Hall of Honor
“Doing what comes naturally” – that’s what pole vaulting is to Jerry Donley. Today, 37 years since his last collegiate appearance, he is still vaulting…still winging…still setting records. He is a three-time Midwest Conference champion whose top Beloit effort of 13 feet 9 inches remains the school mark; it was set when the world collegiate record was 14-11 ½. Once a second-place finisher at the prestigious Kansas Relays, he qualified for both NCAA and AALL meets as a senior, but a broken collar bone prevented him from competing. Donley returned to vaulting in 1974 and regularly clears 12-6 to 13 feet. He has won the world and U.S. masters championships including the national crown with a vault of 12-4 in the 55-through-59 age group last summer in Eugene, Oregon, and two titles in the International World Association of Veteran Athletes Games. Donley chairs the masters track and field committee of the U.S. Athletics Congress and is a prime mover in seeking the 1989 Veteran Athletes Games for this nation. An attorney in Colorado Springs, where he officiates Air Force Academy meets and serves as head vault judge for the Olympic Festival, Donley also participates in the long jump, hurdles, dashes, and decathlon, in which he was national champion for the 50-54 age bracket.
