She once was our highest scorer- now she's our highest soarer

Jenn Stuczynski’04 proudly wore Raider red and white but now dons Olympic silver

Former Raider basketball star Jenn Stuczynski’04 has literally leapt into the international limelight in recent years as America’s best woman pole-vaulter: She set the record at 16 feet last June and broke her own record nearly a year later, vaulting 16 feet and ¾ inch.

On July 6, 2008, she not only secured her spot on the U.S. Olympic track and field team, but also broke her own American record with a vault of 16 feet, 1-3/4 inches. And after only four years in the sport, on August 18, 2008, Jenn soared to a silver medal in Beijing.

Chris Williams’92 recruited Stuczynski to play basketball for Roberts in 2000. Stuczynski was successful at basketball, softball, and track in high school - as well as a number of other sports.

“I saw the work ethic of a perfectionist,” Williams says, “and that was evident not just in the sports she played at Roberts but in the sports she played just for fun, like golf. She wanted to be the best at whatever she did.”

Williams attributes Stuczynski’s work ethic to her roots: Jenn is one of three children of Mark and Sue Stuczynski, who own and operate a family grocery store in Fredonia.

“Her mom and dad worked their tails off to keep the family going,” Williams says. “I think they did a great job raising Jenn.”

The story of how Stuczynski became our nation’s best pole-vaulter has spread rapidly in the press - The New York Times, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and many other major media, including internationally - almost as quickly as Jenn rose to dominance in the sport.

Stuczynski hadn’t even attempted to pole-vault until her senior year at Roberts, when then-track coach Adam Steinwachs introduced her to Rick Suhr, who convinced her to try the event. Suhr had succeeded in training several other pole-vaulters at his Riga training facility, just a few miles from campus. He saw Stuczynski’s potential after watching her play a pickup game of basketball.

College historian and sports statistician Charley Canon’70 says: “Jenn is arguably the best female athlete ever at RWC; maybe even the best athlete period. She also was an excellent student, being on the Dean’s List each semester of her junior and senior years.”

“She is elite among the elite, a best among the best,” Canon raves.