Katie Nageotte will always be remembered as an Olympic gold medalist after winning in Tokyo, but her pole vaulting career really got off the ground when she landed at Ashland as a transfer from NCAA Division I Dayton.
Her ascension to national-class vaulter seemed to happen overnight when her career went higher than ever in a senior year to remember. Nageotte started early in December, equaling her best-ever, then 4.00m (13-1½). She improved her PR in five more meets, completing an undefeated indoor season with a best of 4.33m (14-2½) as well as her first NCAA DII title in 2013.
Then came the outdoor portion of her final collegiate campaign, when she raised her absolute best even higher, all the while clearing 4.00m (13-1½) with relative ease. She won a showdown with rival Kayla Caldwell at the GLIAC Championships, clearing a DII outdoor record of 4.44m (14-6¾), before winning the NCAA DII title with the meet’s first 14-footer at 4.40m (14-5¼).
She finished her collegiate career owning two of the top three outdoor vaults in NCAA DII history and remains No. 2 all-time at 4.44m (14-6¾).
Nageotte is the fourth athlete from Ashland University inducted into the USTFCCCA NCAA DII Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame.