The Front Row with MARK NELKE June 3, 2010

Since she took up the sport at age 2 1/2, Lake City High sophomore Kierstie Shellman had hoped her gymnastics ability would someday help her earn a college scholarship.

A couple of bad breaks, a couple of encouraging coaches and an inspirational grandfather later, Shellman has become a budding star in a sport she probably wouldn’t have given a second thought to trying one year ago.

After a pair of injuries in 2009 pretty much ended her gymnastics career, Shellman turned out for track for the first time this spring. She improved to the point where she placed second in the pole vault at the state 5A meet a couple of weeks ago, clearing a personal-best 10 feet, 6 inches.

“At the beginning of season I did think I could use track as a stepping stone to get back to gym,” Shellman said, “but midway through the season I realized that my foot still didn’t feel good enough that I would be able to go back to gym. And I absolutely fell in love with the pole vault.”

AS A gymnast, Shellman had reached Level 10 status, and was good enough to represent Region 2 at Junior Nationals in Florida in 2008.

But in January 2009, at a meet in Seattle, on her favorite event, the uneven bars, she fell and dislocated her left elbow. That knocked her out for the season, which runs through May.

After some rehab, she went to a regional clinic in November 2009 to showcase her gymnastics skills. But she fell from the bars again and her right foot “landed funny” on the mat.

“I had one of the rarest dislocations of your foot that you could have,” she said. “I dislocated three joints that basically make up the midsection of your foot.”

Her recovery was compounded by the death of her grandfather, Lee Shellman, a popular physical therapist in Coeur d’Alene, in December.

“That was very hard on me, and definitely set back my rehab a lot,” she said.

BEFORE THIS spring Shellman, who stands 5-foot-1 1/4, had never tried another sport other than gymnastics. But one of her teachers at Lake City, Kelly Reed, knew her grandpa, and helped Kierstie through her pain of dealing with his loss. Kierstie was born in Calcutta, India, and was adopted when she was 8 months old and raised here by Lisa, a single mom. Kierstie referred to Lee as “Papa.”

Reed is also the track coach at Lake City.

“He told me gymnasts typically like the pole vault, which sparked my interest because I do like flying,” she said. “So I thought, maybe let’s give that a try, and see if maybe my foot would handle that.”

She said her foot was “definitely sore” the first few weeks of the season, but she eventually built up a tolerance to the pain. However, there were some rough stretches.

“Midway through the season I almost did quit because I didn’t think it (my foot) could handle it,” Kierstie said. “But I knew I had to finish what I started, so I did more strength exercises on it, and just had to fight my way through it, because I knew how badly I wanted to have a successful year.”

She thought of her grandfather, Lee.

“I credit a lot to my grandfather, because he was always a man to finish whatever he started, no matter what,” she said.

At her first meet of the season, Shellman could not clear the opening height of 7 feet. She eventually cleared 7 feet, then 7-6, then stayed at that height for a while. She cleared 8 feet at JV regionals in Moscow. But she wanted more.

Then, just before regionals, practicing with pole vault coach Russ Blank, “something just clicked,” she said.

A few days later, she cleared 10 feet at the Region 1 meet at Lewiston, won the event and qualified for state.

What clicked?

“It was mainly the pressure I had to keep on the pole while I was swinging up,” Kierstie said. “I was pulling into the pole rather than pushing against it. That causes your body to come into the pole too fast, so you can’t get inverted to go up and over the bar ... the pressure that I needed to push against the pole also helped me bend the pole more.”

At state a few days later, she cleared 8-6, 9 feet, 9-6 and 10 feet without a miss. She cleared 10-6 on her third and final attempt, hitting the bar on her way up AND her way down, watching the bar wobble, but not fall, after she landed on the mat.

At first Shellman was disappointed after bowing out after three misses at 11 feet, but “then I went over to my coach and he told me I got second and I couldn’t even believe it ... it was a good way to end the year,” she said.

“She really didn’t pick it up that quickly — she had a strong gymnastic background so we were hoping that would translate to big vaults, but not much was happening,” Blank said. “A couple of things about Kierstie that made her breakthrough happen. She never missed a practice — first one there, last one to leave. She studied pole vault on YouTube in her spare time. She was totally frustrated with bad performances. And she is fearless. This Tuesday she went over 11 feet as we’re still practicing a couple of days a week. Great kid — couldn’t happen to a better athlete.”

SO WHAT’s next?

Kierstie said she’d like to clear 12 feet next season, and challenge the state record of 12-6 as a senior. Before that, she’s setting her sights on breaking the school record of 11-6, set by Brenna Lawson in 2007.

Anything else?

“I may try to get in shape to see if it (my foot) will do cross country next fall, but that probably won’t happen,” she said.

Then again, with that never-quit attitude instilled by her grandpa Lee, don’t put it past her.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at mnelke@cdapress.com.