SOMERS, N.Y. - At the track and field state championships, Ethan Steuber represented Somers in the pole vault, and he was literally on his way down to a fifth-place finish at Middletown High School.
“My shorts clipped the bar, and it didn’t even fall off until I landed,” said the junior.
But he didn’t go home empty-handed. The honor student took 11th and isn’t deterred.
“My goal is to get back to the states next year and place,” said Steuber.
His third year with the stick, the Tusker got his start close to home.
“My dad did it in high school,” said Steuber. “He got me into it, and I kind of fell in love with it.”
Maybe not at first sight, he remembered.
“I was a little scared,” Steuber admitted. “It looked pretty crazy.
The novice dove in nonetheless. “It’s a complicated sport,” he assured.
A good grounding is the first part. “You need all the speed you can to get up there,” said Steuber.
Of course, the pole must connect with the metal launch point. “You’re trying to bend the pole in,” he said. “Then you’re trying to use your momentum to swing up.”
Plenty of technique, there's another crucial component and the winter helps him achieve the necessary lift. “You have to keep your arms strong and not let them collapse in,” he revealed. “Wrestling helped me a lot with that.”
Locked in, the right ascent means pulling your body weight up and pushing off to meet the apex. Not there yet, going over the top isn’t just about brute strength. “You have to have good body awareness and be able to adjust within milliseconds,” he described the clear.
Exhilarating, the way down is a rush. “I just enjoy that free fall,” he said. “It feels so good.”
His father leading the way as his coach, “pretty bad” quickly took an upward trajectory. “I broke the Somers freshman record and took fourth in the counties,” said Steuber.
A year later, the sophomore record fell, and the pole vaulter took second in the counties. However, Steuber had to bottom out on a high of 12 feet six inches. Getting hurt before the state qualifiers, the field star lamented, “I had to sit and watch.”
Hugely disappointing, fortune favored his junior year. He was second at the sectionals and won the state qualifier. “It was so much better this year,” Steuber assured.
The nationals next, the top of the board is a long way off. At the states, the winner had him a full two feet lower. Even so, Steuber is still thankful for his father’s commitment.
He won’t leave out the rest of the Somers staff either.
“While Coach Lacko and Coach Arnett don’t coach me specifically in the pole vault, their support has been incredibly valuable, and I’m grateful for all they do,” Steuber concluded.
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