Tampa Tribune June 20, 2004 Canino Reaches Goal At NCAA Finals POLE VAULTER EARNS ALL-AMERICAN STATUS By RICKY QUINTANA Standing on the runway during the warm-ups of the the biggest competition of her career, former Bloomingdale standout Chelo Canino began to well up with tears. Nothing felt quite right to Canino as she and the other 28 competitors in the women's pole vault at the NCAA track and field championships took turns racing down the runway. Feeling totally overwhelmed and "strung out" from the pressure of the competition, Canino decided to walk away from the pole vault area. "I just left," Canino says of her first appearance in the NCAA finals for Princeton. "I was a wreck. Quite honestly, I didn't know if I was coming back."
Making the NCAA competition was a surprise to nearly all except Canino herself. After quitting the Princeton track team her freshman year, Canino was hampered by a string of nagging injuries and missed opportunities that kept her from realizing her goals. But that all changed at the NCAA east regional championships on May 28 at the University of Florida's Percy Beard track in Gainesville. It was the site of her two state high school titles for Bloomingdale and the pole vault camp where she began her career. "Going into east regionals, I felt confident. I had been putting really big height over my clearances at 12 feet, 6 inches, but for one rea! son or another, I couldn't go any higher," Canino said. "I wanted to prove that I belonged." Canino put up her best-ever series, missing only once through 13 feet, 5 3/4 inches. In the end, she edged out the previous two NCAA indoor champions, Fanni Juhasz of Georgia and Lacy Janson of Florida State, and qualified for the national championships in Austin, Texas. She also upped her personal best by a whopping 7 3/4 inches. "It was just one of those meets — great weather, great wind, great confidence and everything just came together," Canino said. For the NCAA finals, she tried to maintain the same confidence, but the magnitude of the event weighed on her. "I went into the NCAAs with the same attitude as I had for the east regional, but the week leading up I was just a bundle of nerves," Canino said. "I wasn't eating well. I wasn't sleeping well. I was anxious and excited." It didn't help matters that the day of the schedu! led final in Austin, rains and thunderstorms delayed and eventually ca nceled the competition. The event was rescheduled for the following morning. "I made the opening height in the rain and I knew the other girls were not used to vaulting in the rain," Canino said. "I was kind of disappointed to hear that they were going to start over again." When competition resumed, the rains were gone, but Canino was still a bundle of nerves and the tears began to come. "I was so glad that I had sunglasses on and no one could see me," she said. "I was just a mess." Fortunately for Canino, her former high school coach and longtime friend, Michael Lawryk, was in the stands watching. Lawryk was instrumental in getting her back into pole vaulting after her freshman year at Princeton. He made the trip at the last moment after Canino's unexpected qualifying. "If it wasn't for him, I would have never made it to NCAAs," Canino said. After getting some encouraging words from Lawryk and spending a few moments by herself to regain her composure, Canino returned to the competition area just in time to take a few trial runs and get her bearings. She made the opening height easily and gained more confidence with each jump. It helped that most of the other vaulters were having the same feelings. "There was a lot of pressure on the athletes to earn points for their team and earn All-American status [with a top-eight finish]," Canino said. "We all talked. There were hugs and high fives going all around." Canino again had a great competition. She missed two times and nearly made a new personal best of 13-9 on her third and final attempt before bowing out at 13-5 1/4. The height was good enough for sixth place and those coveted All-American honors. "It's a great way to end my career at Princeton," said Canino, who graduated May 31 with a degree in sociology. "I feel like it's the culmination of a lot of hard work and effort. I had some phenomenal coaching, truly a! wesome teammates and friends that supported me through the good and th e bad. I was very fortunate to have the experience." Canino's collegiate career is not over yet. Because she did not compete her freshman year at Princeton, she still has one year remaining. After careful consideration, she will return to her home state and compete for the University of Florida and pursue a graduate degree in the college of finance. "I'm very excited about competing for Florida," she says. "It's great weather. I'll be close to home and have a great team to compete for."