JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?pzqrp 5=pX0EMO»-c!^sޤ p9JxW(pZɐZҔ*& 短Kdnyt8#jLsSCL'#j1 W "g[u5]S^8 ^An*upJ0 UɱrdH#*82ZlF 2)/3yMjzigL 7Rڝ˩dO5֘2`iH4shE_{T9iP*uze]s}"Yv߿4Qo =N ~{?ҙRaᐶͳL0bM_6#M Zk6\R`XĐbH=OUG "*{$@ c 럥C@_d!9KeBŋ |Men JLbSOzl]2H㞂Ot*=ԛ@/Zϲӯڜ HsRԨRݢj9BzU-MȚ݀ !G= NQX19:NM<ZDCy.AkI"_Yi)Yo 9'SXyP|V"9'ךds+-OwxF9Vpґk4? 5zG4;([cBNvOf >{sW5?jwpJcއoOr·;cM'ιCQQ_tӺi^&Ԡ k`de}5+KmVX8}kl-jK fU׵z\G p=kjFmKM-=0[V 댑y풌T%X'H刕u݌by帹y-šlpXIK:YC!FĐA= GɬjN,#njzUǔs].Am"cskJ.zSKr}G^a}'G%BA~Z唹%$y&l0vp#d`2 O5&lGJ#V"]&:lCvӭΙ4e7CߊRYjxpTd Nx'vٴUGBe + r24,xWLUi|-JG{$#&|r?\ .A9#UIع[-\SI'(m6ю4Qq˔ >2J{fxf͌z@B# ֭VLHf#џQsqZ M:IهN#{o0[xe@+AӢo2JEذL)'$|vI dk 3[ׇ[S sG<]֍ 2kya6ZtPG.Zܳă%~kxi3h}EjEL$(z؁u##ކ%mI+7" {V-Iedf883<:L|l#Y?i]Gwu,z4.$ф@yV'L49Ǧ@z#.tJfxTΝcܥг`䂻;}M{Jh85تPk~SXL8HbL}yA@d'XXPqjX6ب; +G^ipsE;kmM[S!bbtiaи3Zq8J:dlv*Gn QHmrIT@$)擓]m@'!֧.ɨhMp:^0?Zc=r}iAB׊oI$}EHp2Ns)R2gޏ>ІrO'ңd(r\5(5=sE!`jMҙJ(-/AE#'N ((waM=h'?T=( ޚz($E ңnQM :h ފ(iced, 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 plant it into the box, and stay on your feet and land in the pit. I never felt that I was totally out of control. <br>When she started to leave the ground, Dragila admits that she had some apprehension.  When I started to go upside down, that scared me. But then, luckily, my coach s wife owned a gymnastics gym about two blocks from our university. She had trampolines and high bars, and