Nature Influences Clearwater Pole Vaulter

Courtney O'Donoghue's parents came from afar to build a life in Clearwater for their daughter.

Her dad moved from Ireland and her mom came here from California. And part of growing up, they instilled a love of in their daughter.

“I remember camping and kayaking with my friends and family growing up. I think those days influenced my life a lot,” said O’Donoghue. “We would visit Fort DeSoto a lot. We had a camper back then. Those were some of the coolest experiences from my childhood."

All this has inspired Courtney to want to do something to help preserve the natural wildlife in Pinellas County.

“I want to go into marine biology or maybe environmental engineering, something related to those fields,” she said.

Growing up in Clearwater also inspired participation in track and field starting out in the 727 Track Club.

Then, as a freshman high jumper at Clearwater High School, she saw some athletes doing pole vault.

“I thought it looked cool," O'Donoghue said.

She proceeded to jump 6 feet 7 inches and was on the hook. She worked a lot with Coach David Mason at AAU. Mason is also a coach on the Countryside Cougar track team and has helped many Pinellas County vaulters improve their technique. Courtney attended a pole vault camp in St. Cloud where she worked with UCF track coach, Jim Metzger.

Her career took off from there.

She made states her sophomore year, finishing sixth with a ten foot jump. She made states again this year and jumped 10 feet 6 inches. The field was tougher this year as that jump only got her seventh place.

It’s not all about the competition for her, though.

“I’ve made lots of friends," O'Donoghue said. "I keep doing this because of all the friends I meet and because it’s lot of fun."