UC San Diego pole vaulter, 19, died instantly

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The University of California San Diego pole vaulter who died after hitting his head during practice followed family tradition by becoming a pole vaulter and died doing what he loved, his sister said Monday.

Leon Roach, 19, fell and hit his head on a cement floor Thursday during a practice drill on a rope swing at the La Jolla campus. He died at a hospital Saturday.

"There were two spotters, and they had mats," said his sister, Christyn Hendrick. "It was just the upper half of his body that didn't make it. His head hit the ground, and he went straight to heaven. The doctors said he was gone instantly because of the brain damage."