Junior Alison Spivak makes it look easy.

Balancing time between schoolwork and track may seem overwhelming for the average student. Spivak, however, manages to balance a demanding major with setting records for the women’s track and field team.

A physical therapy major and the top pole-vaulter for the Bombers, Spivak has a lot on her plate. Spivak tries to keep herself prepared on and off the field.

“Everyone is dedicated and they take track and their schoolwork seriously,” Spivak said. “The coaches emphasize the importance of our GPAs.”

Growing up in small-town Staatsburg, N.Y., Spivak spent her whole life playing everything from soccer to field hockey, but she found her passion in track and field. More specifically, she grew to love pole vaulting.

Taking cues from her older brother, Spivak was one of the only pole-vaulters on her small high school team. Not only did she pole vault, but she also competed in the long jump, high jump and triple jump as captain of her team.

For the Bombers, Spivak placed first at the New Jersey Invitational in a team win this past weekend. Last winter, she was named to the all-Empire 8 team in the pole vault for the third year in a row. She also received the honor of being Empire 8 Athlete of the Week twice.

Head Coach Jennifer Potter said Spivak will not become complacent because of her accomplishments.

“She is a student of her sport,” she said. “She takes the time to know the pole vault and know it well. She works closely with the coaches and is the team leader in the event.”

Compiling all these awards does not distract Spivak from the goals she wants to work toward in her major.

When her grandmother injured her hip in an accident, Spivak was inspired to become a physical therapy major. Spivak saw first hand what was involved in the recuperation process that her grandmother went through. After this, Spivak realized she was interested in pursuing physical therapy.

Junior RaeAnne Grabowski realizes Spivak’s constant attention to her priorities is the key to her success.

“She is a good team leader and a dedicated student,” Grabowski said. “Physical therapy is intense in itself, and she’ll do what she has to to get her work done. She is a student before an athlete.”

In the future, she hopes to work with people with spinal cord injuries and prosthetics. Last summer, Spivak went to Rochester for a cadaver dissection, and this summer she has an internship there at an outpatient clinic.

Assistant Coach Alex Ivansheck is new to the team, but he can already see how Spivak tackles every challenge she is given.

“She studies a week before her exams and has her time management down pat,” Ivansheck said. “As an athlete she is open to suggestions and wants to know how to correct herself.”

Spivak attributes part of her success to her older brother, who pole vaulted at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He inspired her to try pole vaulting and she was one of the only girls to try it on her high school team. Besides track, she has a wide array of interests. In high school she played the violin and the viola and was the salutatorian of her graduating class. At Ithaca, she is a tour guide on campus and is a member of the Oracle Society and the Gerontology Honor Society.

Her goal for this season is to break 11 feet in the pole vault by consistently improving her form en route to qualifying for nationals. Spivak is currently the school record holder for the pole vault in indoor and outdoor track at her high school and at Ithaca. With Spivak’s history of awards and accomplishments, it seems like it’s only a matter of time.