Hall of Fame
CAMERON DAUGHERTY
- Sport: Men's Track & Field (pole vault)
- Graduation Year: 2012
- Highlights: 2012 outdoor national champion in the pole vault … Five-time All-American … SRU and all-time PSAC record holder … four-time PSAC champion … 2013 indoor Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year … Academic All-American.
Cameron Daugherty is the best male pole vaulter in the history of a Slippery Rock track & field program that has traditionally excelled in the event. He earned that title by way of his record-setting jumps both indoor and outdoor, in addition to his outstanding finishes on the national level.
Daugherty earned his undergraduate degree in 2012 and wrapped up his athletic career at The Rock in 2013 as the all-time SRU and PSAC record holder in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault. He still holds both SRU records with clearances of 5.20 meters (17'0 ¾"), a mark that still stands as the all-time PSAC record outdoors and ranks No. 2 all-time in PSAC history indoors.
He won four individual PSAC titles and was the conference runner-up on two more occasions to earn six All-PSAC awards in the pole vault, setting conference championship meet records and breaking his own records along the way.
Daugherty made his biggest leap in performance from his freshman to sophomore seasons when he picked up the first pair of what would become five All-America awards. He qualified for the National Championships both indoor and outdoor in 2011 and placed fourth indoor and sixth outdoor.
His junior indoor season in 2011-12 saw him place ninth at nationals, a finishing spot that would be All-America under current rules, but was one place outside the honors at the time. He refocused heading into outdoor nationals later that spring and shocked the field to win the 2012 outdoor national title, becoming the second SRU male to ever win a pole vault national title and the first since Todd Wunderlich in 1977.
Daugherty followed that up with another pair of top-three finishes at nationals during his senior year in 2012-13, first placing second at the indoor national meet before finishing third at outdoor nationals. He was named the Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year in 2013 for his efforts. When it was all said and done, Daugherty qualified for six straight National Championship events and placed in the top-10 at all six of them, including three finishes on the top-three podium.
In addition to his excellence in competition, Daugherty was among the top student-athletes in the country in academic performance as well. He was named to CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, was a U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic honoree and was a PSAC Top 10 selection.
Following his athletic career, Daugherty spent time working as a volunteer assistant pole vault coach at Slippery Rock, where he earned the USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2017.
Daugherty currently serves as a systems analyst for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). He, his wife, Amanda, and their son Macklin currently reside in West View, Pennsylvania.
