Willmer Has a Connection

Linebacker Brian Willmer calls Fullerton home, but his ties to Washington are as strong as his first name.

When Willmer’s father, Wes, was a student at Seattle Pacific in the 1960s, he served as an orderly and traveling companion for Brian Sternberg, who set the world record in the pole vault at 16 feet 8 inches while at the University of Washington.

Sternberg suffered severe spinal injuries in 1964, losing the use of his arms and legs, in a trampoline accident while preparing for the Olympics. Wes Willmer cared for him for seven years, accompanying him to speaking engagements all over the country and, eventually, to the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

Wes also named his son after his pole-vaulting friend.

Brian Willmer has often met with the man he was named for during visits to grandparents in Seattle, and those grandparents will be in Pullman today.

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Limited to a 60-player traveling party by Pacific 10 Conference rules, the Bruins nonetheless did something unusual in carrying along backup long snapper Mark Weisman because veteran Chris Rubio is unsure of his status because of a back problem. . . . UCLA’s scholarship freshmen brought in a mean grade-point average of 2.942 and an average Scholastic Assessment Test score of 941.