Like father, like daughter, but only better

Jay Marumoto was an outstanding pole vaulter at Punahou. But in the final event of his high school career, he failed.

He was considered the top vaulter entering the field, but in three tries he did not even clear the bar during the state meet. Allen Duarte of St. Anthony took home the gold, with a vault of 13 feet, 6 inches.

"No-heights" can plague even the best vaulters. Track and field’s most acrobatic and dangerous event has so many moving parts and potential perils. But the state championships is not where you want to scratch.

As a sophomore in 1979, he’d vaulted 13-6 to place third in the state, and the next year was second with his personal record, 13-9.

"I was favored to win it (as a senior) and I choked," Marumoto said this week. "I was a fizzle."

He felt even worse about letting down his teammates; rival ‘Iolani won that 1981 meet and Punahou was second by two points. The Buffanblu did not win the state championship for the first time since 1976.

Now, 33 years later, there’s a chance at family redemption. Marumoto’s daughter, Sammy, owns the state’s best mark headed into the girls pole vault at Saturday’s HHSAA Island Movers Track and Field Championships at Kamehameha. And if Punahou is to contend for the team title, she will probably have to win her signature event, and also place well in the long jump.

Seabury Hall, with superstars Dakota Grossman and Alyssa Bettendorf, is favored by many to win the team title. It’s also hard to count out Kamehameha and Kaiser, the two Oahu league champions.

"It really is a tough one to predict," said Rick Nakashima, who is handling analyst duties for OC-16’s telecast. "But without a doubt, Sammy will have to do well for Punahou to win."

Marumoto said her father being a pole vaulter spurred her interest.

"Yeah, it gave me the idea. I thought I’d give it a shot," said the daughter, who eventually gave up gymnastics after suffering a serious elbow injury when she was 6.

There are no guarantees of a soft landing in the pole vault. But Jay Marumoto, one of the state’s leading orthopedic surgeons, said other athletic activities are more dangerous.

"There are scattered (serious) injuries across the country and the world every year (in the pole vault). But, honestly, soccer and gymnastics are way more dangerous, statistically, by the numbers," he said. "I wasn’t concerned (when Sammy took up pole vaulting)."

Sammy said the only real injury she’s suffered is ligament damage to her right foot last summer.

If there was any question about her best event, it was answered at this spring’s Punahou Relays. Marumoto won the long jump, but also took the pole vault, clearing 12-7. That height is significant because her father won with 12-6 at the prestigious mid-season meet in 1981.

"By one inch, I got him," Sammy said, with a laugh. "That’s awesome because that meet is so special. Now we’re both in that meet champions book."

Said Jay: "Her 12-7 is better than my 12-6 for perpetuity. And I couldn’t be prouder."

Girls have been pole vaulting in Hawaii only since 1999 but have made incredible, well, leaps.

"I remember when I was in high school asking (legendary Punahou coach) Al Rowan why girls weren’t pole vaulters," Jay said. "He said not enough upper body strength. That’s obviously not the case now."

The state’s top girls vaulters can match or surpass the winning boys mark of 1989, as well as many from the ’60s and ’70s.

"It changes the way women view themselves and what they think they can accomplish," Sammy said.

She’s aiming at the girls state meet record of 13-0 set by Amber Kozaki of Baldwin last year, which she has cleared in practice.

"Of course the team points is the priority, and we’re going to do our best to make sure about that," Buffanblu pole vault coach Tom Hintnaus said. "But also, she deserves the record, and we’re going to go for it."

As for catching his P.R. of 13-9, Jay said he hopes Sammy goes "significantly higher than that" at UCLA, where she will study physiological sciences with an eye toward a career in physical therapy.

"I’ve got a ways to go, but he wants me to break it," she said.

Nothing is guaranteed in the pole vault, and Sammy Marumoto has placed second in states the past two years. Her dad said family history will not repeat itself Saturday.

"I told her she got that out of the way. She no-heighted (at states) her freshman year."