The best decision is an informed one.
When Taylor Jarosinski arrives at Ben Davis High School for the girls track and field state meet on Saturday, the Center Grove senior won’t just be leaning on her considerable talent; she’ll likely be armed with more information than anyone else.
Data and analytics have become a bigger part of sports with each passing year. Basketball teams have figured out exactly which shots they want which players to take; baseball teams know exactly which pitches they want their hitters to wait for, and which ones they want their pitchers to throw in any given situation.
So it makes sense that the pole vault, which probably requires more analysis and planning than any other event at a track and field meet, would get caught up in that same trend.
Alex Basham, the vaulting coach for the Trojan girls, is all in on it — and Jarosinski has reaped the benefits. The state runner-up as a sophomore in 2019, she enters this weekend as the favorite to ascend to the top of the podium.
Jarosinski’s athletic ability has been the driving force, but Basham has put a greater emphasis on data analysis with each passing season, and it’s absolutely made a difference.
Every vault, both in practices and meets, is captured on video and instantly analyzed via the Hudl Technique app, which allows Basham and Jarosinski to turn an iPad into a telestrator — running footage back in slow motion and circling points of interest just like TV analysts do.
Perhaps even more important than the video analysis are the numbers. Basham carries a binder with him that chronicles every vault Jarosinski has attempted in competition since her freshman season — and the data goes far, far beyond makes and misses.
Which pole is she using? How long is it, how flexible is it and how much weight does it support? Where were Jarosinski’s hands on the pole? Where did she start her approach? How far away from the box was she when she planted her pole? How far forward or back were the standards that hold the bar in place?
What’s the temperature? What’s the wind speed, and which direction is it coming from?
Basham has been tracking all of it through Jarosinski’s entire high school career, and it’s proven to be an invaluable resource when it comes to honing in on what needs to be changed in any given situation.
“To be able to have this information of what’s happening and breaking stuff down, it allows you to pinpoint one certain area instead of going, ‘Well, let’s try this and this and this,'” Basham explained. “I try to narrow it down — ‘Hey, we’re going to change this one little thing.’ You try to simplify it as much as you can.”
If Jarosinski misses on a vault, she and Basham can usually break down how and why it happened on the fly. They’ve marked out ahead of time where Jarosinski should be on the runway at any given point in the process — her second-to-last step should be about 22 feet out from the vaulting box, and she should be taking off from 10 or 11 feet out — and based on what those numbers are each time, Basham can instantly figure out the needed adjustments.
In many cases, it’s a matter of adjusting the standards. Usually, Jarosinski starts with them set as far back from the box — 31 1/2 inches — as possible, and Basham can prescribe a move forward based on what the numbers and video show.
“Between jumps, that’s the biggest thing you can do,” Jarosinski said. “It’s like, ‘Okay, well, just do the exact same jump, and I’ll pull your standards up a few inches, and it’s a clear.'”
The runway numbers — where to start, where to plant from and everything in between — don’t vary as much from vault to vault because of Jarosinski’s consistency, but they have fluctuated from year to year as she’s developed physically.
“This year, it’s been a lot about my plant,” she said. “Coming into the season, we didn’t realize how much faster I was. Not even necessarily faster — my gait has just opened up way more, so I’m running with a purpose now. … I’ve moved my step back like 10 feet.”
This season has brought additional challenges throughout, with bad weather forcing Jarosinski to work off of a shorter approach or different poles — she brings nine to each meet — on certain nights. While that’s been frustrating in terms of not being able to hit the heights she wants, Basham believes it’s made the Indiana University recruit more resilient and more confident in her ability to adapt to changing conditions.
It has also broadened Basham’s data set, and more information is never a bad thing.
But it also isn’t the only thing. Similar to Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora and other savvy coaches, Basham knows when to ignore the data and trust what his vaulters — especially experienced ones like Jarosinski — are feeling in the moment.
“I talk to them a lot about a gut feeling,” Basham said. “It’s stuff that can’t be explained; it’s just, hey, I need to move to this, or need to move my hand grip, my step needs to pop back here — I’m a true believer in the gut feeling. I don’t know why, but it’s right every time.”
“It’s such a mental sport that if something in my head’s telling me that, it’s probably right,” Jarosinski agreed.
If any vaulter is equipped to trust her feelings, it’s Jarosinski, who appears to just be scratching the surface of her vast talents. Derek Cullison, who runs the Greenfield-based DC Athletics and serves as Jarosinski’s club coach in the offseason, notes that Indiana courted the Center Grove standout over girls who’ve cleared higher heights in high school, solely because of her potential.
“She’s so untapped in her potential,” Cullison said. “She’s a 14-6 vaulter in the next two years, which is super elite. I know that she’s frustrated that she didn’t jump where she was hoping to jump this year, at least not yet … (but) her potential and the things that she’s doing developmentally are above and beyond.”
Numbers aren’t everything, but the wealth of information stored in Basham’s binder has made a difference — not only in how Jarosinski will approach each individual vault on Saturday, but also going forward with the Hoosiers.
“It’s just given me so much confidence going into next year at IU,” Jarosinski said. “I don’t feel like I’m going to be lost; I’m going to be knowing what I can do, and I know what poles to put in my hands for different approaches.
“When you have confidence in the numbers, it’s like, ‘Okay, we can’t miss,’ because if the numbers are on, then we’re on.”
That could very well be a determining factor in whether or not Jarosinski ends her final high school meet as a state champion.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Girls track and field state finals
When: Saturday, 3 p.m.
Where: Ben Davis High School
Admission: $12
Webcast: Pay-per-view available at IHSAATV.org
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Scouting the state meet” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
A look at how Johnson County athletes stack up against the field at Saturday’s state meet:
4×800 relay
Top seed: Bishop Chatard (9:17.48)
Local entry: Whiteland (19th, 9:43.89)
Outlook: The race at the top should be an interesting one between Chatard, Carmel and Columbus North. The Warriors, meanwhile, made it into the field after a spirited regional anchor leg from Lauren Fish, but they’d likely need to drop more than 10 seconds off of last week’s time to factor into the scoring.
100-meter hurdles
Top seed: Morgan Patterson, Fort Wayne Northrop (14.42)
Local entries: Makensie Kramer, Center Grove (third, 14.76); Gabi Allen, Whiteland (16th, 15.32); Skyler Sichting, Center Grove (20th, 15.43)
Outlook: Patterson’s regional time was more than a quarter of a second clear of the field, but Kramer was just .05 ticks back of the No. 2 spot and she’s well positioned for a high podium finish. Allen could surprise on Saturday; her time of 15.04 seconds at the county meet would have been good for eighth last week, so scoring is within the realm of possibility.
1,600-meter run
Top seed: Halle Hill, Hamilton Southeastern (4:52.72)
Local entry: Lauren Klem, Franklin (21st, 5:14.79)
Outlook: Fourth in the regional, Klem snuck into the field as an at-large qualifier, putting a cap on an impressive three-sport freshman year. Getting up into the top nine on Saturday, though, would almost certainly require a drop of 10 or more seconds off of her regional time.
4×100 relay
Top seed: North Central (47.35)
Local entries: Center Grove (14th, 49.40); Whiteland (18th, 49.77)
Outlook: The Trojans and Warriors are both close enough to the ninth-place time (48.47) that sneaking up into scoring position is a possibility if everything falls into place on race day, but they’re also far enough back that it’s going to take some work — and maybe some luck — to get there.
400-meter dash
Top seed: Ramiah Elliott, North Central (55.72)
Local entry: Kate Henselmeier, Center Grove (ninth, 58.89)
Outlook: Elliott, a junior, is the clear favorite and perhaps the state’s most impressive sprint star since Pike’s Lynna Irby. She’ll be very tough to beat, but Henselmeier could potentially climb a couple of podium spots by going just tenths of a second faster. If she can score points for the Trojans in this event, that’d be a big boost.
800-meter run
Top seed: Addison Wiley, Huntington North (2:10.80)
Local entries: Bella Hodges, Center Grove (sixth, 2:15.64); Victoria Jackson, Whiteland (2:18.68)
Outlook: Hodges broke the Trojans’ school record with her regional performance, and if she can duplicate it she’s well positioned to land on the podium. Jackson earned a callback, but she’d have to drop a couple of seconds to get herself in the mix for a medal.
200-meter dash
Top seed: Elliott, North Central (24.71)
Local entries: Madi Kramer, Center Grove (19th, 26.15);Â Allen, Whiteland (26.19)
Outlook: Elliott and Lawrence Central’s Taylor Herbert are the class of the field here, but Allen and Kramer are both capable of climbing the ladder — both were under 26 seconds at the county meet, and Allen’s time of 25.55 could be enough to contend for a medal if she can replicate it this weekend.
High jump
Top seed: Bella Jackson, Whiteland (5 feet, 9 inches)
Outlook: The regional showdown between Jackson and Warren Central’s Tacoria Humphrey (5-8) was likely a preview of a Saturday showdown; no one else in the state cleared a height above 5-5 last week. The Whiteland senior was third two years ago and could well reach the summit this time.
Discus
Top seed: Mia Pulianas, Elkhart (156-9)
Local entry: Shelby Wingler, Center Grove (21st, 119-10)
Outlook: A surprise regional champion, the Trojan sophomore is playing with house money on Saturday — but she’s also capable of inching into medal contention in what might be the most unpredictable event of the meet. If Wingler is on and enough throwers are off, who knows?
Shot put
Top seed: Erikka Hill, Shenandoah (47-9 1/2)
Local entrie: Shelby Wingler, Center Grove (ninth, 41-4 1/2); Drew Mallory, Whiteland (39-11 1/2)
Outlook: Mallory entered the postseason with the state’s top discus throw and didn’t make it out of the regional; can she make a move in the shot now that she can lock in on one event? She and Wingler could both factor into the scoring — but Hill is a clear favorite to come out as the winner.
Pole vault
Top seed: Taylor Jarosinski, Center Grove (12-6)
Other local entry: Kendall Mirise, Franklin (26th, 10-0)
Outlook: The runner-up in 2019, Jarosinski is favored to come away with the top prize this time; Homestead’s Josephine Gery and Alison Casey of Fishers were the only other vaulters to go 12 feet or better in the regional (both cleared 12-3). Mirise gets to end her senior season in style as one of just two Grizzly Cub girls to make it to state.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
