University Daily Kansan
Friday, Sept. 11, 1970
7S
Johnson Closes in on 18 Foot Mark
Jayhawk Star Pole Vauter Jan Johnson
Kansan Staff Photo
By JIM FORBES
Kansan Sports Writer
... wants to be first to vault 18 feet
Kansas Sports Write.
"This year I want to vault well, early in the season. Assuming no one has made 18 feet by January, I want to be the first. That's not a goal, that's a desire," said Jan Johnson, University of Kansas pole vaulter. Desire is something Johnson, Chicago junior, has a great deal of. As to the 18 feet, he doesn't have far to go.
Last summer Johnson came close to reaching that height. On June 20, in the National Track and Field Outdoor Championship meet, Johnson set an indoor world best by vaulting 17 feet, 7 inches. He then had the bar raised to 18 feet and missed by inches on all three jumps.
His jump of 17-7 is now recognized as a world indoor best, though indoor performances are not entered in the world record books. The jump is still pending in the NCAA record books because it was made indoors at an outdoor meet. The event was moved indoors because of rain.
The most amazing fact in this accomplishment is that Johnson's previous best jump was 16-7. For most vaulters, 17 feet would be enough of an accomplishment for one day.
"I cleared 17 feet, which was a height I wanted to clear all year," Johnson said "A valuer who wasn't thinking clearly wouldn't have been able to make the next height. He would have lost his concentration. I needed to clear the next height to win, so I just told myself to settle down and vault well. After that, 17 feet 7 inches was probably one of the better vaults I've ever had."
After 17 feet 7 inches, Johnson ran out of competitors. Only the crowd was left to watch as he attempted the height no one has attained.
"Eighteen feet really surprised me. I had dreamed about it the night before. Nobody has gotten off a good vault at 18 feet the first time. I knew what it was going to be like. I had some good vaults."
Johnson's first two attempts at the height were unsuccessful. On his third vault he cleared the bar
"I made it by three or four inches, but in my excitement I jerked my arms back and my chest hit it coming down," he said. "That was a beginner's mistake," he added. "That's what it is—basics, thats all 18 feet is."
Johnson deeply believes that he can improve on those basics.
"Every year I've gone into it, I've started with the attitude I would improve at least a foot. I don't see any reason for that to change now," he said.
Johnson has had an impressive vaulting record since the ninth grade when he cleared 10 feet. His senior year in high school, he set the state record at 15 feet 4 inches, and in 1968 he set a KU freshman record at the KU Re-lays with a vault of 16 feet 4 inches. Could Johnson possibly improve another foot this season? He very assuredly answers that question "yes."
"There are so many ways I can improve. I'm just good technically. Lots of vaulters have better style than I do. They're just not as good thinkers," he said.
Johnson puts a great amount of emphasis on the mental part of his sport. He has written out a list of 32 separate things he must think about in making one jump. He has put his philosophy of vaulting, strength, endurance, and physical limits down on paper. He also keeps detailed notes on his training.
"The height I'm going for is not a goal. It's just a mentally accomplished fact. I've thought it out, I've reasoned it, I've dreamed about it. I know what its going to be like. Its not going to surprise me," he said.
Along with the right mental frame of mind, Johnson takes his physical training seriously. His coach, Harvey Greer, assistant KU track coach, has nothing but praise for Johnson's training.
"He is easy to coach. All I have to do is tell him the work."
out and he goes out and does it.
In fact, he usually does more. I think he is one of the hardest workers on the team," Greer said.
Greer said he thought Johnson was a serious athlete with an excellent attitude. Greer added that Johnson is stronger this year than he was last year.
Johnson modestly remarks, "There are so many athletes who are more physically capable. Yet they don't have the right mental attitude."
Johnson, 5 feet 11 inches at 165 pounds, can bench press 225 pounds. When he is coming down the runway for a vault, he has 15 feet 7 inches of pole in front of him. That is a "hand hold" for a vault that few other vaulters have attained.
Johnson worries about his improvement, in training and in competing.
"Iimprovement is so necessary for me to get any satisfaction out of it. If I stop improving, I'll have to start another event."
Just making a decision of what other event he could turn to could
be hard. He has a :99.6 100 yard dash to his credit and a :50.6 second quarter. This past summer he broadjumped 24 feet 2 inches, and showed his skill in the hurdles. In high school, Johnson ran cross country where he turned in a 10:15 minute 2-mile. Johnson has given some thought to the decathlon events if he ever tires of vaulting.
But for now, his immediate concern is vaulting, and he is already starting heavy workouts for the indoor season, which begins in January.
"I'm so hip on going high early, that I'm going to stay here and train over Christmas," Johnson said.
Wednesday was a typical training day for Johnson. He started off the workout with an hour of paddle ball, a game similar to hand ball. Johnson says paddle ball helps his coordination and timing. Afterwards, he was at the stadium running. In the heat of the afternoon, when the temperature was about 110 degrees on the track, Johnson tied his shirt
around his head and ran striding drills for about 45 minutes. Johnson continued the workout with five required hill climbs up Campanile hill. But at the end of five, he stated between panting breaths that, "It's just starting to hurt. I've got to learn to work through the pain. It's just the same in vaulting."
When he got back from his sixth hill climb, the pain was beginning to show as he started for the locker room. Then he just said, "hell," and ran another. By this time he was ready for the showers.
"Man," he said, "I'm so dizzy, I can't see straight. I've got to get out of here."
Johnson wants to keep working for improvement until he thinks he has reached his physical peak.
"I don't think man has reached his physical capabilities in vaulting. Eighteen feet is eighteen feet. It's just a psychological barrier, like the four minute mile. It's just a height. It's just that no one else has gone before. I want to go a lot higher."
Cowboys Rely on Passing Game
By CINDI WILLIS Kansan Sports Writer
When Floyd Gass took over as head football coach for the Oklahoma State Cowboys last season, he said he expected to win some games. To the surprise of the other teams in the Big Eight conference, he did just that. Gass and the Poke football squad completed the season with a 5-5 overall record, the best Oklahoma State has seen for a number of years.
Big Eight Coach of the Year for 1969, Gass is optimistic about his team's chances in this year's action. Although the Pokes lost several great players after last season's play (quarterback Bob
Cutburth and All-Amercan off- offensive tackle John Ward), they still have one of the league's top receivers, Hermann Eben.
Eben picked off 12 receptions in last year's Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma game to lead the league in pass receptions in a single game for that season. He shares the record with Kansas State University's Mack Herron.
Gass filled the hole at quarterback with a 163-pound Texan transfer, Tony Pounds. Pounds has been affectionately nicknamed "Ounces" by his most valuable receiver, Eben. Pounds won the quarterback position during preseason workout over
two other contenders, sophomores John Ballard and Mike Robichaux.
Gass said he was most impressed with the poise Pounds exhibits while he is handling the ball, and his ability to keep his cool under pressure. Eben likes Pounds' passing style because he throws a softer pass which is easier to catch.
Although Coach Gass rates him a good passer, 6-foot Pounds sets his goal as consistency. Even with league leader Eben out to receive, Pounds hesitates in going for the bomb. As he puts it, to win games you have to maintain possession of the ball and
keep it moving down the field. Pounds can rely on two other fine receivers in tight end Tom Dearinger and flanker Dick Graham.
The Pokes will rely on a sound, calculated passing game as their basic offense, using the running game to complement it.
Oklahoma State's major problem this season seems to be its weak defense. It is inexperienced and there are still a lot of holes to fill. The Pokes have one experienced linebacker in Barty Chappell. According to defensive line coach Tommy Lucas, the "biggest asset will be better overall quickness than last year."
Gass classes his team among the "have nots" in the Big Eight Conference, but he said he was very pleased that his team came back ready to go in good physical condition.
The Cowboys will continue to fill the holes in their defensive line while they are developing their pro-style offense and defense.
Gass said the Pokes act "like they're ready to go" and seem to have the "want to." Where the Oklahoma State team will stand in the Big Eight Conference will be determined in play.
The Cowboys open their season away from home at Mississippi State on Sept. 12.