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Weston's Erica Litvak has soared through the air since she was a young girl. The sport in which she competes, however, has changed completely.
Litvak won the South-West Conference championship last week in the pole vault. She is the top seed in the event for Wednesday's Class M championships and won the Class M indoor title in February. She was fifth in the State Open indoors and will continue her career in the fall at Villanova University.
The pole vault is far different from gymnastics, the sport in which Litvak competed through the seventh grade. She trained at Stamford's Arena Gymnastics under coach Laure DeFrancesco. The time commitment, particularly with commuting three days a week from Weston to Stamford and back, proved too wearying.
Litvak competed as an all-around gymnast and had a special affinity for the balance beam. She reached Level 8 just a few steps from competing at the sport's highest level and was on her way to Level 9. "I loved gymnastics,'' said Litvak, who goes by the nickname Kiki. "I still miss it. It just got to be too much between the commuting and the school work and the practices."
"Had she remained focused on gymnastics through high school, I feel she would have easily been one of our top gymnasts today and would be looking to compete at the NCAA level on a strong Division 1 team,'' Arena coach Laurie DeFrancesco said.
Even five years ago as a gymnast, Litvak exuded traits that serve her well in any athletic arena. "
"Kiki was a natural athlete who competed with poise and maturity,'' DeFrancesco said. "She had a consistent work ethic, which made her a dependable athlete from one day to the next. I feel Kiki and I really connected on her willingness to pay attention to fine detail, and our mutual love of balance beam."
When she gave up gymnastics, Weston coach Matt Medve, who has a penchant for recruiting pole vaulters, encouraged Litvak to attempt the event. She has thrived. She took second in the Class S outdoor meet last year, trailing only teammate Emily Ando. At last week's SWC championships, she cleared 11 feet, 0 inches and won the meet easily. She narrowly missed taking down Ando's meet record of 11 feet, 6 inches.
While Litvak transitioned to the pole vault, she dealt with lingering fallout from her gymnastics career. She underwent reconstructive ankle surgery in August after hurting the ankle as a gymnast. She fought through the pain as long as she could, until doctors told her she needed surgery. She was in a leg cast for 10 weeks. "I was difficult to live with,'' said Litvak, who also played field hockey. "It was hard to sit still." Litvak ran sprinting events for Weston, but the injury has forced her to limit herself to the pole vault.
Litvak's career at Weston is coming to a close. Her personal best of 11 feet, and only a few other girls have gone higher. "I'm hoping to win the Class M meet and then do well at the State Open,'' Litvak said. "There's a lot of good competition."
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