THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 9, 1994 TAG: 9407090361
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Ten years ago, Rich Fulford picked up pole vaulting at Great Bridge High School and developed into one of the best in the state. A few years later, another Great Bridge student, Lawrence Johnson, also gave pole vaulting a try and went on to become the best in the state.
Fulford went to the University of Tennessee on a track scholarship. So did Johnson. Fulford earned a silver medal at the 1990 U.S. Olympic Festival. Johnson finished second at last year's Festival.
So forget Great Bridge's reputation as a wrestling school. This is pole-vaulting country, where young Wildcats who dabble in the sport are smoothly transformed into . . .
``No, no, no,'' Fulford said with a big smile shortly before taking part in this year's Olympic Festival on Friday at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. ``Just a coincidence. There's nothing in the water out there or anything.''
But in a sport where a lot of schools don't have two guys who know how to hold the pole properly, Great Bridge produced two national-caliber performers within a few years. Simply coincidence?
``Coincidence,'' Fulford said. ``I don't want this to come out like I'm not giving the (Great Bridge) coaches any credit, but what you had were two guys who dedicated themselves to the sport and worked hard.''
The exploits of Johnson, the former Group AAA state champion who holds the American junior record (18-8 3/4) and has cleared 19 feet this year, have been well documented. But years before Johnson first took flight, Fulford was getting his start as a Wildcats sophomore.
``I watched a few guys doing it one day, and the next day, I tried it,'' Fulford said. ``I wasn't much good, though. I definitely wasn't a natural.''
But through weightlifting and developing a mastery of the sport's distinct techniques, Fulford began to catch on. By 1987, his senior year, Fulford cleared 14-6, good for second place at the state championships.
He then accepted a scholarship to Tennessee and went on to finish 11th at the 1990 NCAA championships and eighth at the 1991 nationals. His career best is 18-4 1/5.
Meanwhile, back at Great Bridge, Johnson was bounding over every mark Fulford had set a few years back. And when it came time for Johnson to choose a college, Fulford didn't hesitate to Volunteer some advice.
``I just told him, `Tennessee had been good for me and it might be good for you, too,' '' Fulford said. ``I don't know if that made any difference, but he took a visit, and that's where he wound up.''
Their careers didn't overlap - Fulford graduated from Tennessee in 1992, a year after his eligibility expired - but the two have competed in the same meet ``three or four times,'' Fulford said. Johnson has the lead in the series, although Fulford said they've never had a meeting when both were healthy.
``One of us seems to always be injured,'' said Fulford, who sat out all of last year after getting the pole stuck in his hamstring during a vault.
Fulford, 25, earned his bachelor's degree in psychology and is working on his master's in sports administration at Tennessee. He also works part time as a graduate assistant, leaving little time for training. So while Fulford said the 1996 Olympics are ``in the back of my mind,'' he acknowledged that Johnson's making the team is a more likely scenario.
``He takes it a lot more seriously than I do now,'' Fulford said.
Still, Fulford added that he's hardly ready to give up vaulting.
``I had to sit out last year after I injured my hamstring, and I missed it a whole lot,'' he said. ``So don't worry, I'm sticking around. I'm having too much fun to quit now.'' by CNB