JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?0?JbsM6idҨ-$)ޜíHfޣRF>P)~jͽ@UOC`DjEۑHz)ROG*EZT^)xQڀV!ZEy.iiBp#+LNVf(6E09EY^F}j i+@H(9ɬ2@ZkjLp)9Hb0A&(+Rڎhy8DgT-UVtʊdi|b.uS./H` x>^Y$l: kgZ\5\4*7.Xn0Y=[p8& 49 x }GP.o;TA'=o;#w~VBgB_,[O i`^l;N?uissOCSH7CNG٬  Ջ]RhUqIZ5K$l-\Fu)X@hW;j1KDsI^)c#mZ6Yye8RWȎ,G5'@uifـ=_q74qȪW~1XSOhLH:` ւ*.̆!j[^8' GaWI{W9G8@7tj-Z2rÜpA3ZIJCnsH32ҝf`Va}[NGμF}jfq@PGR*@"?r}R݆O^%801@UQaCr1R-F63nqL ^DC8ON؊k.{ZR*D:pn+D Fa-&}~u2T?AYXTۚU^PIhm 5XqX"{I:Aʍľoh׊eF)@8F (:f<FE+1Xy4lLcϽ 7^E#QV@E,XrF( sE$GoV"%7H*|EGaRȦHVRORXEqM( W7q5ph'=iQMaEЅM4QM$t&(xcelled in the heptathalon, and like Olympic Gold Medalist, Dan O Brien, who competes in the men s version of this event, Dragila was especially strong in the hurdles. Her success didn t go unnoticed, and in 1993 she left her home town of Auburn, California, with a track scholarship to Idaho State University in Pocatello.  You know, I always loved the mountains, says Dragila when asked why she decided to move to Idaho.  I had lived in California all my life, and I wanted to get away. <br><br><br>School Daze<br><br>Although recruited as a heptathlete, when Dragila came to Idaho in the spring of 1993 her coach, Dave Nielsen, encouraged her to try the pole vault.  I heard that the women in Europe had been doing it for the past three to four years. My coach, being a pole vaulter himself, said,  We should try this, because I bet it s going to become an event quicker than you think. <br>Because she had only two years of eligibility as a college athlete left, Dragila had her doubts that the sport would take off before she graduated.  I asked myself,  Why am I doing this? I thought that although I would always participate in sports, my career in track and field would be over when I was done with college. But my coach just kept encouraging me to stay with it. <br>With the enthusiastic support of coach Nielsen, Dragila and several of her fellow heptathletes played around with the pole vault on their light workout days.  You know, pick up a pole and just kind of run with it, getting comfortable carrying the pole. I think that s the first thing that athletes often have a problem with--just getting used to coordinating your running while holding the pole, says Dragila.<br>Pole vaulters are considered daredevils, and consequently the question Dragila is most often asked about her event is if she s a risk taker.  They ask me,  Are you daring? Do you also jump off bridges? The answer is no, I m not a daredevil. When I was introduced to the pole vault everything we did was performed as safely as possible. It wasn t just,  grab this big ole stick, run down that track and hold on tight and see where you go! My coach gave me progressive drills. I stayed on the ground a lot, especially at the beginning. Then we progressed to  we re going to just p