The sky’s the limit: Olmsted Falls’ Katie Nageotte keeps getting better and better, eyes state pole vault title

Katie Nageotte speaks softly and carries a pretty big stick. A fiberglass stick, as in a pole vault pole.
The Olmsted Falls senior has had a stellar career as she heads into her final high school season. Her track resume is loaded. Nageotte has made the All-Ohio platform twice in her career, taking second last year at 12 feet, 4 inches after taking sixth her sophomore year at 11-0.
She’s also a two-time defending Amherst regional and district champ as well as the district record holder (12-3). Nageotte is also a two-time defending Southwestern Conference champ and the SWC record holder (11-0).
She signed her letter of intent with Dayton and will pole vault for the Flyers.
Her No. 1 goal is to make it back to the Division I state meet for one more crack at the state title. To do it, she has to unseat two-time defending champ Kelsie Ahbe of Greensburg Green.
Last year, Ahbe defeated Nageotte on a tiebreaker in misses, 4-2. Both vaulters cleared 12-4.
For now, Nageotte is just taking things one meet at a time. The season goes quickly, but she knows that she must remain technically sound and mentally strong to set the table for another shot at the title.
“I’ve been lifting more than I have in the past,” Nageotte said. “I’m just focusing on working hard and getting as much accomplished as I can.
“My form has never been exactly correct. So I’m trying to improve in that area. I still need to try and get more inverted to the pole.”
Nageotte has a good mentor in Dave Godfray, her event coach. A 31-year Falls assistant, Godfray is a big reason the Bulldogs have won 14 Southwestern Conference pole vault titles over the years (12 boys, two girls). The Falls pole vault program has produced two state champs, a state runner-up and a pair of thirds at the state meet.
Godfray has coached pole vault since 1986, adding to his initial responsibilities as a hurdles coach.
“He definitely pushes me,” Nageotte said. “He pressures me, but in a good way. No negative pressure, but just says certain things to challenge and motivate me. He doesn’t sugar-coat anything. He tells it to me straight. I like that.
“Track and field is a pretty cut-and-dry sport. There’s a certain way to do things. If I’m not doing something right I want to know what I’m doing wrong so that I can fix it.”
Nageotte fell in love with the pole vault in the seventh grade.
“She had a nature affinity to it,” Godfray said. “She wanted to do it from day one. She was just a little thing back then and weighed 72 pounds. She liked to run and jump and get crazy. That’s part of the event itself.”
Track and field isn’t Nageotte’s only sport. She’s also a three-time district qualifier in diving and a member of the golf team, averaging in the mid-40s.
But pole vaulting remains her No. 1 sport.
“I’ve always been into doing crazy things,” Nageotte said. “Pole vaulting has always been so fun. I knew about pole vaulting but never witnessed it until the first day of practice in seventh grade.”
And it all began for Nageotte more or less on a whim.
“My mom (Diane) jokingly said, ‘You’re such a daredevil. You should probably pole vault,’” Nageotte said. “I think she was kidding because she knew how dangerous it was, but she kind of said it.”
Nageotte has improved from 6-6 in seventh grade to 7-6 in the eighth grade, 9-6 in the ninth grade, 11-4 as a sophomore and 12-4 last year. She cleared 12-6 indoors this winter and went a meet-record 12-0 to open the outdoor season on March 28 at the John Sanders Invitational.
A well-grounded athlete, Nageotte always remembers where she came from and those who support her.
One of her biggest supporters was her dad, Mark, who died suddenly of a heart attack at age 45 in September 2007. To remember him, she’s written his name on the insteps of all of her vaulting shoes. She touches her dad’s name on the shoe before all her big vaults.

Paul Heyse | The Chronicle-Telegram
Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.