ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Freshman Soars Over Competition

Not many people have the opportunity to see the world from a bird’s eye view. But then again, not many people can pole vault like Nico Weiler.

The Crimson freshman continued his strong campaign last Friday at the Harvard/Yale-Oxford/Cambridge match in New Haven, Conn., setting a new meet record of 5.20 meters in conditions that were not exactly the most ideal for outdoor pole vaulting.

“I think I did pretty well,” Weiler said. “It was pretty cold, and they considered moving the pole vault indoors. Most people performed a bit below their expectations, so I was pretty fortunate to jump that high that day.”

Fortunate or not, Crimson coach Jason Saretsky was nonetheless extremely pleased with Weiler’s performance.

“Nico’s performance was outstanding,” Saretsky said. “He set a meet record by about a foot. With the work that he has gained in practice, we feel confident that he’s poised to have a great outdoor season.”

Despite Weiler’s solid performance, the Harvard/Yale men finished one point behind their English counterparts, 10-9. For the first time since 1993, Oxford and Cambridge beat the American men.

While Weiler has been jumping fairly consistently his entire freshman season, the young athlete attributed his strong showing at the HYOC competition to a series of great practices the week before.

“I had some really good practice that week, so that’s probably what caused me to jump really well there,” Weiler said.

Like most freshmen and sophomores who participated in their first biennial HYOC match last weekend, Weiler relished the opportunity to take part in a historic match filled with tradition. Because only four competitors are allowed to compete in a given event—two from Harvard/Yale and two from Oxford/Cambridge—this created a unique environment for the athletes.

“The atmosphere surrounding [the event] was really interesting. We even had a banquet afterward where we had to dress up for it,” Weiler said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had that before.”

The opportunity to compete at the HYOC meet has been yet another crucial experience to help Weiler transition from high school to the collegiate level.

“Anytime you go from high school to college, there are all sorts of adjustments that need to be made,” Saretsky said. “Nico’s had to work hard to make these transitions, but he’s really rounding into form.”

“Everybody is a lot older, and a lot more experienced,” Weiler said. “They’ve been doing this longer.”

Despite the leg up in experience, it may well be just a matter of time before the Crimson rookie surpasses all of his competitors.

A native of Germany, Weiler began pole vaulting at the age of 11. He brought his athletic talent to California when he decided to study abroad and stay in the US before coming to Harvard. In a matter of two years, Weiler was nearly unstoppable on the track-and-field circuit, amassing just about every accolade possible. Winning the Under-18 World Championships and being named as a USA Today All-American instantly made Weiler a coveted recruit.

“He was highly recruited and very accomplished coming out of high school,” Saretsky said. “He was undefeated his senior year in high school. He showed a ton of potential, and he’s a great competitor.”

But Weiler credits his success to his coaches, not his athletic talent.

“I was very fortunate to have very good coaches,” Weiler said. “Every coach brings a different aspect of coaching. Right now, I feel like that I’m still growing in strength, so the coaches at Harvard have really helped me with that.”

And though Weiler has already dominated Ivy League competition, he will continue to strive for consistency on his jumps throughout his career with the Crimson.

“The more consistent he can be, the more he’s going to improve,” Saretsky said. “He’s already able to compete at a pretty high level. I think everybody involved would agree that a whole new level is waiting for him.”

For now, only time will tell just how far Weiler will go, and how much higher he will vault.

—Staff writer Kevin T. Chen can be reached at ktchen@fas.harvard.edu.