LaRocca vaults into Palatine record books

Nick LaRocca stared down the pole vault runway last Friday at the possibility of a record-breaking high school career having a heartbreaking ending.

LaRocca had shattered 41-year-old Palatine records in an event he loves partly because of its daredevil qualities. But now the reality in the Class 3A sectional was his third and final attempt at 13 feet, 9 inches stood between LaRocca's dream or a potential nightmare.

He had struggled in a pair of missed vaults where he hit the bar on the way up — even though he had cleared 14-4 a few weeks earlier. If LaRocca was going to compete in the state meet, he had to clear 13-9 since four other vaulters had already made the qualifying height.

“I tried not to think a lot about all of it,” LaRocca said of relying on muscle memory. “To me, you do it and don't think about anything at all.”

This time, LaRocca went up and was over the bar by 6 inches. And on his happy descent, he could start thinking about how he was going to Charleston and following his brother Dan and his sister Amanda as a state qualifier.

“I was really relieved and I was really nervous the whole week,” said LaRocca, who wound up clearing 14 feet. “This (sectional) meet was probably one of the most important meets of my life.

“It could be my last high school meet or I could go to the state meet. I definitely had butterflies but when I made it I was really happy I got the chance to go higher at state.”

Which would be some rarefied air considering where LaRocca has come from to break Guy Zajonc's 1970 records of 14-3 outdoors and 13-9 indoors.

He cleared 8-6 as a freshman and 10 feet as a sophomore. But finishing his junior year at 12-9 was exactly the spark LaRocca needed.

“He said, ‘I want to start working immediately,” said John Rossini, who is in his 20th year of working with boys and girls vaulters at his alma mater. “The summer is absolutely what made him. He worked his tail off. He just worked and worked and worked.”

LaRocca had been going to Rossini's summer camps since the eighth grade. By the end of last summer he was clearing 13-9.

“I definitely did not see the results until my junior year,” LaRocca said. “My freshman and sophomore year I never thought I'd ever come close to getting the record.

“I worked a lot in the summertime with coach Rossini and watched a lot of videos and studied a lot of pole vaulting. It was a case of a lot of hard work and passion.”

He was inspired by his brother Dan, who qualified for state in the vault in 2009 and competes at Illinois Wesleyan. He was also pushed by former Palatine vaulter and assistant coach Mike Nigliaccio.

“He's definitely gotten stronger,” said Rossini, who was a decathlete at Eastern Illinois. “He needed to improve his speed and he worked on speed training.”

LaRocca worked at getting more vertical on his vaults and competed in diving in the winter to help with his body control. With everything put together, he cleared a school-record 14 feet at an indoor meet at Proviso West, where his dad William competed in track.

But the next day, LaRocca had some soreness in his right hamstring and he injured it during warm-ups at the Mid-Suburban League indoor meet. He missed more than half of the outdoor season.

“I was pretty concerned with it,' LaRocca said of an injury that also cost him a good chunk of his junior outdoor season.

But shortly after coming back he went 14-4 in a meet at Hinsdale Central. Not bad considering he said he wasn't fully healthy until about a week ago.

Breaking the record also gave LaRocca an appreciation for what Zajonc accomplished.

“I've never met Guy … but I respect him a lot for being able to do that in a period of time where it was probably harder to vault,” LaRocca said of his advantages of better equipment and technology. “I can look over video when I want.”

LaRocca wants something else this weekend that transcends any era. Zajonc (fifth in 1970), Bradley McCreery (third in 1961) and Cory Nagel (eighth in 1992) are all Palatine pole vault medalists.

That would also be a nice send off for Rossini, who is scaling back his schedule next year to spend more time with his kids.

“He had an excellent practice (Monday),” Rossini said of LaRocca clearing a bungee cord at 15 feet. “He's absolutely ready.”

And LaRocca, who plans to study math at Illinois and try to walk on to the track team, shouldn't be overwhelmed by the big O'Brien Stadium crowds. He's seen them before while watching his brother and sister.

Now it's his turn.

“It's definitely been much better this week,” LaRocca said. “We'll see what happens. Hopefully I can pull through and get in the top eight.”

The toughest parts may already be behind him.

mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com