Bar set high for Rebels

Gareth and Barrett Weiss might be among the most organized teenagers around.

They wake up in the morning and head to school to tackle a variety of subjects from English to mathematics. Then it's off to gymnastics practice before taking a couple of hours to practice their musical instruments. Somewhere in between, there's time allotted in their busy schedules to work on their pole vaulting techniques.

It appears they've become adjusted to managing their to-do lists rather well, which is half the battle for the freshmen pole vaulters on the Flintridge Prep boys' track and field team. It's played a significant role in them excelling in pole vaulting in just their ninth-grade years.

"It would be nice to have more hours in the day, but you have to be efficient with your time," said Gareth, who along with Barrett, will participate in the CIF Southern Section Division IV finals at noon today at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut. "We get a lot of preparation from our gymnastic and pole vaulting coaches, so that helps.

"You have to be able to stick to the schedule and do the best you can at each thing."

The brothers have certainly done their best in pole vaulting. Gareth captured the Prep League championship in the pole vault with a mark of 12 feet 4 inches on May 3 at Claremont-McKenna College. Barrett took second at 12 feet. At the Division IV prelims at Carpinteria High on May 12, Gareth tied for the top qualifying mark of 12 feet, while Barrett registered the ninth and final qualifying spot at 11-6.

The top 12 marks, regardless of division, from today's competition will advance to the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet, which will be held Friday at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

Constantly in motion, things seem to be going well at the right time for the identical twin brothers, who helped the Rebels boys' track and field team capture its first league championship since 2003.

"You try to get everything done as quickly as possible and sometimes you get tired," Barrett said. "It's mostly about trying to convince yourself that you can get better, whether that's in gymnastics or pole vaulting.

"Things get tough each week trying to balance everything, but you have to keep working hard at everything."