Leppke leaping for gold medal
For Ben Leppke, jumping has always been in his blood, in the most literal sense. "He was a runner and a leaper even when he was young," Ben's dad Lyle said. "He's always been a jumper."
In fact, Ben has become such a jumper that he recently leaped his way into qualifying for national competition, placing first and third in the triple and long jump events respectively at a qualifying meet held two weeks ago in Lawrence.
The Marion jumper went 39'9" to grasp the first-place title in the triple jump and 17' 1/2" to finish third.
The jumps qualified Leppke in both events at the United States of America Track and Field national junior olympics held later this month from July 29 through Aug. 3 at Tropical Park Stadium, in Miami, Fla.
"I've never been to Florida before," Leppke said. "If I jump my best I should have a pretty good chance of winning."
Ben's dad, who also has functioned as his coach, agrees.
"We probably have higher expectations of him than he does at times," Leppke said of his son. "We just look at this as a great opportunity. He's got a chance for a national title and not many kids can say that."
The pressure of succeeding also has entered into the mind of the 14-year-old jumper, who said he doesn't want to disappoint those cheering him on, especially his friends.
"There's a little bit of pressure for me doing well," Leppke said. "A lot of my friends want to see win. The pressure that I feel is mostly from wanting to do well. Most of all, I just want to do my best."
Last summer, Leppke finished 30th in the triple jump with a leap of 34'6" in the 13- and 14-year-old competition.
Now, as the No. 4 ranked jumper in the nation, one year older, and competing in the same division, Leppke has been practicing at least once a day during the week with his dad and head track coach Grant Thierolf looking on.
"Sometimes the hardest thing is getting myself to do the practice," Leppke said.
"You don't want to try and change things at this point," Leppke's dad said. "It's just a matter of refining things for this meet."
The benefits of practice and lifting weights has played a significant role in Leppke's jumping ability this past year and into his most recent competition. His personal best so far this season in the triple jump is 40'3 1/2", and in the long jump is 17'10".
As an eighth grader last season at Marion Middle School, Leppke set a new Cottonwood Valley Junior High League record in the boys triple jump.
But at one of his first qualifying meets held in Hays, Leppke nearly dashed his chances of a national title.
"He faulted on his first three jumps," Lyle said. "On his fourth he finally made it and qualified. His mother and I were getting pretty nervous. We bought the tickets for Florida a couple of weeks before."
Leppke said that had not his parents entered him into the Hershey State Track and Field championship in the standing long jump at the age of 12, he may never have discovered his love of jumping. Leppke, who had never jumped competitively prior to the meet won the event.
"If I wouldn't have done that I probably never would have found out that I liked to jump," Leppke said.
While national title hopes fill the dreams of the soon-to-be Marion freshman, Leppke has set his sights on the years to come as well.
"I hope I can go to state next year," he said. "Jumping might be a great way to get a scholarship for college."
The opening ceremony for the 2003 event begins July 30.
The National Junior Olympic Championships attract more than 6,500 competitors each year and more than 9,000 entries. It is the largest and most visible young athlete developmental program in the world.
