Class of 2010 College Signings

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http://www.sctimes.com/article/20091107 ... te-at-NDSU

Elliott column: Storm star will compete at NDSU
NOVEMBER 7, 2009

SAUK RAPIDS — Nick Weis was lured into the world of pole-vaulting in the eighth grade.


Long a baseball player, Sauk Rapids vaulting coach Rod Fuchs turned Weis into a pole vaulter.

"I went to his summer camp and I got sold on it," Weis said.

At the time, Weis was like anybody attempting a new sport for the first time. He wasn't very good.

"He was just this little, scrawny twerp of a kid," Fuchs said kiddingly. "He was a tagalong kid with his dad going to watch his sister at meets. He was all of 125 pounds and I've got video to prove it, too."

The twerp's filled out. He's 6-foot, about 160 pounds. This week, he confirmed that he made a verbal commitment to attend North Dakota State on a track scholarship.

"It seemed to fit really well," Weis said. "The training method is similar there to what we do here."

He's an excellent student, but not sure of a major. He chose the Bison over a multitude of schools that expressed varying levels of interest, including Minnesota, Brown and just about every private school in Minnesota, as well as small schools in Iowa, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

His sister, Kaitlin Weis, attends nearby Concordia College in Moorhead.

Weis holds the school record in the pole vault (14 feet, 10 inches), which mom Tammy says is a total credit to the outstanding coaching Nick has had. He has been to state twice, tying for second as a sophomore and struggling with a heel injury last June.

His ascent in the pole vaulting world is startling. His best as a ninth-grader was 9 feet. It was 13-7 as a sophomore and 14-10 last year. If he keeps it up, he could be setting state records in 2010.

He's also a swimmer and hopes to get back to state this winter after qualifying in the medley relay as a sophomore. And, he just wrapped up a 6-3 football season in which he was a starting cornerback.

He'll sign a national letter of intent with NDSU in February and shortly after that, he'll be back outside.

Weis could be very good, depending on his health, the weather and good luck.

None of that was working for Weis last June, when Fuchs drove a school van to the state meet. When the van backed up, it would buzz to warn anyone who cared it was going backward.

Everybody in the van thought it sounded like the buzzer in the board game "Operation."

Guess who got a "Travel Operation" board game over the summer? Yes, Fuchs did.

The hope is it'll be put to good use on its way to another state meet.

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Dyestat is reporting that Shaylah Simpson (12'9.75) of Desert Vista AZ has committed to Arizona State University.