|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Mr. Christopher Roy
Home:
Work:
Home Phone: -- Track: With consistency in his life, UL’s Roy takes aim at nationals berth Joshua Parrott � jparrott@theadvertiser.com � May 28, 2009 During an athletic year at UL filled with plenty of heartbreak, Chris Roy stands alone. Roy has separated himself from his fellow Ragin’ Cajuns because he is unbeaten in the pole vault during the outdoor track and field season. Seven meets, seven first-place finishes. That includes when he won the Sun Belt Conference outdoor title in his event three weeks ago. Now the challenge awaiting the sophomore from Breaux Bridge is to continue his perfect run at the NCAA Mideast Regional meet, which is Friday and Saturday in Louisville, Ky. One of five UL competitors in the regional meet, Roy is fully aware that the top five finishers in Louisville advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 10 in Fayetteville, Ark. “My real goal throughout the season was to win a national championship, but I’m not focusing on that right now,” Roy said. “I’m just concerned about qualifying for the national meet. I don’t want to look ahead because I know one bad meet can end the run right now.” And what a run it has been for Roy. In his first meet of the year, the Louisiana Classics on March 21, Roy qualified for the regional meet after clearing 16 feet, 10.75 inches to beat out two competitors from LSU. Roy took first the following week at the LSU Relays with a vault of 16 feet, 6.75 inches. That performance, six inches better than the second-place finisher, helped him beat out opponents from LSU, Baylor, Arkansas State, Connecticut and Akron. On April 4, Roy jumped 16 feet, 6.75 inches at Auburn’s Tiger Track Classic to win again. Minnesota, Ohio State, Iowa, Mississippi State and Wake Forest also competed that weekend. Roy made it four in a row at the LSU Alumni Gold meet on April 18, falling just short of a school record at 17 feet, 2.75 inches. His winning vault was 14 inches better than second place in a field that included competitors from Houston, South Florida, LSU, Texas A&M and Ole Miss. After winning again in the Northwestern State Invitational and Cole-Lancon Twilight in late April, Roy shined at the Sun Belt Conference outdoor meet on May 10 in Murfreesboro, Tenn. He broke a nine-year-old stadium record with a vault of 17 feet, 0.75 inches to add an outdoor league pole vault championship to the indoor conference title he won earlier in the year. With at least a top-five finish this weekend in the regional, Roy will advance to the national meet and be one step closer to his dream of winning a national championship. “What a lot of people don’t realize is that the vault is more of a mental thing,” said first-year UL head coach Charlie Mahfouz. “He has vaulted against some good people, and there will be some good vaulters at the regional. “But we’ve got faith in Chris. He knows what he has to do.” That wasn’t always the case. Roy, also recruited by LSU, Oklahoma and every Louisiana state school, admits that he wasn’t prepared for the double-duty involved in being a successful student-athlete. As a freshman at UL, he led the team in the pole vault during the indoor and outdoor season but struggled to find consistency on and off the track. His grades slipped and so did his athletic performance. By the start of the summer, Roy decided it was time for a change. He focused more on his studies and trained harder. Most of his summer was spent in the classroom and weight room. Now Roy is sure to focus all of his energy into his school work when he’s studying and in class. And he shows the same concentration and clarity when doing his workouts and competing in meets. “I finally realized that I needed to straighten up,” said Roy, who won a state title in the pole vault as a senior at Breaux Bridge High. “Everything in high school came easy. College life was a big change, and I wasn’t ready for it at the time. I stopped partying a lot, and that helped a lot with school. “It took a while to get prepared, and now I know you have to work on the track and off the track.” The change has been noticed by his teammates and coaches – on and off the track. “His attitude is just different now,” said junior sprinter Roderick Houston, also a regional qualifier. “Last year, he was cockier. Now he’s more humble about everything. And he’s a much better person to be around.” The change in Roy is impossible for Mahfouz to ignore. Roy credits UL’s coaches – especially assistant Pat Arceneaux, who taught him how to vault and later was his coach at Breaux Bridge – for getting stricter with him and expecting more. Roy has certainly responded and is showing off his vast potential. “I can just look at Chris and tell that he is totally different,” Mahfouz said. “I’ll always go back to last summer. He had to go to summer school, did that and is making good grades now. The little things – being on time, going to school and getting your grades – make a big difference. “He made up his mind to do things the right way and got it done.” TOP College Pole Vaulters in 2008-09 OUTDOOR SEASON 1. Jason Colwick 18-9.25 Rice 2. Scott Roth 18-4.5 Washington 3. Maston Wallace 18-2.5 Texas 4. Bryant Wilson 18-0.5 Grand Valley St. 5. Yavgeniy Olhovsky 17-11.75 Virginia Tech 6. Elliott Haynie 17-10.5 South Carolina 7. Whitney Neves 17-9.75 BYU 7. Robert Low 17-9.75 BYU 9. Nick Mossberg 17-9 Arizona 9. Seth Burney 17-9 Nebraska 11. Kasey Burlingham 17-8.5 CS Stanislaus 12. Joseph Berry 17-7.75 Tennessee 13. Johnny Quinn 17-7 UCLA 14. Luke Schoen 17-6.5 Albany 14. Eric Sparks 17-6.5 Purdue 14. Ryan Vu 17-6.5 Washington 14. Dan Tierney 17-6.5 Ashland 14. Jared O’Connor 17-6.5 Washington 14. Jordan Wehr 17-6.5 North Texas 20. John Vellenoweth 17-5.5 Penn State 21. Dustin DeLeo 17-5 UCLA 22. Greg Woepse 17-4.5 UCLA 22. Nick Frawley 17-4.5 Air Force 22. Brandon Estrada 17-4.5 USC 22. Parker Smith 17-4.5 North Carolina 22. Matt Schipper 17-4.5 Notre Dame 22. Nico Weiler 17-4.5 Harvard 28. Jake Winder 17-3.75 North Central 28. Eric Foran 17-3.75 Florida 30. Derek Scott 17-2.75 USC 30. Chris Roy 17-2.75 Louisiana 30. Ryan Shuler 17-2.75 UC Berkeley 30. Brian Hancock 17-2.75 Missouri 30. Brian Porter 17-2.75 Texas Tech INDOOR SEASON 1. Jason Colwick 18-4.75 Rice 2. Yavgeniy Olhovsky 18-2.5 Virginia Tech 2. Jordan Scott 18-2.5 Kansas 4. Nick Frawley 18-1 Air Force 5. Jake Winder 18-0.5 North Central 6. Robert Low 17-10.5 BYU 6. Seth Burney 17-10.5 Nebraska 6. Jeffrey Coover 17-10.5 Indiana 9. Luke Schoen 17-9 Albany 9. Dan Tierney 17-9 Ashland 11. Johnny Quinn 17-8.5 UCLA 12. Hunter Hall 17-7.75 Virginia Tech 13. Brian Hancock 17-7.42 Missouri 14. Nick Mossberg 17-7.25 Arizona 14. Maston Wallace 17-7.25 Texas 16. Matt Schipper 17-6.5 Notre Dame 17. Scott Houston 17-6.25 No. Carolina 18. Michael Uhle 17-5.5 Akron 19. Whitney Neves 17-5.45 BYU 20. Greg Woepse 17-5 UCLA 21. Ben Peterson 17-4.5 Minnesota 21. Brad Holtz 17-4.5 Tennessee 21. Joe Plencner 17-4.5 Minnesota 24. Kevin Schipper 17-3.5 Notre Dame 24. David Slovenski 17-3.5 Princeton 24. Ben Pax 17-3.5 Purdue 27. Joseph Berry 17-3 Tennessee 28. Gonzalo Barroilhet 17-2.75 Florida St. 29. Chris Spear 17-2.30 Clemson 30. Mike Beese 17-1.5 Northern Iowa 30. Phil Hanson 17-1.5 Northern Iowa 30. Jeremy Brading 17-1.5 Kent St. 33. Jared Jodon 17-1 Virginia Tech 33. Casey Roche 17-1 Stanford 33. Jared O’Connor 17-1 Washington 33. Dustin DeLeo 17-1 UCLA 37. Eric Sparks 17-0.75 Purdue 37. Adam Sarafian 17-0.75 Georgia 37. Joe Wesley 17-0.75 Akron 37. Dutch Perryman 17-0.75 Arizona 37. Josh Dominguez 17-0.75 LSU 37. Nico Weiler 17-0.75 Harvard 37. Chris Roy 17-0.75 Louisiana 37. Shawn Francis 17-0.75 N. Dakota St.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
