Luca Damian was thinking about strikeouts and base hits a year ago — now the Malibu High senior is ready to complete his highest vault ever at one of the nation’s biggest track and field showcases.
The pole-vaulter’s goal is to clear the bar at either 14 feet or 14 feet, 6 inches at USA Track & Field’s Hershey National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in Lawrence, Kan. on Sunday. Damian’s best leap is currently 13-7, but he is confident he will rise above the higher mark in competition against top pole-vaulters from across the country.
“Fourteen feet is totally obtainable,” he said. “I’m fully capable of it.”
In a contest that is all about jumping, Damian, 18 on Friday, increased his vaults by leaps and bounds during his first track and field season. During the three-month high school campaign, he had seven top four finishes, including two top finishes, which Damian said was perplexing.
“I was not surprised that I got it so quickly, he said. “I was surprised with the success.”
At 6-foot-4, Damian has never thought of himself as much of a leaper — he is working on dunking a basketball — but he took to pole-vaulting fast. He was formally a member of the Sharks baseball team, but left the sport heading into the season. Damian said he had always found pole vaulting — an activity that features athletes using a long, flexible pole to lift themselves over an elevated bar — interesting. He had watched pole-vaulters in the Olympics and all sorts of videos of the Ancient Greek performance on YouTube.
So, with his spring sporting schedule clear due to the absence of baseball, he decided to ask Malibu track and field coaches if he could join the team.
The baseball player of 12 years competed in the high jump, hurdles and did a few 4×4-meter relay events, but he really catapulted to success in pole vaulting, a field event in which his height is a huge benefit.
Damian’s track season started in March with a jump of 11-8 at the Don Green Invitational. The neoteric pole-vaulter springed 11-0 at the Tri County Invitational for fourth place, 10-9 at the Marie Smith/Malibu Invitational for first and 12-0 at a meet against Foothill Teach for second. His l1-0 leap placed him first in a match against Santa Paula. In the Ventura County Championships, he finished seventh, but leapt 13-1. Damian’s 12-6 jump placed second in the Tri Valley League Finals. The season concluded in late May, with Damian’s jump of 13-0 placing third in the CIF Southern Section Division IV Finals.
Leading up to the meet in Kansas this weekend, the Shark bounded 13-5.5 in the USATF Southern California Association Junior Olympic Championships on June 11, a second-place finish. Damian jumped 13-7 for third place on June 25 at the USATF Region 15 Junior Olympic Championships.
Damian said leaping to success in his new sport was as much a mental challenge as a physical one. He said he was only accustomed to playing team sports, so by himself, alone, trying to propel himself over sticks lifted at the heights taller than two stacked vending machines was something to get used to — but, “I wanted to see how far I could get by myself.”
The vertical jumper continued: “No one is relying on me. I’m the only person to blame if there is a mistake.”
The six-day Junior Olympics, which began on July 24, features almost 10,000 athletes ages seven to 18 competing in events all over the track and field in various age groupings.
Damian is not the only Malibu athlete set to compete in the Sunflower State. Senior Ella Mckinna-Worrel will compete in the heptathlon, a contest composed of seven activities including the hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, javelin throw and two runs.
After the Junior Olympics, Damian will begin preparing to accomplish a launch of 15-0 or 15-6 next spring. The preparation will include a lot of weight lifting and conditioning, he said, noting that although he pole vaults for fun, he does not want anyone to think he is “flakey” with the event.
“I always find myself wanting to be the best at what I do,” Damian said, adding that when he began track and field he wanted to show his teammates and coaches he was committed to the event.
Damian said his gambol of 14 feet or above would happen when his “plant, swing and form” are in perfect concert. He said the only thing he has trouble leaping over is the wish that he had started pole-vaulting earlier in high school.
“I’m doing this for fun,” he said. “I’m looking at colleges, so I want to find a school that has a major I’m interested in. If they have pole-vaulting there, I will email the coaches and tell them I’m interested in vaulting. Maybe I could walk on.”
