KEARNEY, Nebraska — There’s something about the pole vault. Not too long ago, Mark Seeba, Jay Kilpatrick and David Krumland stood at that crossroads — pursue other interests or find a place to vault. Friday, the trio of University of Nebraska at Kearney juniors will vault at the NCAA Division II National Indoor Track and Field Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C. None of them started out on that path. Kilpatrick and Seeba started out as Cornhuskers. Krumland joined the track team at Colorado-Colorado Springs. However, nothing seemed to work out for them. “Mentally, I wasn’t the strongest person. I was having a problem pole vaulting and there wasn’t a spot for me on UNL’s team,” said Seeba, who was the first to transfer to Kearney. His brother, sister and father had attended UNK and, through Husker teammate Nate Polacek, he knew that Nate’s father, Lonnie, worked with the pole vaulters at UNK. But, with things not going well, why transfer and start over? “I was really close to giving up pole vault actually,” he said. “The one thing that swayed my choice was my dad said, ‘You’re such a good pole vaulter it’s probably best if you quit on your own terms instead of somebody else’s.’ Instead of somebody else telling me I couldn’t do it, I would have to at least try again to prove to myself maybe I could or maybe I couldn’t.” more
