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New York –Warwick’s Todd Uckermark struggled in the closing weeks of the high school pole vault season, insisting there was something wrong with “the vaulter,” and not the heights he failed to clear. In some respects, he was right. Uckermark was subsequently diagnosed with Lyme disease and is undergoing heavy doses of antibiotics to rid himself of the bacteria often associated with a bite from a deer tick. “I am not 100 percent, but I am faster and stronger,” Uckermark said. “I don’t want to sleep 24 hours anymore.” Uckermark trained this week at 1972 Olympic bronze medalist Jan Johnson’s pole vault camp in Pennsylvania, and on Sunday he will compete in the boys’ 17-18 age division of the U.S. Junior Olympics championships in Greensboro, N.C. “Right now I am seeded fourth or fifth,” he said. “I want to place at least that. I would love to jump 16 feet — that has been my goal all year long.” Uckermark broke the Warwick school record with a leap of 15 feet, 8 inches in May to win the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association meet — it was the top-ranked performance in the state this season. He followed with no-height performances at 14 feet in the Section 9 state qualifier — still advancing on previous efforts — and the state championship. Uckermark cleared 14-8¼ at Outdoor Nationals and only 13-51/2 at the New York Junior Olympics qualifier. “The past few weeks, the past few meets have been tough, from states and all the way on,” Uckermark said. “I had no idea what was going on. I was tired. I couldn’t do things I had been doing.” Uckermark is reluctant to use the Lyme disease diagnosis as an excuse for what was happening, but said he has a bit of his confidence back. “It gives me a notion of what had been happening and what was making me jump sub-par,” he said. Uckermark said a good effort this weekend would be a great way to end his season and give college recruiters something to ponder as he enters his senior year at Warwick. “It would be nice to prove something,” Uckermark said. “I like to believe I had a pretty decent season. I accomplished some goals “» not all of them, but some of them. I think I need to prove something more.” This will be the final pole vault meet of Uckermark’s long year, which stretched back to fall training. He said he has no plans to jump during August, and will start running and light workouts later in the month. He will resume light jumping in September and will engage in full training a month or so before the start of indoor track and field season. more at Times Herald-Record
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