Sara Dougherty Article

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http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/8081777.htm

Pole vault provides big lift for Penn State's Dougherty

By Ira Josephs

Inquirer Suburban Staff


Sara Dougherty was intrigued by the pole vault before she ever stood in a pit, before she ever picked up a pole.

A 2000 graduate of Springfield High in Delaware County, Dougherty watched her older brother Kevin's Springfield track meets in the mid-1990s. She wasn't, however, always watching her brother.

"He ran distance," she said. "My mom said I always watched the vault. They were going upside down. It's kind of different. Not a lot of people do it. I always wanted to try it."

Dougherty didn't get her chance until her junior year at Springfield in 1999, when the pole vault became an officially sanctioned PIAA event for girls.

After clearing an impressive 10 feet, 6 inches that first season under the expert coaching of Springfield's Dan Curran, Dougherty has continued to rise, climb and fly.

Now a Penn State senior, Dougherty won the Big Ten Conference title Saturday at the University of Iowa with a height of 12 feet, 111/2 inches.

Dougherty's victory helped the Nittany Lions clinch the first Big Ten women's track and field title in school history. Penn State won with 115 points; Michigan was second with 981/3.

"She provides great senior leadership, and it was great for her to pull it off," said Penn State head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan, who has guided the Lions from the bottom of the conference to the top in her four years. "She is someone who has developed unbelievably over four years."

Ranked fifth nationally this season with a best of 13-5, Dougherty has qualified for the NCAA national championships March 12 and 13 at the University of Arkansas. Her parents, Susan and Bruce, and her brother Kevin plan to attend the meet. For a time this season, Dougherty was the nation's No. 1 vaulter.

"My parents are one of the huge motivators behind me," the 22-year-old Dougherty said. "They travel to every meet. I'm not spoiled when it comes to material things, but I am when it comes to my parents loving me."

A gymnast when she was younger, Dougherty sprouted to 5-foot-7 by her junior year and literally outgrew her sport. Fortunately, she still could satisfy her craving for flight when the pole vault was introduced. She won state outdoor medals as a junior and senior, reaching 10-6 both years.

Penn State was the only school to which she applied; she stayed with Curran's daughter Biz on her visit. Although Dougherty began as a walk-on, she improved to 11-6 as a freshman and 12-10 as a sophomore, when she placed second in the Big Ten indoor meet. By that time, she had earned a partial scholarship.

Tragedy struck that February two years ago, however, when Penn State sophomore vaulter Kevin Dare was killed while competing in the men's Big Ten championships at the University of Minnesota. Dare fell headfirst during a vault attempt and died a short time later of head trauma.

He had been a training partner, classmate and close friend of Dougherty's.

"It crossed everybody's mind whether we wanted to continue," Dougherty said. "The kind of person he was made me more motivated. He wouldn't have wanted me to give it up."

Dougherty remained one of the Big Ten's top vaulters last season, but didn't reach the heights she had attained her sophomore year.

She decided to make her senior year at Penn State her best yet in both the classroom and the pole vault. Dougherty, who is majoring in kinesiology (the study of human movement), made the dean's list for the first time with a 3.84 grade point average last semester. And she consistently has cleared 13 feet.

"She has always been very much a competitor," said Penn State vault coach Jim Sullivan, Beth's husband. "She always has her game face on and works hard to win meets."

Said Springfield girls' track coach Connie Funk: "She did a lot of events in high school. Being able to specialize has literally allowed her to soar."

Influenced by Curran, Springfield field hockey coach Sue Purvis, and Funk, Dougherty is considering a teaching career. She has applied to be a student teacher at Radnor in the fall. But she may pursue a career in sports management or administration. And, if she keeps improving, maybe even continue with the pole vault.

"It never crossed my mind until this year," she said. "I wasn't at that level. I think it will depend on if I qualify for the Olympic trials [14 feet]. There are a couple of small things I need to work on, refining them, and I think I can do it."