JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================_" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?X+&5>lR9_k 5?3};!ڨ-87vFӋQD"L^=lM9OkK3'^!x8ҹk$L$W\[X\:F^92GH1}$P9vWCZlj gbTi5' HY兣9݀!ciZ\V rbB$ws׭Brؖ H1-ukX"gI ֱ fܕI*w@=)ckibnPxl[2QCp$l Jxx Wj*|Ke\%95 G)1@ eC3jwKUU>d}5FIK5ocb4wi=ט+`)ĎNg$5;kyơ[`[ Jjx5s)"L #@]xvB}ZWB-%t"0FP?Z}H+& (sRVJN̥yfDWF;U Ēxγ"@d]F bk{IK,<jΉm})2@9pjI4:4ov%lqUHTxiV hdmx'qPkԵ\.Զ'+6LU:2Z%%@ ~$cZ.F-pp=xCqks Sal<1JVP ~#QtNv9 XXQ$voE¿R #egKD6E3-̟Q\}(dH3\kU%r]46{[v'pXJ!5mKTQZw>TEF}I>%fy\~6ncKpd7k.%B9;minZ HPѥ`5-E873OZHcY|{U-:t\>zeu=j>g yeϾ(KK9wn}TGܗSYv)6< ~ 5~-1c'kF(!FO^j"{wY$amqjdR8EuZkPt2?`_Ih\7FiQG,#Vio"x.e ֺ?XeB'>=FkÞn. 2IzTA8V-N 98*y{vq xҬ DrF pq=D{\w@ՊϦA>st{H0 㞧\iqoJJN{JM \[H&0ɒy6th,n ! uN\{;#6I;L$̤t[Skb=X#.svU UwJΖg9=ǵG4=֋hszV6XXIt۔U8WQ J9u1*ĒF+7V^XI9,HU v zՃir!-:޵;GsyVfq>rIz\)z?kdEO88j6Id~m=:pc2nlGvD C)1megD;Pq֥{,y<2c>{hx9QV$1;cҊ. She excelled 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