the height 1 was shooting for. That, plus the ON school record that my brother had," he added. Things started to click for Eric at the region meet. During that meet he reached both his tfj goals. He cleared the bar at 14-feet and one-nn one-nn half inch to win the title, while breaking his DA brother's record in the process. S Then it was oh to state. "I knew I could win state title if I jumped like I did at region. I always get really nervous before the first jump so I jump at a low height to get my confidence "P- The higher I go, the better my form gets," 5 he explained. S ')ltnugh he didn't clear the same height he ,5 Wat region, Eric still managed to clear 13'9" $ !owin the state crown. "I just couldn't believe s. if I had been working so hard for so long and ,. all of a sudden, everything just came together 'or state and region." hi Prior to the region meet the highest Eric had ATE cleared was 13'6" in the city championships . Held under the lights at Viewmont High. 1 ror once it was great to see a dedicated ath-J0, ath-J0, e'e rewarded at the right time. There's no bet-i bet-i lcr lime than the region and state meets to hit your personal best. Eric did just that. ,, As for the future, both Utah and Weber ,ale are sitting at the bargaining table with w'hdlSCUSsing his college career. Jk vcr school gets his name on the paper il a 8ettin8 a great athlete with a tremen- ""s desire to improve. And he isn't afraid of 1 nard work as he's already shown the past three l ears at Bountiful. r 4 tr'c Nelson leaps to slate title. , x i |