Wilkens Happy With Effort at States

For Michael Wilkens, pole vaulting began as a family affair. It was 2007 and a seventh grade Wilkens accompanied his brother Matt to Cold Spring Harbor to practice the sport that he would quickly learn to love.

Matt, now 21, was an expert pole vaulter in his own right, taking home All-County honors during his tenure with the Braves.

“Without him, I never would have done pole vaulting,” the younger Wilkens brother said.  

There are days in the life of an athlete that change the course of their careers. That one afternoon spent practicing with his brother acted as that for Wilkens. Those first few hours have led themselves to a successful first half of his Braves career.

Wilkens competed in last week's state tournament in Caledonia, where he cleared 12 feet in the pole vault. Although his personal record is 12 feet, 6 inches, Wilkens just barely missed reaching 13 feet on his final attempt.

“I’m definitely happy about it,” Wilkens said. “Now I know that I have the potential to clear 13 feet, so I’m all pumped up.”

Wilkens says that the rush of the sport is something he just can’t get enough of.

“It’s that feeling you get when you cross over to the bar and you see it standing up and you’re falling down, Wilkens said. “You think, ‘Yeah! You cleared it. Awesome.’”

The success this season did not come as a surprise, given the work Wilkens put in. He spent last summer training with his brother, striving to continue the families All-County success.

He didn’t make All-County this year, but found his way to states by way of a qualifying meet in Westbury.

“That was ten times better than being All-County,” Wilkens said.

While pole vaulting is what Wilkens is most recognized for, he also enjoys running on the 4X800, 4X400, and 4X200 relay teams. All three teams had success this season.

“You really see who’s got the most guts to do it,” Wilkens said. “When you’re running, you’re against people who all kind of run the same times as you, but when you’re in that race, it’s anyone’s game. You really get to see peoples’ true colors.”

His success in the spring and winter season has lit a fire under Wilkens. This summer, he will attend two camps. In July, Wilkens will travel to Connecticut where he will attend pole vaulting camp. He will also visit coach Bart Sessa’s "The Running School" to improve upon his relay work.

Wilkens not only has high hopes for his future at Syosset, but for that of the team.

“We have about four guys doing sub-4:50 for the mile," Wilkens said. "I think our senior year [2013] we’ll be county champions. We’re working way too hard and Mr. Sessa’s training us way too hard to do anything less.”

Wilkens is not at a loss for confidence. But if the last few weeks have proved anything, he’s got the talent to back it up.