Woods reaching rare air in pole vault.

Byline: BOB RODMAN The Register-Guard

In the long and storied history of Oregon men's track and field, there are just five pole vaulters who have escaped gravity's grip long enough to successfully clear a bar set at 18 feet above the ground, or higher.

Trevor Woods is one of them.

The 6-foot-3 sophomore from Coos Bay has done it only once, but that vault changed almost everything for him.

"It seemed like it was so huge, but going from 17-11 3/4 (his personal record after the indoor season) to 18- 1/2 (which he cleared during a dual meet against Washington last month) is just 2 centimeters," Woods said.

"But it was big to the media, to me and to my family. After that, I was an 18-foot vaulter, and now I can take it up another notch."

That next level could arrive this weekend when the Ducks join the rest of the Pac-10 Conference track and field crowd at the league's championship meet in Pullman, Wash.

Woods enters the two-day event that begins Saturday tied for second with California's Bubba McLean behind Washington's Brad Walker (18-1) in the Pac-10 pole vault rankings. They are the three conference vaulters who have cleared 18 feet this season.

Woods can't wait.

"I love the pressure, the feeling that I've got to perform," said Woods, who was a two-time Class 4A state vault champion and football star quarterback at Marshfield High. "Maybe it's a fear of looking bad. I don't know."

The thrill of the hunt for success was dulled some at the end of last season, when the then-freshman vaulter - who finished fourth in the Pac-10 meet with a 17-3 jump - no-heighted at the NCAA meet in front of his home crowd at Hayward Field.

"It was his first national meet," said Bill Lawson, the UO assistant coach who works with the jumpers, throwers and decathletes, "but a lot of people might not know that Trevor was six weeks into a bout with tonsillitis. He was sick, and right after the meet he had his tonsils removed."

Then came the commitment.

"That first year, I came in and expected big things," said Woods, who spent eight of his childhood years as a gymnast and few more as a high jumper before turning to the pole vault. "It was like (UO basketball players) Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson. They had a good season as freshmen but it was not like the next one would be.

"After I no-heighted at the NCAA, I decided to change my attitude, to not worry about height but to work hard all summer and get stronger," he said. "I also decided to give my life to Christ, and that helped me with the emotional, spiritual and mental game."

The effort has turned into excellence. Woods' 17-11 3/4 jump was worth a bronze medal at the NCAA Indoor championships in March. A month later he cleared 18- 1/2 to tie himself with Jay Davis for fourth on the UO career vault list.

"On any given day, Trevor is capable of jumping 18-4 1/2 ," Lawson said. "He has the potential to become the school record-holder (who has been Kory Tarpenning since he vaulted 18-6 1/2 in 1985).

"Trevor can jump that 18-8 bar. The sky is the limit for him. In the back of my mind and his is to crack that 19-foot barrier, but going from 18- 1/2 to 19 feet is a giant leap. Going from 17 to 18 is hard work. Going from 18 to 19 takes incredible talent and much, much work, but Trevor has the drive and the ability to do it."

Lawson has played a key role in Woods making the sky his limit.

"He's the motivator. He pushes the right buttons," Woods said. "He knows how to get guys to peak and to perform."

Cody Howell, a senior vaulter on the Duck team whose PR surfaced during the indoor season at 17-1 3/4 , also has played a role in Woods' rise in the pole vault game.

"Cody does not have a lot of speed or height," Woods said, "but he has a lot of heart and guts. I've also been able to train with Piotr Buciarski (the former UO vaulter who ranks third on the school's pole vault list at 18-2 1/2 ).

"I've had a lot of great people looking after me."

Lawson planted a lot of Woods' success at Woods' feet.

"His two biggest attributes are his being an incredibly fierce competitor and his 6-3 body frame with a great, high hand reach," Lawson said. "Right now, he's in the top five in the country. He's not far from being in the top two."

Woods knows all too well the 6-inch PRs of his high school days are long gone.

"Once you hit 18 feet, the PRs and going up get a lot tougher," he said. "I'd like to get to 18-2, or 18-4, or 18-6."

This weekend, however, Woods also needs to be a team player.

"At the Pac-10 meet, it's all about winning. We need the points," he said, "and whether it takes 18-4 or 17-4 to win the pole vault, you want to get those 10 points for the team."

CAPTION(S):

CHRIS PIETSCH / The Register-Guard Oregon sophomore Trevor Woods is tied for fourth on the UO career list for the pole vault at 18 feet, 1/2 inch.