“It’s fun to fly, fun to feel weightless. It’s a great feeling.”
Those were the sentiments of Rumson-Fair Haven’s Gabe Stypul on pole vaulting. His teammate, Leonard Izzo, also likes the idea of flying.
“I love it,” Izzo said. “It’s always appealed to me going high in the air. It’s something that feels really incredible. There’s no other feeling like it.”
Together – along with Leonard’s younger brother, Griffin – Rumson’s pole vaulters have been doing a lot of flying this indoor track and field season, dominating meets and setting personal records. They swept the first three places at the Demarest Invitational and Bill Bruno Holiday Festival. At the Monmouth County Relays, Stypul and Leonard Izzo easily won the pole vault relay championship.
Stypul and Leonard Izzo didn’t start vaulting until their sophomore year at Rumson. Together that have gone from novices just happy to clear the bar to champion vaulters.
Stypul started track and field as a way to stay in shape for lacrosse. He didn’t want to run, so he turned to the pole vault as something completely different and loved it from the start. After that sophomore season, he decided to stick with track and field.
Leonard Izzo wrestled his first two years at RFH before trying track and field in the spring. It was goodbye wrestling, hello pole vaulting from then on.
Being inverted and upside down was nothing new to Leonard and Griffin as both have done rock climbing as a hobby.
“There’s an overlap between the two,” said Leonard.
Griffin was drawn to the vaulting through his brother and started it as a freshman. He remarked that starting earlier than his brother is an advantage going forward.
Rumson’s pole vault coach, Ken Young, a college vaulter at Columbia University, noted that all three vaulters are good athletes and students of the event, which explains their overall consistency and superb technique. Because they possess these traits, Young hasn’t been surprised by their progress.
“It’s a tough event. You go through periods where you’re stuck and then something clicks and you set a personal record,” he said.
Throughout the ups and downs of the event, Stypul and the Izzos have had a strong support system: each other.
“It’s always helpful having teammates that keep you going,” Stypul pointed out. “It’s a driving force to make you better. There’s no limit. We’re like a family, we push each other up.”
Leonard added, “It has been great having teammates you can trust, someone you can bounce ideas off. We help each other out. We want to see each other do well.”
For Griffin, his brother and Stypul have been both role models and inspirations. Their example, he said, has given him the confidence that he can do what they’re doing going forward.
While the Izzos are focused only on the pole vault, Stypul is a talented sprinter and hurdler. He runs on the 4×400 relay team and is a member of the Bulldogs’ shuttle hurdles relay team that set a school record and qualified for the indoor national championships this season. When Stypul set his personal record in the pole vault at the Bruno Festival, it was part of a triple-PR meet for him. Twice, he set a personal best in the 55-meter hurdles.
“I like doing other events. I don’t like to stick to one thing,” he explained.
That’s why the Bulldog is giving serious consideration to becoming a decathlete in college. Outdoors, he would like to start throwing the shot put.
For the Bulldog vaulters, the goal for the rest of the indoor season is to “continue the momentum.” Stypul and Leonard want to scale 14-0, and for Griffin, he wants to keep upping his personal best and getting closer to his teammates.
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